JSngry

Jermain Taylor James Taylor Jimmy James & The Vagabonds

You can improvise and still be practicing. Has to do with the intent, parameters, and direction of the improvising. Are you "working things out" or are you letting it all go and just playing? And yes, that does mean that a lot of "jazz" (most, actually) is ultimately just so much practicing in one form or another (which is not to say that this practicing does not have a beauty and validity of its own). The number of people who really play, who truly improvise w/o it being some form of "practicing" are few and far between. Hope no bubbles are being burst here.

Anybody heard from johnagrandy lately?

I'll agree with you as far as "the masses" go. What I'm talking about is a decline of what we might refer to as "serious music fans", which have always been a minority of the population. More and more, I see people who intellectually and tempermentally "fit the mold" of being the type of person who could get into music on a deeper level than the superficial, and they're...just not interested. They have other interests, other fascinations, other things on their mind, and getting into music on a "serious" level just ain't one of them. We can blame the lack of quality product that might entice them, or we can blame the easy access and constant portability of stuff that they already know that they want to have on hand, or we can blame the stranglehold on the media markets that the corporate entities have, or we can blame all of that (and more), but the point remains (at least from where I sit) - a lot of the people who "should" be interested in exploring music in even semi-depth aren't. And don't want to be. Because where there's a will, there's almost always a way. But if there ain't no will in the first place, whatcha' gonna do 'bout that?

Edit your opening post. You can change the title there.

I wonder where, if anywhere, they're going with this sub-theme of America becoming "Old World"? Tony's "mellowing" might be a part of it. Or not. Also wondering if we're going to see a collaboration between "the business" & the Feds to go after "potential Arab terrorists"? That's kinda been running in the background for a while now too. Agreed that the most recent episodes have lacked "high impact", but if seeds are being sown for a big payoff later on, I'm all for it. Plenty of interesting "little details" that could really go somewhere later on.

Beer at a church function? Are you sure you're not Lutheran?

Yeah, cooking the rabbit that he himself had wacked!

Those Geico caveman commercials are cool, if on the verge of overexposure. Some new ones would be welcome. Anybody know who the actors are? the one who "doesn't have much of an appetite" just nails that line!

I hear you. Just wanted clarification, that's all. If all you have is HMO care (and that's all a lot of people do have these days), my (anecdotal) experience is that they do the equivalent of reading off an insurance company approved script when it comes to call-ins. Don't get me started on that... Sorry to hear about your son. That's gotta be a tough hit for all concerned. Here's hoping for brighter days ahead.

And the problem with that is?

Wow. Did not know that. That was a great series. Yet another sign that "free jazz" was slowly but surely expanding its profile before the big chill hit full blast. To what extent was he involved in A&R? Was he simply working with what was given him (just doing the gig as a "career move" to get some profile with somebody) , or was he actively supportive of the music? Again, i hear stories that today he's all about "foregone conclusions".

Yeah, but I was under the impression that Conrad either doesn't have insurance or that his insurance ain't so hot to begin with. And really - "within a day or two" is hardly an acceptable timeframe for something that might require immediate attention, don't you think? You got a bite on your head that's causing swelling and shit and your doctor tells you he/she can see you "in a day or two"? Hell, in a day or two, you might be dead! Going to the ER for a cold or a stomach ache, or even a sprained ankle, is inappropriate. Those are "known quantities", so to speak. You know what you got, you know what it's gonna do, and you know how to fix it. No need to do anything other than ride it out until you can see your regular doctor. Going to the ER when you have received a potentially poisonous bite of unknown origin and your head is starting to swell up ain't at all inappropriate. I don't care what the insurance companies say. I've got pretty good insurance, and if they denied such a claim, I'd raise holy hell until it was accepted (done it before, and will do it again if needed). They're insurers, not doctors, and sometimes they need to be reminded of that.

Frustration Item #27843 - I have an LP of Keying In, near mint, that I don't hardly ever play because it's a trio session and Brackeen's playing by itself doesn't engage me enough to sit through an entire trio album. She sounds nervous to me, like she's wiggling on the piano bench because she's gotta go pee, but can't because the tape's running. I have a cassette copy of Ancient Dynasty that I can no longer play because I wore it out in my car's cheap-ass tape player listening to all the Joe Henderson solos . That was one of his finer dates from those days. I see used copies of Keying In fairly often, but never of Ancient Dynasty. I can have what I don't want, but I can't have what I do want. Is this fair? Is this America? I wrote my congressman, and he said, quote - "I'd like to help you son, but you're too young to vote." Sometimes I wonder what I'm gonna do.

