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fasstrack

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Everything posted by fasstrack

  1. Memorial broadcast for Toots Thielemans right now on WKCR FM 89.9 FM and streaming live...
  2. I don't know how 'avant-garde' he was. He recorded Intuition in the late '40s, which was pretty 'out' for that time. And, yes, the Tristano guys played the changes, with their own heads on the tunes...
  3. I never got into the Lydian Chromatic stuff myself. Perhaps I should. Funny thing is: once he says what he must compositionally the improvising is almost always on standard changes. Like Concerto for Billy the Kid is I'll Remember April. Ezzthetic is straight up Love For Sale, even the head...
  4. Yes, RIP. A long and distinguished life...
  5. Sometimes I wonder if he said certain things for shock value, or to see how far he could push people. Other times he said things that betrayed a cavalier attitude that I wonder if he really had. For instance, I've heard him say about practicing: 'I never practice. That way when I play (perform) it's fresh'. Personally, I think he knew better. Maybe he was cultivating an image in interviews in later years. Some of the earlier ones were great...
  6. Jim: I was researching online videos of J. J. Johnson's tune, so I could do a chart. I came across Organissimo's version, with a guest trombonist. Nice rendition and playing, cats...
  7. ? This I don't get---unless the player's name is John McLaughlin. I confess I follow zero sports...
  8. Didn't knock me out. He sounded awfully anxious to be accepted as a pop star, with the references to Prince and whatnot. I do agree with his idea of trying to move ahead and not backwards artistically, but probably no one will ever know all the motives behind a lot of his statements. A complex and fascinating person all the same. Also, the interviewer seemed ill-equipped or unwilling to either ask challenging questions or challenge Miles's answers...
  9. I just finished this, in a mere few hours, and recommend it. Post tells the tale of his days at WBAI (also C.W. Post radio) with humor and in straightforward prose. Although former Organissimo member Chris Albertson called it a 'book of fiction'(and Post a 'slimebag') and I was not there, it seems a useful historical document of the early days of free-form radio and the wild-and-wooly environment of WBAI...
  10. http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Bookshelf/Playing%20in%20the%20FM%20Band.pdf Playing in the FM Band, Steve Post. A 1974 memoir about the author's life in free-form radio. The link is to a PDF file of the entire book...
  11. Al Cohn walked by a panhandling drunk. 'Please, sir, I need a drink', the guy said. Cohn gave him some money, started walking away, then turned back and said 'Wait a minute. How do I know you won't spend that on food?'...
  12. To be more positive, I can share one very guilt-free use of youtube: I have a job interview shortly with the C.E.O. of a non-profit that gets at-risk teens involved in learning music and sports. I wanted to find out more about the guy and his organization so I would be prepared. Sure enough, there were interviews with him on youtube. FWIW, I'm glad I watched. He seems dynamic and a visionary, and even if I don't get the gig I would like to know him...
  13. Not a bad idea at all. I usually play a short version of the same tune to end each set. It gives the evening cohesiveness. I've been playing Wes Montgomery's Missile Blues---just the head---as a break tune at a restaurant I play at in Tribeca...
  14. I don't have one, or an iphone either. Maybe it's childish or something, but I didn't care for Steve Jobs or Apple and would rather buy and support products created by people I believe in. A friend offered to give me an ipod once. I prefer to listen to recorded music at home, through decent speakers.
  15. I guess that's how they think about it. I understand that...
  16. Sorry to hear John McLaughlin passed away. He didn't look too well the last time I saw his show. I guess now Pat Buchanan will have to get a job...
  17. At the risk of repeating myself, a lot of exposure-hungry musicians are their own worst enemies by posting such a glut of their own tunes, etc. It sets a bad precedent for everyone, especially listeners who believe they are entitled to get everything free---and, much worse, it really hurts the pocketbooks of composers and their heirs...
  18. I saw this too, when it came out. I like his films, they are full of ironic humor. A bit talky, perhaps. And Penelope Cruz is such eye candy...
  19. I'm an ASCAP member. There's a tune I co-wrote with a guy that's up there. I admit I posted it myself. Just for fun I called ASCAP and asked how many hits on there would it take before we earned something. With a straight face the guy told me 250,000, and then it would earn us like 7 cents...
  20. I don't believe most joints pay any such fee, actually...
  21. Actually, in Europe they do. We're backwards in many ways. Some friends of mine lost a long term gig, because ASCAP came around and wanted to collect from plays on their piped-in music. The owners got really nervous and got rid of the live music. To be honest, I felt for them too. Overhead in a restaurant can be high, and practically nobody has live music anymore anyway. Those who do are heroic to me. This issue is complicated and Janus-faced...
  22. To make it clear, I mainly refer to live performances either musicians post themselves or someone else does. When they play standards, etc., I'm pretty sure the composers get screwed...
  23. I almost invaded another thread to write this, but figured that would be rude and intrusive. I use youtube regularly, and post links from it just as regularly. The problem is that I am torn because youtube is iffy at best re paying royalties to composers and musicians. The musicians are often co-conspirators in this, opting to get paid in exposure rather than $. I have a friend whose dad was composer of world-renowned songs such as Try a Little Tenderness and I'm Looking Over a Four-Leaf Clover. This fellow used to earn a healthy salary from commissions on his father's songs. Now, with all the Internet theft (and I do believe it is theft) he is near-destitute, putting his home up for sale. I wonder what people think about this matter, and whether they would be willing to pay a small monthly fee to youtube to subsidize royalty payments. If I am wrong, and youtube does in fact pay royalties, someone please straighten me out. It is my understanding that outside of licensing agreements for use of films they don't pay..
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