Joe G

I'm sure there are people who are interested in the works of particular artists, authors, or what have you, because they are thought to be interesting and important by a particular community of some sort. I first checked out A Love Supreme because my guitar teacher at the time told me I should listen to as much Coltrane as possible. I suppose that since I admired my mentor, I was more inclined to try to like that music than if someone I didn't respect said the same. I ended up liking it just fine; although it doesn't assume a religious-like importance in my musical or social life. My point here is that although initial interest in free jazz or any other "difficult" artform might be a result of hanging with a certain crowd, how absorbed a person becomes in that form over the long haul will be determined by the value of the work itself and that individual's emotional, spiritual, and intellectual responses. Unless that person is a goddam sheep. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I like Interstellar Space, and hate The Real World. Am I cool or what??? (I mean the album and the tv show, not the actual places!)

I was asking Eric if he had seen Peter Bernstein live. IMO, Peter is an incredibly soulful guitarist who plays great lines, comps with taste, and has impeccable time and swing. Was just curious as to why he found him boring.

Sure glad you're not badly hurt, Alexander. So far I've been fortunate, just some fender benders years ago, and a couple of near misses. My wife had a bad one two years ago in which she collided head-on with a pickup truck, totaling the car and getting a broken leg and wrist. When I saw the car afterwards, I couldn't believe how close the left foot rest area was to the driver's seat; just a couple of inches separated the two.

Ever seen him live?

BTW, welcome aboard, Joel. Hope you find the digs to your liking.

I think it helps just to know that other composers have the same problems. Yes, I've also come back to ideas after a year or more and was able to find a resolution to the piece. It's just that I want it now! Perfectionism. This is where the inner critic reigns supreme. A closed, debilitating loop. It's pretty hard to write something if it has to be perfect, no? I'm working hard to let go of that tendency, too.

Got any tricks for getting "unstuck"? Probably a meaningless question. It's just that sometimes we get these tune ideas that really seem to resist development, which can be frustrating. Sometimes I feel as if I have no imagination at all.

No, but this name has been popping up a lot recently. How would you describe his playing style?

We had fun with their motto: "You Gotta Eat!".....so you might as well eat this stuff, since you sho ain't gonna go home and cook nothin'! And you ain't got no job, so you can't afford nothin' better than a 3 dolla hamburger...

I just had this mental image of Joe, in full Mike Reno/Loverboy garb: red leather pants, headband, etc. I don't know Joe -- that image might work for you!!! After all, everybody is indeed "working for the weekend!!" Loverboy--the epitome of bandana rock! I seem to have a talent for being able to sing like people who's singing I hate. But can I sing like Stevie or Donny Hathaway? No. Oh well, I'll just stick to guitar...

Always eat, and usually sweets. Jim and I have a post-gig drive home ritual: we listen to classic rock stations and see who can mimic the singers better. He does a great Mick Jagger, while I can cop the guy from Loverboy pretty good. It's good for laughs and it keeps us awake. Once I get home, a shower and check on the board before bed. I know what you mean about the music staying in your head though, Mike. It's even worse when I'm doing a broadway show or something. Then I might listen to the Coltrane/Hartman album to clear that stuff out.

Hard to be sure, actually, but I think it was the John Scofield Quartet, w/ Lovano, Bill Stewart and Dennis Irwin in '92.

I'd like Jim A. to tell the story about what Jack McDuff said to a famous blues guitarist about Martino...

That solo on "Sonny" is incredible. That electric pianist didn't have much to say after that! Also, his chordal playing is excellent. I like the solo pieces he's done here and there.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this, Lon. Much has been written on the subject, and rather than try to put that which I've read into my own words, I'll go out on a limb and share some personal experiences I've had with music in my life. I'm quite certain that music (along with the other arts) can and should be used to wake people up to their highest potential as human beings. There is a big responsibilty placed on the artist to purify their own vision and perfect their craft to the highest degree possible in order to bring about this result. Any art object or perfomance is a reflection of the state(s) of mind of the artist at that time. When we partake of that work of art as an audience, we resonate with that mindset for a moment. There are certain pieces of music that have a very strong emotional effect on me, of the type that seems to wash away the pettiness that is a part of my everyday personality and leave me in a state of melancholic repose. Listening to these pieces leaves me feeling sad (sometimes I have a good cry), but clear about my life for a moment. Just the other day I put on Beethoven's 9th symphony. For some reason, I've had trouble hearing Beethoven, even though I listen to a lot of classical. It has always sounded a little grating to my ears. Not this time. I was practically in rapture. I even exclaimed "Oh GOD!" out loud at one passage. The music seemed to pierce my emotional center and elevate my thoughts and feelings, again with a mixture of hope and sadness. As far as my own journey as a musican goes, I often get the sense that there are spiritual overtones augmenting the whole process. Sometime I can get out of the way and let that higher harmonic get expressed in the music (Paul (conniseur series 500) was in attendance at the club last Friday when I played at least one solo that felt totally joyful and free, and I also feel that my composition Life Wish says something quite personal about my feelings, for example), but I've got a long way to go to have those qualities I mentioned be present a majority of the time. I feel that music is something good and whole-making in my life, and that hopefully I can continue to find opportunities to bring some of that goodness into the lives of others (I know Paul was grinning a lot at the gig! ) In my daily life, I've noticed that I have to take care of the music first, and then I can deal with the stuff of life. If I try to do it the other way around, I get irritated and everything feels like an imposition. But if I've managed to do some good creative work, then I find it easy to be nicer to the people around me, and take care of business. I just feel happier. That means, to me at least, that we are meant to be creative and produce good work. Man, there's a story I'm itching to tell, but I can't because I feel like it's not meant for public consumption. Suffice it to say, there have been a couple of times when I couldn't deny the higher reality (whatever that may be) involved in the situation. I truly feel that I have been, and continue to be, guided or prodded along the path by unseen hands. But it's been a huge challenge for me to stay positive and focused on that path with everything that's going on, day to day. I'm sure that's no different than what the greats have had to face, so I guess I should quit whining and get on with the work! Thanks for letting me ramble.

An interesting idea, though as another project in addition to the tribute disc. I'd like to hear anything that the players here cared to submit.

Saw Fort Apache in Detroit a couple of years back and loved it. Jerry was like a shaman up there.

Interesting discussion guys. Put me down on the side that is leery of the phrase, because it's one of those vague, hard-to-defend-against criticisms that may contain just a hint of truth, but ultimately serve no constructive end, other than to bring the artist or work down a peg, as Nate wrote.

Wealthy Street, Carrot Cake, Sara's Dance, and Battle Cry come to mind. Do come out when you can, Greg!

Howard Stern and Rush Limbaugh!

Was drinking bottled water at work, but then I ended up with two huge bags of plastic to recycle. So I bought a bottle of Voss water, which comes in a nice glass bottle, which I wash out and fill with Brita water. Works for me.

Happy Birthday Patricia. Hope to see you at the gathering this year!

Happy Birthday 7/4. May your intonation always be just. B) And please let us know when you have some of your music recorded!

And regarding Martino, I find I can't help but play in his style when doing tunes like LeeAnn. He pretty much owned those kind of grooves back in the day.

And what a song! It's playing in my head right now. As I told Paul at the gig, the form of that tune is very unusual, and it took me about 10 listens before it started to make sense to me. Now I think it just might end up on the Tribute disc.