fasstrack

I wonder if any other full-time players are struggling w/this. I am, but it's getting better at least (; Everyone loves Brasilian music-I realize this covers a LOT of ground, so I'll limit comments to bossa/samba from the '50s on. It's not a native culture (meaning the pulse) is the primary thing, and can be daunting. On the other hand one reason Wes Montgomery excelled at 8ves and block chords is b/c no one said he couldn't (; Everything should be approached confidently or why bother? Yet I've seen jazzers I otherwise respect not get it-including some great drummers. I don't want to be like that, but also realize that to really get to the Yoruba/African roots of the thing is a very serious study. So I know going in if I play, Corcovado,-as I do as a solo guitarist- you ain't getting Jaio Gilberto, and let's not even get into Toninho Horta-off the hook. People think it sounds good, but I disagree in that they're hearing a melodic interpretation and sound that's more tried and true w/ASB and jazz. I feel though that the minute I deviate from that steady pulse and play single string melodic solos the bottom drops out (this is a problem in solo playing anyway-it's harder for people to hear things that don't clearly indicate the harmony and time, so best keep it simple and swinging unless purposely ritarding. So I decided the most humble, least neurotic solution, for me at least, is to be myself and play the way I do, take the elements I can use convincingly and ask Brasilian musicians I know, like a great drummer originally from Rio, Vanderlei Perreira, 'Hey, how is THIS supposed to go? ' Can anyone relate?

Sorry I don't remember names and dates. My memory, like the rest of me, is half shot. But I heard it.

Sounded identical to what Mariano did on Tom y Elis.

Must have been the weed, then. On a recording? Yes. I believe it was one of the later duets w/Jobim. I think all of that stuff is avail. in one set now. I heard Jonathan Schwartz hawking it as a premium on a WNYC fundraiser.

They're playing the entire CD set now. It sounds from the string and flute voicings like the arrangements are by Cesar Mariano, former husband of Elis Regina, who arranged Tom and Elis. Or is it Elis and Tom? I'm half shot.

OK. (Cracks knuckles). I just looked at the itunes playlist at Fat Cat, where I heard that the other day. Jim is right. The tunes are not back to back on the CD, but were played as such for some reason. Sinatra recorded them together, I'm pretty sure. Anyway, the seed's planted in my feeble brain, they sound right together in performance-similar themes (topical, not melodic). So that's what I'll do w/it anyway, right or wrong.

Great news on the bio. And unless I had some REALLY dynamite weed in the '70s I think those songs ARE together, on that very Terra Brasilis record I speak of. I know Sinatra did it that way. If I'm wrong I'll eat YOUR hat. Unless there's mercury in the felt. Um, you don't particularly hang with the Mad Hatter, do you? (;

Actually I got part of the answer. I got into the 1st wikipedia page and there was a picture of Jobim recording Antonia Brasiliero in 1994, the year of his death. I remember the 1st time hearing Passarim, some students at the Royal Conservatory in the Hague were learning it and they played the recording-which hit me hard and deep. It's like his crowning achievement, a beautiful arc of a melody, and the lyric sums up his love of nature and revulsion towards what Man has done to it. There seems to be an undercurrent of mysticism. Maybe I'm reading that in incorrectly since he was supposed to be enamored of the occult. Anyway, a masterpiece. Does anyone know if the biography written by Jobim's sister was translated into English?

Thanks for the info. Dreamer and Someone...(not going to trip over the Portugese) are usually paired together. That's whdt Jobim did on the recording. Maybe Sinatra did it like that and Jobim thought it would appeal to his American fans to do the same. Anyway I view them as a suite, and usually play Dreamer rubato followed by Someone in bossa tempo-both in Eb. Works for me. Does anyone know if he recorded after Passarim, and what? Post it here please. Can't follow links on the cell phone unfortunately.

The 1st 2 would be: 1. Chris Anderson, The Inverted Image. Early and great Chris, and everyone here knows how I feel about his work. 2. John Collins, The Magnificent (or some other superlative). I had it on LP, now gone w/the wind. I'm sure it's a collector's item. Amazingly, it was his 1st and only leader date. John, Sweets, Alvin Queen, I forget the bassist's name-lived in D.C., they called him the Senator. It's sad how few people, esp. young hot shot guitarist know the name of this great player and class act.

This hits me in the heart every time. I think it's a compilation. I heard his composer's version of Dreamer/Someone to Light up my Life and ran to the guitar to start playing it. I love his his salty voice, and it's against the law to be Brasilian and not play beautiful guitar. Good thing he was singing in English. Had it been Portugese I'd still be standing there blubbering like a 6-year-old (; Does anyone on the board know if the Maestro recorded again in studio after 1987's Passarim (another masterpiece, in Portugese and English), or was that his swan song? He left us in 1994.

