medjuck

I think I read that there were supposed to be 46 survivors. Have we seen them all? Are some just extras? Do you think they'll start killing them off?

By Don Heckman, Special to The Times Ornette Coleman walked onto the stage at Walt Disney Concert Hall on Friday night to a resounding wave of applause. A slender man of 74 in a pastel suit, a hat jauntily perched on his head, holding a white plastic alto saxophone, he could hardly have been spotted as the revolutionary jazz figure he has been for more than four decades. There was a time, in fact, when a performance by Coleman at a venue such as Disney Hall would have been as unlikely as a speech by Che Guevara at the United Nations. And for the several dozen listeners who departed well before he had completed his set, Coleman's free-jazz alto saxophone, trumpet and violin playing was apparently still a bit too radical. That's how it's always been for Coleman. He was born in Ft. Worth, but first came to the notice of the jazz audience while living in Los Angeles in the '50s. In 1959, his quartet with bassist Charlie Haden (who also performed in Friday's concert with his "Land of the Sun" ensemble), trumpeter Don Cherry and drummer Billy Higgins opened a run at New York City's Five Spot Café that became one of the legendary gigs in jazz history. Virtually every performance was attended by the crème de la crème of the Manhattan jazz community — performers, critics, fans. What followed was a schism comparable to the battles in the '40s between lovers of swing and advocates of bebop. Coleman was described as everything from a musical charlatan who was incapable of playing within traditional harmonic boundaries to the potential successor to Charlie Parker. In fact, he was neither. On the one hand, he was, like John Cage, a teacher, a transformer of perspectives, an advocate of sheer creative open-mindedness. But he was also an utterly fascinating player whose seemingly radical efforts (playing beyond metric and harmonic limitations) were rendered appealing by his gift for engaging melody and the creative intensity that was constant in his music. Coleman's music always brings to mind the Abstract Expressionist concept of action painting, of an event in which the work/painting is the result of a spontaneous, charged encounter between artist and medium. In Coleman's case, as with Jackson Pollock's, the seemingly random action is founded on an inner drive to, in effect, open the gateway to allow creativity to pour through. Initially described as "free jazz," his music was later labeled by Coleman "harmolodic music." The latter term is perhaps more apt, an invented word describing his belief in the interchangeability of melody and harmony. "Free," after all, is a multifaceted concept when it comes to making art, of whatever sort. From a musical perspective, playing freely can be a recipe for sheer anarchy. From another perspective, the desire to find — or to allow — coherence to take place in an environment of free improvisation can require even greater musical focus than the more familiar method of playing variations over a harmonic framework. Leading a quartet consisting of bassists Tony Falanga and Greg Cohen and his son Denardo Coleman on drums, he wasted no time digging into the heart of his music, instantly displaying its inner fire and fury. The first tune, "Jordan," was a bursting succession of notes, poured out in rapid succession across a tsunami of steaming rhythms. Once the disjunct theme was established, Coleman ripped into his solo, his lines surging across the length and breadth of his saxophone. Falanga and Cohen created whirling currents of sound, the former playing with a bow, his melody lines frequently following Coleman's lead, the latter playing pizzicato, walking-bass style, sometimes at brutally rapid tempos. Seated in his dressing room after the concert, Coleman — who speaks in a quiet, precise manner far different from his fiery musical excursions — explained the strategy. "I told Tony, who's used to playing in a symphony orchestra, 'Play your solo as if you're leading the orchestra.' And I told Greg, 'You play as if you're making your own ideas to fit the movement — not the chord changes, the movement.' And then I said, 'I'll take care of the rest.' " And he did. And any notion that the music was simply a random mélange of sounds haphazardly thrown together was dispelled when the quartet came to a sudden, unexpected halt, completely together. Although nearly all the works he performed Friday were new, many of them composed for a residency earlier this year at the University of Michigan, each was very much within the familiar Coleman lexicon of rapid-fire runs juxtaposed against striking lyricism — stunning examples of his capacity to find both emotional content and subtexts of structure within a free environment. Backstage Friday, he was asked about a comment he once made — that when he realized that he could make a mistake while playing in free style, he knew he was on the right track. "Well, yes, that's right," said Coleman. "A mistake is having to resolve something that's out of place. Tonight, for example, I decided to look for the mistakes while I was playing. What I mean by that is that, if you're a horn player, usually what you try to do is resolve what the bass player and the piano, or two bass players, are doing. Well, I don't try to resolve that way, I try to resolve everything in relationship to the key, and — tonight — that approach [brought everything together] between the two basses." He does so via a fundamental vocabulary of riffs, licks and phrases that are the building blocks of all jazz improvisers. For most jazz artists, that vocabulary primarily derives from the input of a lifetime of heard music, usually from admired players. Great jazz musicians like Coleman, on the other hand, create their own vocabulary — in his case based in the blues of his Texas roots. Coleman finished Friday's program by asking Haden to join the other two bassists in an encore version of his 1959 piece "Lonely Woman," one of his most intimately heartfelt songs. As Haden began the number's bass vamp, there was a rustle of applause from the audience — the sort of response one more often hears at a pop concert. But Coleman's rendering, far from duplicating the recorded version, took the number into myriad fascinating musical locations, galvanized by the remarkable textures of the three basses. "The way we played that was the way I always like to play," said Coleman, summing up his creative philosophy. "I want people to play what they know they can play without my approval. 'Make your own mistakes,' is what I say, and I have to make mine. Because I was trying to play an idea that affected everybody, including the listener. I wasn't trying to play the saxophone, or even the composition. I was trying to play the music."

