fasstrack

Actually things turned around for blues notables a scant 5 years later when Mike Bloomfield did the right thing and introduced B.B. King as the 'world's greatest blues guitarist' at the Fillmore West. The white kids went nuts and soon B.B., Albert King and others were outta the chitlin' circuit and making a better dollar in crossover venues. Anyway those 2 years-1968-1970, before it came crashing down w/the deaths of Hendrix and Joplin were an amazing period of cross-pollenization in 'pop', jazz aside but sometimes included and definitely revered. There was actual fusion going on before the term was used descriptively or commercially.

Is this a trick question? Ha. No. Um, I THINK...

On p. 69 Debussy says he wasn't sure he could do a good job composing music for a couple's wedding nuptials because 'I've been living in sin with music for too long...' Oh that Monsieur Claude. A regular cut-up in a monacle.

Whatever became of mini discs-speaking of doomed technologies? I bit when they first came out. The sound was flat as hell, but you could store a lot of music in a small space. If you set it on mono you got 2x the time-good for interviews or recording one's gigs. I recorded countless hours of music-then lost the whole collection. Then the machine itself broke-past warranty, of course-and c'est le fin. I thought they were pretty cool though.

Subtitle is An Anthology by Richard Lewis (no, not the comedian, silly. He's evidently quite prolific-and from what I can tell alive at around 79). I just found this and it seems a gem, and still available at amazon. Quotes musing on the joys, curative power, and other meanings of music from ancient to more modern poets, the Psalms, composers like Haydn, Beethoven, Mozart, Debussy (alright, so it's Eurocentric. What wasn't in 1963?). Nice to see a book of praise rather than criticism for a change-and by such sharp cookies! Beautifully illustrated, too, though the credits are unclear. My favorite quote so far: 'The study of the history of music and the hearing of masterworks of different epochs will speediest of all cure you of vanity and self-adoration.' Robert Schumann, Aphorisms Inspirational stuff.

Death to Smoochy was pretty awful, but it was too mean to really qualify as camp. Man, I was so embarassed for Robin Williams watching that.

They Saved Hitler's Brain-title says it all, also Plan 9 from Outer Space. Both seriously conceived sci-fi romps so bad they are classics. I think Roger Debris directed both...

Thanks. I'll be hanging at Willie's Steakhouse a lot more. An easy bus ride away.

I'm moving tommorow to a Latino area in the Bronx, off the Concourse near Bronx Lebanon Hosp. This could be the start of something...

That's funny, Valerie. It reminds me of a story they tell about when Sam Giancana met Jimmy Roselli. 'Jimmy Roselll! I heard you was a prick. The way you sing you got the right to be a prick'... And did I mention....DENNY CRANE!!!

Nice thread, guys. Does anyone know if there's any sort of permanent tribute exhibit in Belgium? I know he didn't stay too long, but I figure even after all this time they must consider him a national treasure.

Thanks. I think I'll check out Cepeda 1st. Always could relate to and get along w/trombone players.

That was a little hard to follow but I think I got it. Glad we sorted THAT out (;

The last couple of paragraphs, that's what I'm saying. The tech stuff won't give you talent, and it will cover up certain incompetencies to the untrained ear. OTOH if you HAVE the talent you can get the best out of any tool. The stuff Herbie did w/the Rhodes, esp. w/the Headhunters, his understanding of the instrument and the way he got in the cracks harmonically w/little outside punctuations on one chord while keeping the groove-that was brilliant to me. Zawinul didn't have the same effect on me. I loved his touch on piano and he also was a great Rhodes player w/Cannonball. By the time of Weather Report, which I liked, it looked like Mission Control w/all those keyboards. You couldn't even see him. It struck me as a bit of an ego trip, not nearly as musical as Herbie. Just my opinion.

Seeline: I didn't get Zenon when I heard him, including live. It seemed more complicated than it needed to be, sort of math puzzle-y. Don't remember the name of the recording. Branford's label. Can you recommend something by him a bit more melodic and in a more direct groove that an Afro-Cuban music ignoramus like myself might prefer for openers?

The thing about technology, Jim, in music specifically these past 40 years-and I know I'm a grouchy dinosaur-is this: A lot of individuality and nuance of sound and touch get lost in the keyboards and pedals. There's a sameness and I find I have to work harder to unearth who it is. Lots of keyboard and guitar players these days tend to run together, sort of morph together. It's esp. hard to keep an identity on keys b/c even the piano gives you very little compared to, say, a brass instrument. Nature of the beast. That's a bit of a drag for me since recognizing an individual sound and touch is one of the great pleasures, and I prefer it straight. I find, for example, I don't enjoy Jim Hall as much w/the pedals, etc. He has the right, of course. Probably he got bored. I just miss that masterful sound and touch. But, like I said, I'm a dinosaur and just caught up w/single coil P90 pickups. Tomorrow I have to look into this whole newfangled abacus thing..