This is a very broad generalization, but I feel that "society" today has lost most, if not all, of its sensitivity to music as a distinct medium that is best enjoyed with a distinct set of engagement skills. It's just become another "lifestyle accessory", and with things like access to "product" and portability at an all-time high, there's really no need for the average Joe to even be aware that he might want to be curious about something "different", or that he might actually "get something out of" what is traditionally refered to as "serious listening'. Such has always been the case to one degree or another, but I have noticed a marked increase in these tendencies among otherwise intellegent people over the last 5 years or so. How are things in your town? Ours has become a society of total portability and having everything "on demand". The technology itself is beautiful, but if you leave a 50 lb. bag of dog food open and available to a dog, it'll try to eat it as quickly as possible instead of rationing it out. I see lots of people doing the same thing with technology, and they're being relentlessly encouraged to do so. Myself, I think that it's a diversionary tactic to keep people from sitting still in one place for too long, because when you do that, you might actually slow down, sit still, and take stock. That's breeding grounds for upsetting the apple cart right there and we can't have that now, can we. I guess what I'm saying is that music (of all kinds) doesn't "matter" to as many people as it used to. The "functionality" of music in general is changing. Jazz, once, always, and forever being a type of music that has personal communication as/at its core, can't help but suffer as a result. The challenge is rapidly becoming not how to get people interested in listening to this music, it's becoming how to convince people that listening, really listening, to any kind of music as anything other than a soundtrack to their lifestyle might be worth their while. I'm not optimistic about the chances for success right now, not on a scale large enough to really matter to society as a whole, but the one potential outlet for subversiveness might be in the electronica/ambient (and related) field, where you can at least create the illusion of passivity and non-confrontationality. And we all know that the key to successful subversion is the creation of a successful illusion, a "front". Thing is, I'm at an age and of a background where playing music that way is kinda counter-intuitive. So that makes me sorta useless. Oh well. At least I can watch and cheer from the sidelines, and come out of my cave whenever asked. Things could be worse. Yeah, sure.

Pops Poopadeaux Billy Joe Robideaux Rub a dub dub, Three Men In A Tub

Wow, reading the title of this thread, I thought that maybe The Revolution had begun!

Well, for a certain age group it might.

Or a comfortable and dignified denoumet, whatever the fates hold in store.

I say that if you can get people dancing in their feet (figuratively or literally), you'd be surprised how easy it is to get them dancing in their head.

Same from here. SUCH a spirit!

Buck Owens Jim Owens Jim Rowan

Would that it were that simple... A more accurate reading would be "when you come across great pop music that's got all the elements of past glories mixed in with strong "global" rhythmic concepts, a really hip sense of harmony, total control of (and over) today's technology, and a husband who writes arrangements like nobody's ever written for a pop singer, how can you not be in love?" And btw - she don't sing no sex songs (her version of "The Island" is incredibly sexual, but it's still a LOVE song, dig?). That's her problem right there. All truth and beauty and love ("hippy-ish at times, but I can live with that), and no songs about how hot her pussy is and how she's ready for us to riderideride dat azzzz. THAT would no doubt get her an American distribution deal, like, yesterday. THAT there's a market for. The "pop drum machine programs" are anything but that, trust me. Again, think of how Zawinul "humanized" the sound of synthesizers (not a universally held sentiment, to be sure, but I can't do anything abou that). That's what Monday Michiru has done for drum programs. Not just in the complexity of the grooves, but in the feel of them. She can (and does) mix real percussion in with her programs, and damned if you can tell what's waht after awhile. And damned if it matters. She's a chick who's equally grounded (and experienced, and skilled) in accoustic music and hip-hop technology. For her, it's all pretty much the same, just tools to make her music with. For that, and her courage to go on ahead and full-out do it like that, she has my unending admiration. Damn straight she does! Don't check her out if the possibilities of pop music (and therefore popular culture in general) being able to successfully accomodate forward musical thinking (and the celebration of gratification beyond the instant) is of no concern and/or interest to you. Otherwise, dig in.

Ruth Etting Kurt Elling Golden Earring

Nah, not wishy-washy at all. The Aric Effron Experience has always been just that - an experience. Yeah, he goes off the hook and over the top eventually. We all know that. That's what he does. If he ain't gonna do that no more, hey, beautiful. But if not, I'm along for the ride until he does, same as I always was. The guy's a genuine "cyber-character". If he was in my real life and he acted like he acts here, I would no doubt feel differently. But he's not - he's on my computer screen only, and there, he brings plenty of entertainment, and not just of the "off the wall" type. You can always depend on him for some genuine enthusiasm towards music (& life in general) and a unique way and perspective of expressing that enthusiasm. I for one find that entertaining and quite often uplifting, just as I find it sad and depressing when he loses it. And when he's off the wall, like with the Parlan/gay thing, it's so far off the wall that I find it impossible to be genuinely offended. I mean, really, complaining that it was beneath Blue Note's usual standards to hire gay musicians, that's just SO wack, in SO many ways, to look at as anything other than a view from a parallel universe, dig? Look - I've lived and still do live a life surrounded by "characters", some of whom would probably scare the shit out of Aric. I dig characters, and as long as they're not posing me any "real" danger (and for a wish of cancer and death to be a "real" danger would require resources and malevolence far beyond what Mr. Effron is likely to posess in real life), I welcome the flavor that characters bring. A lietime spent exclusively in the company of "normal" people ain't at all what I want out of life, ok? Now, I understand that not everybody feels that way, and that not everybody digs the type of character that Aric is, either some or all of the time. Different strokes and all that, and no hard feelings about that. "Normal" people can be beautiful too, and we got plenty of examples here. But I do dig "diversity of character", if you know what I mean, and for that I make no apologies. All I'm saying is that until Aric goes off over the edge again (and that's entirely up to him if and when he does), I'm glad to have him around. Again. And when he does cross the line, I'll not squwak about putting him out. Again. That's been the way this show has always played, and most likely always will play.