Doctors are often uncommunicative. I would reiterate that you sometimes have to force them to tell you what they're thinking. You also have to make sure they have all the information: You might want to just copy out your postings and hand them to a doctor. (Have you told them about the metallic taste?) I wish I could be more helpful. Thinking about you and hoping for the best.

Have you ever seen the Marguerite Duras film "Le Camion"? Uses the Diabeli variations for the soundtrack. Can't remember who's version.

From where can I order a copy of the japanese version of Jazz Studio 2? Do I have to get it from Japan?

She lives somewhere in Montecito (on the edge of Santa Barbara) where I live. But if I've seen her around I didn't recognize her.

We needed a new computer in my office. We usually get the latest models so we have them in case someone does want to do music or video editing on it. I think this only cost about $1400 so I think the most we could save would be a couple of hundred dollars.

Here's a very informative review of the soon to be realsed Miles at Isle of Wight DVD from Variety: Miles Electric: A Different Kind of Blue (Docu) An Eagle Vision presentation of an MLF production in association with Eagle Rock Entertainment. Produced by Murray Lerner. Executive producers, Terry Shand, Geoff Kempin. Directed by Murray Lerner. With: Miles Davis, Chick Corea, Keith Jarrett, Jack DeJohnette, Gary Bartz, Dave Holland, Airto Moreira, Carlos Santana, Joni Mitchell, Stanley Crouch, Herbie Hancock. By RONNIE SCHEIB Miles Davis is profiled by documaker Murray Lerner in 'Miles Electric: A Different Kind of Blue.' Miles Davis' celebrated 38-minute set at the Isle of Wight in 1970 -- entitled, in an off-the-cuff answer to query about piece's name, "Call It Anything" -- is the jewel in the crown of "Miles Electric."Concert with 600,000-strong crowd shortly preceeded Davis' groundbreaking "Bitches Brew" album, where he famously, and controversially, went "electric." Extraordinary concert coverage and beautifully plotted segues between musicians then and now should gratify neophytes and hardcore Davis fans alike. Pic is slotted for November DVD release following New York Film Festival kickoff. At docu's outset, helmer Murray Lerner parades a long succession of musicians who have played with Davis or have been influenced by him. Carlos Santana acts as spokesman for those who believe the evolution of Miles' music through electrification is positive, while jazz critic Stanley Crouch makes a brief but memorable appearance as dissenter, speaking against Miles' descent into formlessness, recounting his own many vain attempts, in various stages of altered consciousness, to tolerate "Bitches Brew." Herbie Hancock, interviewed in the present, intros Davis' earlier, purely acoustical incarnation as the Miles Davis quintet (with Hancock on keyboard and Davis attired in a natty Italian suit) swings into its signature "So What" in an excerpt from a 1964 "The Steve Allen Show." But it is the sidemen who played with Davis on that memorable Aug. 9 night in 1970 who form the backbone of Lerner's film. Ironically, with the exception of a ridiculously young-looking Dave Holland on base guitar, those actually playing electrical instruments on stage during the momentous "I of W" gig were acoustical musicians who were highly resistant to electricity at first. Chick Corea's initial disgust at the tinny-sounding Fender Rhodes was already fading in light of the electric piano's wonderfully weird distortion modules, but Keith Jarrett, stuck on electric organ since the piano was already taken, wondered which instrument he loathed the most. Yet despite musicians' disinclination to getting plugged in and fear of unknown territory, it is clear that they would have played cowbells and triangles for the chance to jam with the maestro. Indeed, in the array of esoteric percussion instruments rattled and shaken by Airto Moreira, a cowbell would not have been out of place. Jack DeJohnette on drums and Gary Bartz on soprano sax rounded out the group. Following a dinky rendition of "There Will Always Be an England" by Tiny Tim, Miles Davis' septet takes the stage. After pic's exhaustive 40-minute buildup of backstory, all the players seem so fully familiar that the music can be allowed to unfold in a leisurely manner and the camera can rest on various musicians without the usual star-driven impatience for Davis to raise his trumpet. Amazingly full, multi-angled 16mm coverage (restored on HD) allows Lerner to orchestrate his footage with none of the jump-cut restlessness that frequently affects the editing of live concerts. Einar Westerlund and Edward Goldberg's montage comes off as mellow and unrushed as Miles Davis' trance-y, ever-changing music. Lerner and his editors capture Davis leaving and re-entering center-stage to stand and play dramatically framed against the falling light without undue fanfare but to compelling audio and visual effect. Sound is remastered with stunning clarity. Stellar pic's only downside is that, in their haste to stress the fusion elements of Davis' work and link him to legendary rock 'n' rollers such as Jimi Hendrix, filmmakers tend to downplay the extent to which Davis was evolving in directions wholly tangential to acoustical jazz. Thus, they inadvertently strand him in jazz history limbo.

