fasstrack

I've been meaning to write a tune and title it Charlie Christian got me in a World of Trouble. Because after hearing that Minton's stuff I lost now only all interest in rock and roll, but also in being a nice Jewish boy-you know, the kind that gets a REAL job (; The clincher for me was a low E, the open 'fat' E string-in the middle of his solo on Stompin' at the Savoy changes. Cut through me like a fucking knife. 'High Anxiety-it's YOU that I blame'... I forget what's on Genius of...but I don't think it covered the entirety of the Goodman stuff that I had as a teen on Solo Flight-the Genius of Charlie Christian (Columbia 2'fer). Or maybe it did. Anyway, no one's mentioned the side w/Pres-I had it as Charlie Christian and Lester Young. Two geniuses in a pod-Christian 'hot' and exciting, Pres just as hot on a lower burner. I still get tingles from an ascending run Pres played against stop-time on a blues. Heaven and no less.

Marcello:And everyone, just indulge me one minute, I won't beat the drum to death, and already said what I needed to. But to say Youtube isn't 'selling anything' is a rather short-sighted assessment. Youtube promotes an environment that winks at, PROMOTES piracy. And ASCAP should have their asses sued for the mealy-mouthed deal they cut w/them where a song licenced by them needs 240,000 hits before its creators collect a dime. A bootleg only robs the artist once. Besides composers does youtube pay the estates of ANY of the artists we click on and enjoy? Do we have a RIGHT to take, take, take? With all due respect to you and all the good people here, what part of intellectual property theft are you not understanding? Respectfully, WAKE UP gentlemen. We're clicking our way down an evil road. Would anyone here be willing to pay a fee that would go to youtube artist royalties? We have to change direction and bootlegs (which I also am against FWIW) is chump change next to this.

OK, Jumbo... (; You pose a more complex question, though: what about the proliferation of youtube videos put up unauthorized by sneaky cell phone recorders. Performer nor especially (often deceased) composer whose work is so cavalierly posted are paid a penny. Theft, pure and simple-and way worse than a bootleg b/c they are viewable world wide w/a click. How about a rule concerning THAT? Moral folk IMO don't steal-or allow posting of the booty. My-strongly felt-opinion.

And...the Gee, ya Think? And BTW How DID You Ever Find Your Underwear This Morning Aaward goes to: the guy who uttered the immortal line 'I think it's because he's a male'. 'I'LL DO THE THINNIN' AROUND HERE, BABALOUIE!!'

Word...

I was in South Fla. W/tine to kill, so I grabbed a stack of DVDs from the library (FYI the W Palm Beach Pub. Lib. on Clamatis St. is one of this country's best IMO). One was the Errand Boy which came as a 2-fer w/Lewis's better-known Nutty Professor. It was a scream-about a kid a Hollywood studio exec makes a gofer/spy b/c they're losing money and a mole could find out why/who. So who does he pick? Naturally- into the toilet, the Lewis character muffs everything, annoys everyone. But, w/o giving it away, he wins after all. Funniest scene: he asks some boys if they want to learn basketball. Naturally they turn out to be pros and kick his ass around the court! The thing that I finally got: Jerry Lewis is not just the king of physical comedy, he's the ultimate self-deprecator too, a bumbling monkey (HIS word, BTW) who ruins all, doesn't get the girl (at first...), etc. But he MEANS well-and the difference between he and Woody Allen, besides his films not being cerebral and talky is that sweetness-and his world view is sunnier. And he gets that girl in the end. What better pet than a monkey?

Well, this sure laid an egg. Didn't think it would. Maybe someone will pick it up. Oh, well. Movin' on...

FWIW put me down for fear of failure-including that of living up to an image. Got to believe most people ain't rotten-just scared.

Sell it? (Sshh..)

I don't know the answer. It's a frickin' miracle I got through the question! (;

Pursuant to themes broached on the Angela's Ashes thread (to wit: McCourt MAYBE trying to pull one marketing bio fiction as bio-and ending the (great) book w/IMO a one-word promo for next one, 'T'is; Art Pepper IMO being a world-class self-deluder in Straight Life); (controversy alert-diinngg!) musicians dressing down their peers or even betters in print... And of course as human behavior goes these are misdemeanors-it gets worse. But, holding at the high horse idea and why people at times arrogantly mount them to do said deeds-why? For fame? Power? Sex? Money? Are some people out-and-out rotten SOBs? Fear of failure, the shunning of the herd, death? Help me out, peeps. As a 10-year-old student said when I went a little too advanced: 'I'M CONFUSED!!' (;

Pete's request. He's the OP, and it was a great idea.

Coda: Finished Angela's the other day. The entirety of the last chapter: 'T'is'. Connect-the-dots, anyone? MF should've gone into marketing. If he had no one would give a 'fiddler's fart' for a certain Steve Jobs...

Bump. C'mon, y'all. This thread deserves better than premature burial at Potter's. Someone besides Pete and myself had to have had an inspiring teacher or two. Give it up, lads and (lasses)!

