mjzee

Well, that's my point...does Allen identify himself as Jewish, or does he see it more as an accident of birth and fodder for comedic material?

You might not recognize Raymond Scott’s name, but chances are that you’ve heard his music — and that it makes you anxious. That’s because Scott’s “Powerhouse” (1937), easily his best known work, has been used to accompany scenes of mechanized peril in everything from the classic 1940s Warner Bros. cartoons to “The Ren & Stimpy Show” and a Visa check card commercial. As Warner Bros. animator, director and historian Greg Ford notes in “Deconstructing Dad: The Music, Machines and Mystery of Raymond Scott,” a new documentary film by the composer’s son, Stan Warnow, the disquieting “Powerhouse” became the go-to choice for scoring animated scenes of panic on the assembly line. Raymond Scott (1908-1994) never wrote with animated films in mind (Warner Bros. simply licensed Scott’s back catalogue in 1941), but it’s fitting that he should be forever linked to the image of a swiftly moving conveyor belt — a contraption that makes its operators struggle to keep pace. A technophile and jazz musician who was out of step with his time, Scott made a living writing for popular film and television of the 1930s, ’40s and ’50s, but spent his free time experimenting at the frontier of electronic music. As he refined his inventions — early synthesizers and sequencers — Scott envisioned a future in which machines could make music all on their own. Read more: http://blogs.forward.com/the-arty-semite/159115/music-man-of-the-future/

He's all of those (not sure how politically engaged he really is, though), but the Jewish underpinning of his "vision" is essential and undeniable. I don't know; I, for one, would deny it. Sure, he grew up in that milieu, but what in "Paris" or "Match Point" is particularly Jewish? Yes, Match Point is about guilt, but so was a lot of Bergman's work.

I think reducing Woody Allen to "a generic Jewish comedian" misses the point. Besides being a genius, he's an individual with many different influences, both philosophical and cultural, in his work. For example, when the Forward article (the Ha'aretz article is originally from the Forward) describes him as "a dismal icon of despair," that's more a reflection of his philosophical influences, from Kant and Schopenhauer to Bergman to the birth of the atomic bomb; there's nothing particularly Jewish there. Most obviously to this point, the article, which was written in 2009, has as its starting point the movie Allen had just released, the misanthropic "Whatever Works." Allen's biggest movie to date, "Midnight in Paris," which was released last year, is sunny and upbeat, and would seem to contradict most of the points of the article. Also, since Allen doesn't particularly identify himself as Jewish (associate with Jewish causes, live in Jewish neighborhoods, or in any major way culturally identify himself as Jewish), it's hard to see why one should predominantly label him as Jewish instead of, say, a New Yorker, an intellectual, or a leftist. Finally, one needs to point out that the article is reacting to Allen's public persona, which is what sells. We cannot know what he is like in his private life. As for the rest of the article: there are harsh comedians, and there are many other types of comedians. I myself don't like the cringe-worthy types of comedians (not just Larry David and Baron-Cohen, but also Ben Stiller, Steve Carell, Will Farrell, etc.), but I'll leave it to others to figure out who is all Jewish, half-Jewish, or not Jewish among them. If these comedians are popular, it's because this style of comedy is currently popular. But to take just one example, I thought "American Reunion" (the latest sequel to "American Pie") was a wonderfully funny and sweet movie, and the creators seem to be Jewish (I never asked them). How would the Forward writer shoehorn this movie into his thesis?

Broadway and jazz factions tend to dismiss each other, but in "The Jazz Standards" Ted Gioia at least tries to bring the two together, showing no bias as to whether a song was written by John Coltrane or Richard Rodgers. For every song by a jazz composer (Thelonious Monk, Benny Golson, Sonny Rollins) there is one by a Broadway or Hollywood songwriter (Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, Harold Arlen). Duke Ellington is a rare of example of a composer who wrote for both the pop and jazz markets. In terms of the greatest number of contributions to the canon listed here, I imagine Ellington and Rodgers are neck and neck. (One thing the book could use is a composer index.) In the past few decades, a bewildering amount of information about the classic works by all these songwriters and many more obscure ones has become available, especially online. But Mr. Gioia's is the first general-interest, wide-ranging and authoritative guide to the basic contemporary jazz canon. An ideal companion to the author's "History of Jazz" (1997)—one of the best overall books on that subject—this volume contains entries on more than 250 tunes that today's jazz musicians are likely to play, from Burt Bacharach's "Alfie" to Charlie Parker's "Yardbird Suite." Any young musician or singer would do well to learn every one. Full review here: WSJ

archive.org

FYI, I see the next batch of Zappa releases has been added to Amazon, with a release date of August 28. Strangely, the label listed is "Xenon", but the descriptions have the "official release" #. This batch seems to go through One Size Fits All.

