Jim Alfredson

Ok, so the CDs actually came today. Monday was just the new posters. The CDs look awesome. I'm very happy with how they came out. We'll probably have a big signing party this Tuesday and start to mail mid-week.

Ornette Coleman has a name. He can do whatever he wants. I'm talking about playing in the trenches, so to speak. In regards to organissimo, funk and danceable grooves are part of our repertoire and have been since the beginning, so we're really not making concessions. We just choose not to play our more "traditional" material until we've got the audience's attention, if we're playing in a venue that needs that approach. If we play a jazz room, we leave the funk until later. It's pretty easy to see what's working and what's not in a room. You build the show around how the audience is reacting. In regards to Benson, keep in mind that he was coming up after Wes, Burrell, Grant Green, etc. Just as he started to hit his stride and become well-known, jazz started to fall to the side. So here was a guy that could obviously play the shit out of the guitar, but could also sing his ass off, too and not just to be gimmicky. He truly loves to sing and R&B has always been a part of that for him. So what was he to do? Keep making straight-ahead jazz guitar records or explore another avenue, another side of his musicianship, a side that (luckily for him) has more commercial potential? As someone else said in this thread, if all he had done were those straight-ahead records, we probably wouldn't even be talking about him.

Uh.... huhhuh... so...uh... hey. What's going on? Huhhhuhhuhhhuhhuh.

That biography should be required reading to anyone who bashes him. When he talks about getting people's feet to move and then being able to take them pretty much anywhere, he is spot on. When organissimo plays college bars, we start out with funky tunes. Kids nod their heads, some get up and dance, and by the time we pull out something in 7/8 or even a swing tune in 3/4, they are still with us, dancing and having a good time. You have to respect your audience. Sitting up there and playing a bunch of heady music while thinking, "These people are morons; they don't understand my genuis or this awesome music," is certain death. Respect the audience and they will respect you. When we play a listening room or a club that is a "jazz" club, we do things differently. It doesn't mean you have to dumb things down; you just have to approach things from a different angle.

Today (Thursday, July 9th) I finally finished the last piano job my dad left behind, the one we were supposed to do together. I feel like a huge burden has been lifted off my shoulders. As I mentioned before, I messed up the first attempt at replacing the keytops on a set of spinet piano keys. I ordered a new set and different glue and tried again. I hand-shaped each one and they came out looking really nice. The other part of the job was replacing all the worn bushings, which, when I arrived today, I was surprised to find had already been taken out of the piano by my dad. After putting new bushings in, the keys go in and then I had to level and dip them. That basically means make them all at the same height relative to each other and the right height in order to "feel" right when playing. Then I had to regulate the action because of the new bushings and spacers. Then I tuned the piano. The client was thrilled. It took me 5 hours, but I am proud of the work I did. I'm sure my dad would've done it in half the time or less, but I was literally finding my way as I went along. I've got three free upright pianos waiting to be delivered. My garage is getting a new roof (one that doesn't leak) and once they are in there I'll spend the rest of the year tearing them apart and rebuilding them. I'm looking forward to it, actually. Today was two months since my dad passed.

Worst. TV Special. Ever.

Bruce, that's terrible news. You'll pull through. Much love.

Well now. Tell us how you really feel. Being a sellout would imply that he's doing it only for the money. History says otherwise. So he's not doing it for the money? I think you're way off base here, Jim. Everything he does is motivated by money. It has to be. Listen to his music. It sucks! I do things that are motivated by money, too. Does that mean I'm a sellout? You do what you can do to make a living; he found something he was good at and could make money at and he stuck with it and made a whole bunch of bread. Good for him. It's obvious from bootlegs that I've heard and from the stories of people in this thread that he can still burn on guitar in a jazz setting. Does that mean he is required to do so by some strange obligation to jazz / guitar nerds? And if he doesn't he sucks? The music business is extremely tough. I applaud anyone who actually has talent and musicianship for making it, however they can. Is Larry Goldings selling out because he's touring and recording with James Taylor?

Being a sellout would imply that he's doing it only for the money. History says otherwise.

Well, prices are very regional. Up here, you can find a minty B3 for $5k to $6k. I do understand that churches in the south, however, tend to pay a lot for them.

I was thinking the exact same thing.

I would hope so!

Wild. Thanks!

For that price, it better be plated in silver.

$15k to $20k? I don't think so.

Happy Birthday my friend! Kiss that little one for me!

I'm not so sure about that. Isn't it a bit like MG said above: The frist step to tolerating and accepting the music (i.e. modern jazz - though to those outside the jazz world the notion of "modern" in connection with some 40 to 60 year old music must be abit odd) is NOT to run away or protest loud as soon as the first few bars are played across speakers. Of course some (probably the majority) will just take it in as a background tone pattern like they'd take in elevator muzak, but unless this jazz dispensed was just the more universally palatable Shearing and Brubeck fare (and apparently, from your description, it wasn't) then accepting this music even as background music over any lengthy period of time takes some serious adaptation and a degree of tolerance that still isn't found everywhere. And IMHO this IS the first step to getting into this music in some way. Kinda late, but better than running away screaming, isn't it? You're over-thinking this. The reason people, young and old, don't bat an eye is not because they tolerate or accept jazz music, it's because we are inundated with music everywhere we go and nobody pays any attention to any of it. I get weird looks from people all the time because I ask for music to be turned down in restaurants or the doctor's office or the gas station, etc. Most people don't even notice it's there.

Pretty much.

Maybe it's because it's 3am and I'm working on 3 hours of sleep, but I guess I just don't get two things: a) Why Allen and 7/4 can't mature a bit and stop goading Gould. b) Why Dan thinks that it's okay to tell somebody to "eat shit and die", especially a couple of fools on a forum? When is that acceptable to say to anyone, at any time, especially coming from the mouth of a grown man? Are we still 12 years old, Dan? Does the big font signify you really mean it? It would be laughable if I wasn't so sick of it. Grow up, people. My 4 year old daughter behaves better than you three. Seriously, take a step back from this and you might actually realize how stupid it is and by association how stupid you all appear.

Looks like I got it working.

It looks like they changed their search string. I think it still works, even though it gives you an error. All you have to do is get TO the CDUniverse site through organissimo and it will credit any purchases made within 24 hours of that transfer. That said, I'll see if I can get the search to actually work.

Yes it works.

I just got word that the discs will be here Monday, a week ahead of schedule. How cool is that!!! We'll have a big CD and poster signing party and start shipping them towards the end of the next week.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but it looks like more of a 1960s production, not 50s.

Ok, so 8.5% of $4.56 is $0.36. So if the oil companies suddenly decided they didn't want to make any profits at all and instead "help the American consumer", instead of paying $4.56 a gallon, you'd pay $4.20. Whoopie. Frankly, I'm over getting pissed off about it. Now we are being forced to make a change. Shit, if we had stuck with the fuel efficiency standards that Ford/Carter put into place back in the 1970s, we would've been off foreign oil by the late 80s. There is no reason why cars shouldn't be getting at least 40mpg, if not 50, 60, or even 70. The technology has been here for a long time.