RDK

Yeah, I'm real curious how many (few?) will show up. Iraq? Stay safe, Adam!

Long as it's nothing like waterboarding!

Heck, I'd pay good money to see that. Weizy and Johnny could sell tickets and hit the college debate circuit... you know, kinda like a Noam Chomsky-Darth Vader billing.

Rare west coast appearance. I'll be there - looking forward to it! http://www.soundnet.org/sound/2006/september.shtml

I can't wait to hear what Popocat has to say about this one!

I think Chewy could use some Qualude Cooler ©.

I think the point is that Rusty Warren was another great artist who was denied a MacArthur grant...

I agree. It's a small inconvenence otherwise, and there are already (imo) too many separate forums.

Damn. I'm just curious (or sick) enough to want to hear The Dukes of Dixieland cover A Love Supreme. At least once.

Gimme your credit card numbers. All of them. And dude - Valerie B is her real name. She's Walter Bishop Jr's ex, and she's for real. Better luck next time. And I've met Valerie so I know she actually exists. So to do Noj, Bertrand, and a few others. But the rest of you... vapor!

I love thread drift!

And most classical stations play "top 40" anyways. And here's one from Beethoven (or Mozart, or JSB...) That absolutely makes sense. Until there is 100% funding for all classical and jazz stations through government sources (ha!), there's no way you're going to be able to keep a business (and that's what radio stations are) afloat playing Stockhausen, Prokofiev or Stravinsky. That's just the way of the world in George W. Bush America. It has nothing to do with living in a GWB world. Music by astists like Beethoven and Mozart tends to be more "mainstream" and "commercial" than music by Stockhausen, et al. Just as Stan Getz is "easier on the ears" to more people than Braxton is. You can't teach/force people to like what they don't like.

To be honest, I'm not really sure what my point is, and I've been too rushed this morning to think about it too deeply. But for an average Joe tuning into Colbert's show (or anyone's really) and hearing about a jazz musician who's just won a "genius" grant for music that sounds like two seagulls fucking... well what is someone like that going to think about the state of modern jazz? For the academics and "jazz elite" (not unlike us I'll add) that can be a good thing, but for most others it's probably just the kind of thing that will cement in their mind the idea that "modern" jazz is something that they don't want any part of, turning them instead back toward the Wyntons, Kenny Gs, and Glen Millers of the world. Of course, promoting jazz to the mainstream public is not the point of a MacArthur grant, but nevertheless it might be in our best interests if these sorts of things occassionally do go to the Regina Carters of the world. btw, don't mean to denigrate the avante-garde - some of my favorite music sounds like two seagulls fucking.

That's a great idea, Quincy. Allen, have you tried marketting these as "like a mix tape from the 1930s?" That might attract the young 'uns to this fine ol' music.

LMAO! Oh man, that's priceless. Very funny, I agree, but at the same time - more seriously - that bit kind of sums up a lot of the problems that "modern jazz" has with its image with the general public: people thinking that it's all screeching, tuneless blowing that you can't dance to let alone tap your foot to. And we wonder why the PBS-sponsoring hoi polloi gravitate to Wynton Marsallis and his ilk.

Geez, so close and yet so far away. I missed Freddie's gigs at the Metropol - always found out about them too late - and now it looks like he's stopped playing in L.A. Glad to hear about the NYC gig, but hopefully he'll be perforning again in L.A. soon.

I hope you're joking, but even if you're not and even if Allen is so unpleasant... well, you've waited long enough. Highly recommended. Jump away.

Same here. Furthermore, in the jazz arena, I've always considered "old coot" a form of affection.