Correct. Web surfing, word processing and music are about all I use it for.

Voted on the way to work. Polling placae was a church hall. Very nice older people working there (even older than me!). Took about 10 minutes. I had a cheat sheet with me that I prepared yesterday otherwise I would have been a lot longer just trying to understand all the propositions we have in California.

In the summer of 1964 I was hanging out at the Marquee club in London listening to jazz. On weekends they had some group called the Yrdbirds playing who I presumed were a jazz group. Went one night and was mainly impressed by the number of attractive women in the audience. I think that was when both Clapton and Paige were with them. Shows what I knew. But I was so much older then.....

I'm using the new G5 as I write this. Must admit that since I'm not doing any music or video editing, I don't really notice much difference between this and my last iMac. But it sure looks cool.

I've finally figured out how to use Easytree and it was worth the effort. I was able to download a Mingus video (1964) and several Gil Evans concerts, one of which (RAI band with Lee Konitz) I didn't know existed. none of these are available for sale so I don't feel I'm ripping anyone off.

My first Ellington also (of about 150) . And one of my favorites though I've never thought it was obscure. I think I got my first copy from the Columbia Record club.

Saw James Moody last night and he quoted the world's shortest blues lyric: "Didn't wake up this morning."

Glad to hear it. I'm seeing him tonight at UCSB.

Hey I just looked at the thread where somone polled us about the game. More than 70% predicted the Sox would win! I knew this was a smart group.