I wouldn't get so hot and bothered. Look at, say, our own NYT of that period wherever it is archived and you'd be shocked at how provincial the opinions and tone were generally. Plenty of innuendo-if not outright dispicable treatment of black folks in the pages of major dailies. I think most of know how high hat the legendary prick Walter Winchell treated Nica Rothschild in his column (in whatever rag ran it-likely it was syndicated) for having the low taste to have Charlie Parker die in her crib. He strongly inferred they were lovers-and knew just the trouble he was making and who he was trying to rile. And that was 1955! Europe didn't have nearly as many blacks as us-and viewed them either as 'exotic' or way beneath them. It was the times. I wish this were more about Redman's music.

The thing that always stuck in my head about Van Cliburn, for some reason, is that apparently he lived w/his mother until she died. And an LP my dad had, 'Plays Chopin'-which I was sure was pronounced 'Chop-in (soft i). I don't know his playing. The only 'name' classical pianist I listened to very long was Rubinstein-my shortcoming. But I was paying more attention to the composer back then. I certainly wish him well.

...kind of fucked-up youth and looked up to him, the question always boiled down to 'what's the answer?' He responded in identical fashion every time: 'You have to give of yourself'. John was a composition/theory major at Manhattan School under the tough-as-nails Ludlima Uehlala, who hated jazz but loved him. His students included Mark Marino, a great guitarist he took on at 17 and brought way out, and Teddy Randazzo, a brilliant songwriter who wrote for everyone from Little Anthony to Sinatra. John-whose professional name was Johnny Solo-was 56 when he died from a grand mal seizure after quitting Dilantin. He taught me to be a man.

I'd be writing for years thanking all the great teachers I've had. I'm damn lucky. But the warmest spot in my heart goes to a man named John Edward Foca. He died in 1994, and when I suggested a tribute to his widow ten years later the place was jam-packed w/people whose lives he touched. John was an accordian virtuouso as a kid, but epilepsy and modesty-and a true gift for bringing out the best in others made him change course. He played osgan in a silly club date band weekends and taught all week out of his Mill Basin home. 2 hour lessons covered lots of bases. I became the kind of musician that knows lots of tunes b/c he was. I was 21 when Ralph Rea brought me over, and a wild-ass bundle of nervous energy. He saw past that to the good. I never actually studied w/him regularly for a good while. Instead Ralph, me, Big Gary B., and other 'delinquents' would rap on his door at midnight and he'd let us in after a hard day's work for food, vino, listening sessions, soul-searching, ball-breaking. Since we were

I just signed a lease for a space I envision calling Il Duce Fine Haberdashers and Punctual Transit. I got extra space so I think I'll subdivide and have David Koresh School of Theology. I'll give him a long lease, I heard he'd be unavailable for some time-something about a hot fire. And if he gives me any trouble screw him-I'll go with the Jim Jones Memorial Punch Stand. And the Cathie Black Compassionate Institute for Wayward Unwed Mothers is doing just gangbusters-thanks so much for asking!

I thought Art Pepper many miles past full of shit-but I admit to reading Straight Life many times. It is amazing, though, how skilled some people are in self-delusion and justification. BTW, I don't view that I failed as a teacher. I've taught w/much success through the years. I just liked myself and the idea of actually TEACHING music to put myself through the bullshit NYC public schools was already putting on me that early in my career. I can't blame kids for acting like kids. The administrators, I felt were fucking cowards who whored their way out of the classroom the minute they saw how tough the gig was, and started a lifetime of taking care of number one. I couldn't stand them. To me they were the real failures, not innocent kids or talented, idealistic teachers like myself and others. Not much liking the smell of a cesspool I bailed.

Yeah, but it didn't work-mostly black folks there now. Just like Canarsie since the mid-90s. White flight... The only white guy I knew w/the balls and brains not to run was my old HS music teacher, Phil Barr. Now Orthodox Jews are buying lots of homes in Canarsie. Since the current population is largely Carribbean perhaps stay tuned for Crown Heights Redux-sans brownstones. Let's hope people don't wig out on each other and get along this trip.

I'm sure everybody tells him they're from Canarsie...

I read that wiki article on Warren C. Jeez. To quote the bard Lenny Bruce: 'Boy, you done yourself famous'. He not only was IN Duran Duran, he was its creative force (though again my caveat on wikipedia stands). I'm no rocker but L'm proud of my Canarsie boy. One day I'll tell the story of his mom turning into a 40-year-old Zappa groupie-and Mr. C. finally cracking and going off on her. A frickin' classic! I should get in touch w/Warren, bust his balls a little. Or he could produce my first recording of odd time sig. pieces. Fass Further Out.

Nobody else.

1: Kenny Hing=MF. Big-time. is he still in the ghost band? He'd be getting on. Best Basie tenor since Frank Foster. 2: Screw Benny and 'the ray'. George played his ASS off! I also found a Downbeat Awards PBS show from '75. (Someone please post. I won't be near a PC for a bit). The clip was Chick Corea leading Spain. I have good news and bad news: The good news is that George smokes everybody. The bad news is that... George smokes everybody.