Pt. 2 ...ready. But we didn't hang w/Puerto Rican kids too tough. They were at school, but lived in other parts of Brooklyn. So I missed an important part of my social and musical education. The first time I heard the Fania All-Stars was in the living room of a Jewish kid from the next block. His uncle was Bobby Rodriguez. I was in my 20s by then. Man, we loved that record! So, yeah, I got kind of a late start..

What I meant by the gadgets comment-and-please-I don't wand to get into a big side discussion: there's a pervasive self-absorption w/all these mobile devices that makes communicating w/people w/those damn buds in, even to ask directions on the street let alone get them out of their reverie or to slow down long enough to hear music on the street-what I do these days-let's say it's a challenge. And, yeah, there are some great things about the cyber age, but I worry that kids will grow up thinking music lives inside a computer only. That's why it's never been more important to go into schools and play live, and have parents take kids to concerts. Once exposed to the real thing they'll want more. And Seeline, one of my biggest regrets is that I didn't hang w/Latino kids like w/black kids back in the day. My JHS and HS were integrated (pretty new for the early 70s, even in NY) . Everyone was checking everyone out, amd music was the bond. Lots of listening and jamming (I got my 1st guitar at 10, so by HS I was rea)

Ah, I knew I was wasting my time. Just have to take such mean-spirited rancor from where-and who-it comes. I'm not going to waste anymore energy or bandwith on this. Let the courageous pummeling by people who have contributed so much to jazz continue.

I shouldn't, I KNOW I shouldn't..but WTF, I've always been a little nuts. So.. c'mon, man, a 'not-so-good player'? Maybe not your favorite (nor mine, but accomplishment is still to be respected). And re 'making jazz irrelevant', even in a market sense, whatever you think of JALC it EXISTS-and in one of the most expensive pieces of real estate in the world. I'd like to see any of US pull THAT off, raise untold funds, not to mention the political legerdermain (sp?) required. When we throw around canards like 'not forward looking' it may have some truth, but there's the donors and deep political waters navigated to have ANY kind of program there. I saw Lee Konitz taking it out, Ahmad Jamal on the same bill, Barry Harris-Hank Jones, and a pre-Time Warner great Wayne Shorter event, including a commission piece of originality-all at the evil JALC.

'DENNY CRANE!!!'

Have to plead ignorance here, my friend, having just cracked the book for the first time recently and getting sidetracked. Wouldn't know a semaphore from a euphonium anyway (; . The movie I even saw by accident, having missed Radio Unameable-about another Fass of note (; The movie did no harm in giving at least the outline of the plot, kind of like Cliff Notes w/nice scenery. The Brontes are next on my list-foumd Jane Eyre in the same pile. Right now I'm having great fun w/Drinking in America

I think you make a very good point about music being a big part of life there, and 'everyday people' playing music well. The sad truth is that they're way ahead of us there-like so many other cultures are. Art is pretty off the radar in US public schools, and w/machines and gadgets confusing young people as to what music is... All i can say is I myself have played publicly for many years, and these days often in that everyday way you allude to-and it's way harder to get through to people nowadays. They have their minds on everything BUT music. But we go on w/our work, and have to believe that things will cycle back. Back to the topic, I think I'm just going to try to get together w/musicians I meet and play. Gigs are the best, b/c people are in a good mood when they're working. There's a Brazilian jazz scene too, a great place to cross-pollenate. I met this pianist, Helio Alvez on a gig w/Tommy Campbell-by accident, since I went w/ other businesss. Tommy's group was a bitch, so was Helio. That's how to go

Anyone seen this? It just hit the 'art houses'. I thought the cinematography was amazing. Maybe see it for that, to drink the visuals of the English countryside and some good-looking actors/tresses. I found it subdued,even stilted in all other ways. Oh, and the conceit, the 'hook'? Heathcliff is now a black man. 'You gotta have a gimmick if you wanna be a star'-Miss Mazeppa, Gypsy

Me three! Would love to, but can't see how I'd get to Paris. Never been there actually. If anyone gets to NY there's a nice permanent exhibit at JALC. Not on that level but you can sit in a booth and watch and hear histories of many greats, including Django and Charlie Christian. It's a nice, free respite from the street and one's worries to get down with a little jazz. Forgot what they call it. You can't miss it though. Right off the elevator on the 6th floor.