Took me a little longer to get to and through D2 than i had hoped. It's a more inconsistent disc imo, with more highs and lows, than D1, but the highlights are mighty fine. Very eager to know what some of these are, though I dread how much this BFT is gonna cost me in the long run. Again, many thanks Luca! Disc 2 1. Hmm. The rhythm section’s much too mellow/easy for my tastes, though the soloists aren’t bad at all. Not really my cuppa. 2. Much better! Star Eyes – a favorite of mine. Sax starts out sounding like Art Pepper or Phil Woods, but I’m not so sure by the end... 3. Interesting, and quite lovely voice. Not very “jazzy” but I like it. 4. Enjoyable enough, but this sounds rather quaint and old-fashioned – almost downright dull – compared to the “riskier” stuff on this disc. 5. Not the sort of think I listen to often – avant-guard-ish sax improvisations – but I like this one and it grows on me with each listen. Like how the two saxes weave in and out of each other – I find this much more interesting than if it were a solo horn. Could be Braxton, but it’s probably a pair I’m unfamiliar with. 6. I love this one! Swinging, jaunty, and loads of fun – almost humorous in construction and intent. Makes me smile and tap my foot. 7. Don’t care much for the “tune,” but I really like the sound of the flute moving with/around the sax (soprano?). 8. Lovely, with a touch of fire at the end. 9. This sounds familiar – I think I may have it – but it’s not a favorite track. 10. Pretty sure this is Ornette, though I can’t recall the tune. 11. Okay for a while but it goes on too long. 12. Love this! Might be my favorite track of both discs. 13. Another great track. Love the bass walking behind the growling sax. This and the previous track are the highlights of this disk for me. 14. Three wonderful tracks in a row. Love the “talking” bone – sounds rather old-school – but I’d bet the track is fairly recent. I dunno – maybe Mangelsdorff playing unusually inside? 15. Another fun track – almost too much fun if you know what I mean – with a theme that sounds almost like TV show music. But it works, and gets especially interesting toward the end, when the guys cut loose a bit. Great ending to the disc! (Listening to this again and liking it even more.)

Hmmm. I'd prefer the high-class hookers.

Naive question probably, but what exactly did - for example - Ornette do with his grant? I mean, did certain of his albums come out due to his grant money received, did he compose certain pieces or put a band together with the money (which i assume goes as much to paying his bills as allowing him to "create" in a non-financially restrictive environment)? Would our opinion of Regina Carter (whom I'm only passingly familiar with btw) change if this award allowed her to create something truly "great?"

Please don't go there otherwise every time i buy another CD I'll be forced to think of how many meals that money could buy for some impoverished kid in Bangladesh...

Wouldn't it be more fun (for us at least) if instead of giving half a mil to one musician, they gave $50K to ten musicians, letting each of them make the album that they want without any concern for commercial considerations? It would cut down on the bickering if nothing else. Why am i surprised that Wynton hasn't received one of these yet?

Don't quite understand the RC hatred - too commercial? - but I've heard little of her work. Anyhow, here's a list of former grant recipiants... Music Marin Alsop Orchestra Conductor Milton Babbitt Composer Ran Blake Composer and Pianist Anthony Braxton Jazz Composer and Performer Regina Carter Jazz Violinist Ornette Coleman Jazz Performer and Composer John C. Eaton Composer Osvaldo Golijov Composer John Harbison Composer and Conductor Stephen Hough Pianist Bernice Johnson Reagon Music Historian, Composer, and Vocalist Ali Akbar Khan Classical Indian Music Performer Steve Lacy Saxophonist and Jazz Composer George E. Lewis Composer, Performer, and Music Theorist Edgar Meyer Bassist and Composer Conlon Nancarrow Composer George Perle Composer and Music Theorist Max Roach Percussionist and Jazz Composer Reginald Robinson Ragtime Pianist and Composer George Russell Composer and Music Theorist Gunther Schuller Composer, Conductor, and Jazz Historian Ralph Shapey Composer and Conductor Bright Sheng Composer Cecil Taylor Jazz Pianist and Composer Ken Vandermark Jazz Composer and Performer Marion Williams Gospel Music Performer Charles Wuorinen Composer John Zorn Musician and Composer

Well at least it's not like that story about that guy with that hand transplant that came from a convicted serial murderer that made him go crazy and start killing people with his new, insane hand. Or is it...?