Thanks, Marcel. I've found a copy of the first concert that sounds closer to the original source material (the archive.org file sounds no-noised). I haven't bought it yet, but I might: Old Time Radio Catalog As for the second concert (1945), this might be the best version, but it would be nice to know how complete it is: eMusic

Y'know, songs take on a life of their own. The Leiber/Stoller back story is interesting, but I gotta tell you, as a kid growing up in America after his parents escaped from the horror of Germany and the Holocaust, this song was thrilling and dead-on. "Only in America...land of opportunity" correctly described the gratitude we felt (and I still feel) towards this country.

This is great but when I click on the VBR they stream but don't download. Am I (as usual) doing something wrong? Look at the left side of the screen, under the section "Listen to audio." The section underneath that (under "Stream") is "Play / Download." Click on "VBR ZIP," then sit back - it's about 2.3 gb to download.

Don't know if this has been mentioned before. While scouting around archive.org, I found 93 programs of the AFRS Jubilee. They're at 128 kbps, are all free, and can be downloaded in one shot (see VBR ZIP on the left side). archive.org

I know I wasn't on the email list for many years, even when I should have been.

IIRC, print-through is when music has been stored on the reel of the reel-to-reel tape for a long time; under certain conditions, the magnetic layers of tape "print-through" to the next layer - the magnetic filaments can move some of the filaments on the adjacent layer to have the same pattern, creating the same sounds. Because only some of the filaments move, this creates a ghostly affect that you can hear underneath the original sound that's on the tape.

I've seen these releases in various lo-fi semi-bootleg releases over the years. Does anyone know the circumstances of the original concerts and how they were recorded? Are there any "official" releases? Do any versions sound better than others? Which releases are the most complete? I heard the Laserlight version once, and audio was pretty bad. Any info would be appreciated. Here are some examples:

I love Stevie Wonder's version of Blowin' In The Wind. It was a minor hit for him.

And I can't believe that Mosaic would dislike any additional sales this might provoke. None of these titles are new or last chance, and, though I had been thinking of it for awhile, it's unlikely I would have pulled the trigger on the Hampton box without this impetus. It just makes life a little more interesting during these dog days of July.

Here are the relevant paragraphs: BRUSSELS—Universal Music Group is preparing to offer major concessions to European antitrust regulators by Thursday night, about two days later than initially planned, as it seeks approval for its proposed $1.9 billion acquisition of EMI Music. The delay came as the music giant appeared to stumble in its efforts to win support for its deal from smaller, independent rivals. Universal will likely need to offer significant divestitures to overcome the Commission's objections, which were particularly strenuous, according to people who have reviewed them. The commission's "statement of objections" was delivered to Universal and its parent, Vivendi SA, in mid June.... To allay the regulators' concerns and get its European market share to below 40%, Universal is looking to sell off several of EMI's music labels and recording catalogs, according to people familiar with the situation.... The proposed divestitures are expected to include the European operations of Virgin Records, along with at least some of EMI's catalogs of jazz and classical recordings, according to these people.

Latest news...Universal may be required to sell Blue Note to seal the deal! WSJ

Anyone on this board is an honorary member of the Mosaic community, IMHO.

Just got an email from Mosaic: Now through the end of July we are offering members of the Mosaic Records community a discount off selected product offerings. These include twelve Mosaic Box Sets (10% discount), eight Mosaic Selects (10% discount), and fifteen Mosaic Singles (15% discount), These sale prices are NOT posted on the website. This offer is only valid by entering the code sent to all Mosaic subscribers. When you add an item to the shopping cart, just type MOSAIC4ME at the top of the shopping cart page. The discount will be automatically applied to you order. This is ONLY for the Mosaic Box Sets, Mosaic Selects and Mosaic Singles listed below. Mosaic sets: Bird Benedetti Joe Pass Sarah Vaughan Roulette Jazz Crusaders Oliver Nelson Duke Small Group Quincy Jones Lionel Hampton Benny Goodman Oscar Peterson Anthony Braxton Bing Crosby Mosaic Selects: Sidney Bechet Tony Williams Cohn, Newman & Green Boogie Woogie & Blues Piano Pendulum Denny Zeitlin John Handy Carter/Bradford Mosaic Singles: Ellington Cosmic Scene Bud Freeman Blakey Hard Bop Charles Lloyd Slide Hampton Lee Wiley Art Farmer The Jazz Piano Ellington Newport 58 JJ & Kai Ruby Braff George Wein Helen Merrill Dick Katz Helen Merrill Casa Forte I'm gonna go for the Hamp box and the Art Farmer single.

Bob Dylan - "Tempest" - release date Sept 11. Press Release WSJ

Cooder did a Joseph Spence song ("Great Dream From Heaven") on his second album "Into The Purple Valley."

The cover photo's from the wrong era; it should have been more like:

Another intriguing new release. I don't know of Emil Viklicky, but he was mentioned in a prior thread about Eastern Europe Jazz Musicians.

This one looks interesting. I've never heard of Grimal. Release date August 14.