Pic(k) of the Week: Black Sheep brass

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Black Sheep Ensemble performed during the WigWag Art & Music Festival — "a hyperlocal art and music festival, celebrating local artists and musicians" — in Avondale Estates, Georgia, USA. 31 May 2025.

Black Sheep Ensemble is a modern brass and percussion band from Atlanta, Georgia. Our performances are rooted in Second Line traditions but with a repertoire that blends Prohibition-era Swing, Jazz, Balkan, Latin, Ska, Punk, and more into one danceable sound. We bring a crowd to its feet and keep them there. Low brass belts out the bass line while drums drive the rhythm.

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Black Sheep Ensemble: St. James Infirmary.
Clips of live performances, in 2020, in New Orleans, Atlanta, and Boston.

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Pic(k) of the Week: At Rest

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At rest: street tableau as a festival abounds.

Decatur Arts Festival: City of Decatur, Georgia, USA. 4 May 2025.

The Decatur Arts Festival brings the community together through a multi-day offering of live music, dance, comedy, theatrical performances, children's book festival, exhibitions, and an expansive and diverse artists’ market.

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Count Basie: Cute
Album: Basie Plays Hefti (Roulette, 1958)

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Pic(k) of the Week: Before the storm

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Swamp thing! A dead tree retains grandeur as a spring storm gathers.

Frog Bog in Legacy Park: City of Decatur, Georgia, USA. 3 May 2025.

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Leo Parker: Blue Leo
Album: Let Me Tell You 'Bout It (Blue Note, 1961)

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Pic(k) of the Week: Redbud in the field

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The vibrant yellow and green foliage of a native Rising Sun redbud tree, in spring.

Trailhead Community Park of the East Decatur Greenway: City of Decatur, Georgia, USA. 7 May 2025.

Cercis canadensis —commonly known as the eastern redbud tree— is a large deciduous shrub or small tree in the legume family (Fabaceae), native to eastern North America.

The Rising Sun™ cultivar —Cercis canadensis (JN2)— was discovered in a Belvidere, Tennessee nursery in 2006. Of unknown parentage, it had been planted from collected seed and was growing in a row of nursery seedlings. Unlike a 'standard' Eastern Redbud tree, the Rising Sun grows only 8 to 12 feet tall (2½ - 3½ m) but is drought and heat-tolerant.

Rising Sun's abundant pea-like, rosy pink flowers appear in early spring before the foliage. Its heart-shaped foliage emerges deep golden orange and matures through shades of orange, gold, and yellow to a speckled lime green. New leaves appear throughout the summer, resulting in a continual mix of colors. The fall foliage is yellow and orange.

— Missouri Botanical Garden.
— Wikipedia.

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Clifford Brown: Sandu
Album: Study in Brown (EmArcy Records, 1955)

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Pic(k) of the Week: Dwarf crested iris

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A native dwarf crested iris (Iris cristata) wildflower, blooming creekside.

Trailhead Community Park of the East Decatur Greenway in the City of Decatur, Georgia, USA. 7 May 2025.

Iris cristata (also known as dwarf crested iris and crested iris) is a species in the genus Iris, and is part of the subgenus of Limniris (bearded iris). It is a rhizomatous perennial plant, endemic to the eastern United States. Purple blossoms arise on a stalk above the 4 to 8 inch tall leaves. There are 3 unmarked petals; the yellow, fluted crest is on each of three sepals. It is usually found in colonies of several to many plants, growing in chalky soil, in oak woodlands, on rocky hillsides, in ravines, and along streams.

— Wildflowers of the United States
— Wikipedia

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McCoy Tyner: Love Surrounds Us
Album: Uptown Downtown (Milestone, 1989)

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