Weirdly enough the following story appeared in the LA Times today: As a child, Daryl Roach loved all the drama and commotion when his family headed south to his father's rural birthplace. Before they left New York for Dismal Swamp in North Carolina, they'd jam the Lincoln Continental full of food and push all the bags into the trunk, which was already half filled by a big red canister of gasoline. Roach said he only realized years later why all the provisioning had been necessary. His father, Max Roach, is a legendary jazz drummer who helped create the bebop style and played with Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk, Clifford Brown and Miles Davis. But driving through the rural South in the 1950s, Max Roach knew that as a black man he'd be denied service at many a gas station and restaurant. Over the years, he became a civil rights activist, using his fame to speak out against racial injustice. "I listened to a lot of ideas, a lot of revolutionary ideas," said Daryl Roach, now a 56-year-old actor living in Los Angeles. Activism, it turns out, runs in the family. On Monday night, Daryl Roach will hold the kickoff event of his new nonprofit organization, Musicaids … Life Thru Music. At a benefit concert at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre, James Taylor will sing, along with Brandi Carlile, Deborah Falconer and Arnold McCuller. Saxophonist Brandon Field will also perform. Tickets for the concert, which is called "Songs for a New Resolution," cost $45 to $65. The event will raise money to help stop the spread of HIV and AIDS through education and research into preventive vaccines and microbicides. Roach got the idea for Musicaids through years of listening to his close friend Peter Anton, a gastroenterologist, UCLA professor and director of the UCLA Center for HIV and Digestive Diseases. Anton, who is also a researcher at the UCLA AIDS Institute, would often tell Roach about new studies. The physician told of research finding that as many as one in three young black males in Los Angeles and other American cities were infected with HIV, that two American teenagers were infected each half hour. Roach was shocked by what he heard about the increase in new infections among black women and the particularly high rate of infection in young black men. "I was alarmed at what he was telling me. I mean, there are studies that show that the rate of infection for young black men in South-Central Los Angeles is 30%," Roach said. "The only place with a higher rate is in Botswana." He wanted to do something. He thought immediately of music, which was always a force for change in his family. "One thing which always got us through was music. It was music which got us through family struggles, which got us through life," he said. He also thought of his father, and asked him for his help. Soon, as in the old days, the talk turned to civil rights. Max Roach wanted to help, but at first he was worried. He didn't want to erode any civil rights gains by focusing attention on something negative within the black community. His son recalls saying to his father, "If we don't address this problem now, over the next 10 years we're going to lose all the gains of civil rights, because we'll lose a generation." The debate went back and forth. Finally, son convinced father of the urgency. Max Roach gave his son access to his extensive mailing list and signed Musicaids' first letter soliciting donations. Family friends, including Maya Angelou, sent money. Money raised by Musicaids for research will go to the UCLA AIDS Institute. Unlike government grant money, it won't be bogged down by seemingly endless restrictions. Researchers will be able to use it to pursue their best ideas, said Edwin Bayrd, the institute's executive director. A vaccine to prevent HIV infection is still at least a decade away, Bayrd said, particularly because the virus constantly mutates, creating numerous different strains. But the institute hopes to soon begin testing another kind of medicine that would slow the pace of infection in people who already have HIV, Anton said. Researchers are also testing microbicides — gels or foams that could be applied to skin and that could block transmission of the virus before it reached the bloodstream, Bayrd said. Safe, effective and inexpensive microbicides could be particularly important in preventing HIV's spread among women, since it would give them the means to protect themselves, he said. Max Roach is 81 now. He suffers from hydrocephalus, which affects his short-term memory and his balance. He lives in New York and won't be at Monday's concert. But Daryl Roach said he hoped the event would be one of many that would honor his father's legacy. He wants to plan more concerts, featuring gospel, rhythm and blues, rap and jazz. He's hoping to sell concert CDs. He has lots of ideas. "My father's life was always about deeds," he said. "The name of one of his albums was 'Deeds, Not Words.' And, really, that's what this is all about."

I thought they were great. To be honest I'm not that familiar with their work. They mixed old and new: went back to something Stipes claimed he wrote when he was 19. It was a great sound mix: I could actually hear the words. Stipes is a much more dynamic performer than I thought he would be.

Hye great! Do you work for the New Israael Fund? I think I give them money.

I just got back from an REM concert at the Santa Barbara Bowl. The music played before the concert (which I think is usually selected by the performers) was a nice eclectic mix including Tom Waits and Ornette Coleman! Shit, I remember when you could get people to leave the room by playing an Ornette record.

I have a small collection of photos: a couple of Doisneaus, 2 George Tices, a Willy Ronis, a Paul Caponigro and Herman Leonard's famous photo of Dexter Gordon. Also a few noirish paperbacks: Chandler & Hammett. Trouble is paperbacks eventually fall apart even if you don't read them. Makes much more sense to collect comics. Of course my mother threw all mine out.

Hey I was there! My wife, who's a journalist, got me in. Her hearing's still affected 25 years later. The cd captures it pretty well but it leaves out a guest appearance by Nick Lowe who sang "I Love the Sound of Breaking Glass".

I was browsing through the Amazon DVD site and discovered that they're selling some box sets insanely cheaply. First seasons of Simpsons and 24 for $14.99 each!

Jim: those are great!