I was a classic Wynton hater, like a lot of jazzers my age. We resented him, and a lot of it was jealousy. Then a few things happened: I was in a movie theater and they played Hot House Flowers-w/o me knowing who it was, so no prejudice. I really dug the playing and the string writing. I didn't buy it. Then I met him twice at JALC rehearsals, and he couldn't have been nicer. He wrote a great chart for an Ornette Coleman show for one, and played a really nice flugel solo on the other. The way he ran the rehearsal professional-no ego. Is he my favorite trumpet player? No, he is not. But I have a lot of respect for Wynton. Branford's playing I always liked. He had a nice feel and great time, and a beautiful sound on soprano. I actually bought the CD Eternal (also Renaissance) and heard his group in Newark-and enjoyed all. I guess I lean a bit toward Branford.

Absolutely! I've been reading the Forbes magazine with brief bios on the 400 richest Americans. (This year's list is focused on philanthropic works - no surprise there.) ...just by virtue of their luck in parents, it's amazing. This isn't a slam on the rich, per se. But the whole silver spoon thing... I don't recall ever being jealous of rich people. I'd like an easier life, but I chose to be a musician-no one forced me. I'm deliriously happy doing what I do, and so poor I'm not even 'po'-can't even afford the first 'o'. But I'm saving (;. If I need more money I can get a job. I couldn't prove it, but based on what I've observed, say, at gigs playing for the rich when they come round the stand they seem jealous of the musicians-or at least amazed at what we do and how much fun it is. But 'one never knows, do one?'

Guys: You GOTTA read this! I don't know whether it's the Colonials or the authors documenting them who are such a laugh riot. All I know is every page has me in stitches, even as I learn. I wonder now if Bogosian's play really WAS based on the book. If so, what a gimme! He wouldn't have had to write a word...

Pt. 2: ...mode. To musicians listening (and responding) is everything. It's nice when that sensitivity extended to maybe thinking about the off-stand listener and maybe playing something that has to do w/their life. I DON'T mean dumbing down or playing down-actually the opposite. I think the artist that believes in and trusts human potential will not be afraid of not being 'gotten' and is capable of communicating w/o sacrificing an iota of creativity. And bless the mudpie makers too. There are some beautiful mudpies out there!

A few serious comments re innovation/originality/self-expression in the arts and their consequences: I think we may agree they are different things, though certainly there is overlap. To me the hallmark of innovation is utility, something that people can put in their lives or creative palettes b/c it makes sense, makes things easier, or just plain is better than what preceeded. Bell w/the phone, etc. Originality is touchy and subject to debate. One can say a child made an original mudpie, to use a simplistic example. It's original but doesn't have meaning maybe beyond that kid. And his mudpie, like our adult mudpies should be appreciated and encouraged, if only b/c it's a thrill to feel you've made something all your own. I'm not sure if art is supposed to teach, but IMO it should touch. I think artists that are secure in their voices are perhaps not afraid of universal principles like human emotion. My favorite creative people are those who've gotten over 'cleverness' and aren't stuck in self-expression mod

Shminovation! I like that. I like Bran and his group. And he's a good guy-not that I know him well. He has a good feel, sond, and control on all his horns. I esp. like him on soprano, Jimmy Heath being my other favorite. He also has a romantic sensibility I like. I saw them at JPAC in Newark in '04, when Eternal? (it had The Ruby and the Pearl on it) came out. My NY buddy Ned Goold sat in, and Joshua Redman, already on the bill, too. Lotta saxophones up there..Redman played his ass off. There was a bootleg of that 4tet swinging Royal Garden Blues into bad health, Bran on soprano. I wrote and told him 'put that shizzle out. Get the money!' I guess there are too many bootlegs to even keep up with.

Laz, I can't get the link w/my primitave cell phone, invented by Alexander Graham Cracker himself. And there's rule 1286.43, banning direct posting of copywritten material lest the transgressor be put in stocks or made to listen to recordings of Keith Jarrett berating an audience member he caught moving during an innovative performance. I would like to read it, though. Could you email it to me? OK, time to put the cell phone to bed next to my toga, sandals, abacus, and sundial. Socrates is speaking tonight and I don't want to miss it. Word has it that he's to try out a new potion left by admirers by the lectern. I think it's called hem-something or other (;

He was as good a singer as there was. Rich, creamy tone. RIP.

it's hard to think of a craft where a college degree in jazz performance probably won't get you to 1st base as a performer, requiring a lifetime of dedication, for peanuts, if that, and a public that doesn't know(or care) a donkey's ass from a virtuoso. Cue JSngry with appealing photo of a donkey's ass And I'm the 48th%. 'We're #2---we try harder'. Then there's the Mad Magazine version: 'We're #3. We don't try at all'....

C'mon everybody. 6,7,8, WE ARE THE WORLD...WE ARE THE PEOPLE (singing interrupted by sounds of gunfire).

Freelancer: Dunno, man, that's an awful lot to think about-esp. when piaying. I don't want to think anymore, just work on the basics and just trust. If I do that correctly-honestly-the listener will probably figure out what I stand for b\c if they didn't run away in horror and stayed to listen they probably stand for a lot of the same things.

You owe me no apology whatsover. You are one of the few that did the right thing. In an environment where people seem to feel entitled to simply take music for free that so many of us sacrifice so much to make, for you to pony up even $5/month makes you a hero in my book. We're in this together and ought to view this as mutual support.

Frim Fram Sauce! That's what she wants. Me too..