This quote from guitarist Jeff Parker in the Jan. ’06 Cadence Magazine struck a nerve in my trombone player mind. Different instruments…similar dilemma.
In some ways, that’s the plight of the modern musician – tone or technical facility.
Author: Jeff Albert
Another Dave Douglas quote
I keep quoting these Dave Douglas postings. It just seems that every one of them hits me on some level.
An active participant in a democracy takes responsibility for the choices of the entire body. That’s an idea that probably makes a lot of composers and dictators uncomfortable. Maybe that’s why it doesn’t happen very often.
3 Now (4)5 @ dba 1/02/06
There is a real joy and beauty in hearing wonderful improvisers, that know and appreciate each other, interact in an almost instinctive way. That is what I was treated to last night at dba in New Orleans, by 3 Now 5. The group is usually called 3 Now 4, but the added bonus of Scott Bourgeois’ presence made the band 3 Now 5 last night.
James Singleton (bass), Dave Easley (pedal steel guitar), Johnny Vidacovich (drums), Tim Green (tenor sax), and Scott Bourgeois (alto sax) ventured through the standard 3 Now 4 fare of Singleton compositions and improvised connective material. The music flowed continually, with new songs entering and exiting, some more subtlely than others. The band would shift and turn in perfect harmony. The communication seemed easy and natural between the musicians. Scott and Tim had a wonderfully complimentary flow happening between them, and Easley provided the masterful bed of colors and textures that is his trademark. Johnny V provided the propulsion and fire that we have come to expect from him, and James drove with his bass from his place in the middle of the stage. James has continued to develop his use of effects and loops to great musical success. Last night his electronics always seemed to serve the music in an organic way.
It is still a surreal experience to drive through the streets of New Orleans, but it was emotionally and spiritually fulfilling to hear 3 Now 5 last night.
New look and ads
I’m sure you’ve noticed a new look and some ads on the site now. I’m not going to go totally ad crazy, but I have put up some links to services that I use, and that you might find helpful. If you see something that interests you on the left hand side, give it a click. It will help support Scratch My Brain, and you’ll get good service from our affiliate sites.
In praise of … Shostakovich
Besides being the 250th anniversary of the birth of Mozart, 2006 is also the 100th anniversary of the birth of Dmitri Shostakovich.
Guardian Unlimited | Arts news | In praise of … Shostakovich
I recall being deeply moved hearing the New Orleans Symphony and later the Louisiana Philharmonic perform his music under the baton of his son Maxim.
Celebrate the centenary and listen to your favorite Shostakovich, or better yet, explore some of his music that you are not yet familiar with.
Boing Boing: Amazon’s author-blogs and the Age of the Conversational Artist
Boing Boing’s Cory Doctorow has some interesting insights into the artist/reader(listener) relationship.
Boing Boing: Amazon’s author-blogs and the Age of the Conversational Artist
Today there’s the explosion of choice brought on by the Internet. All entertainments are approximately one click away. The search-cost of finding another artist whose music or books or movies are as interesting as yours is dropping through the floor, thanks to recommendation systems, search engines, and innumerable fan-recommendation sites like blogs and MySpaces. Your virtuosity is matched by someone else’s, somewhere, and if you’re to compete successfully with her, you need something more than charisma and virtuosity.
You need conversation.
and
Conversation with an audience recruits fans to choose, through evangelism and advocacy, which art will succeed and which art will fail. It changes the system where the sole arbiters of such decisions work at publishing or entertainment concerns.
Coldplay’s new CD has rules: No MP3s, no DVD players, no car stereos
When I first read this, I thought it was April 1, instead of January 1.
Boing Boing: Coldplay’s new CD has rules: No MP3s, no DVD players, no car stereos
My interview with Jeb Bishop in Jan. ’06 Cadence
Pick up a copy of the January 2006 Cadence Magazine. The issue contains an interview I did with musician/trombonist/cool-insightful-cat Jeb Bishop. You should pick up a copy anyway, because it is a neat magazine. Interesting interviews, and lots of reviews.
eMusic.com and ways of checking out new stuff
As I write this, I am listening to a great album by Ben Allison & Medicine Wheel called Riding the Nuclear Tiger. The path that led me to hearing this music covers both old and new ways of discovering new music. I subscribe to three “jazz” magazines: Cadence, Down Beat, and Jazz Times. Probably several times a year I will buy music as a direct result of a review I read in one of those magazines. Maybe not even as a result of what was written in the review, as much as the fact that the review was how I became aware of the album’s existence. More often, what I read in those magazines will put a musician or group farther forward in my consciousness, so I will be more likely to buy their stuff at some point. I guess magazines and radio are the old ways of finding new music, although I don’t hear too much that is “new” on the radio these days.
Moving towards new ways of finding music, Jazz Times offers free mp3 downloads on their website. A few months ago, I downloaded a tune by Ben Allison and Medicine Wheel. I really liked it. When I opened my copy of the January Down Beat, a little card fell out. It was an eMusic promotion card. 50 free downloads with trial membership. I thought it was a special Down Beat reader deal, but it turns out to be their regular trial membership deal.
I was a member of eMusic several years ago. When it changed from $9.99 a month for “all you can eat” to $9.99 a month for 40 download tracks, I dropped my membership. Well, when I went back to check out the Down Beat deal, it reminded me of the things that I dug about it. First off, it is straight up mp3s with no DRM. I like that. More importantly however, is the wide range of stuff that they have, that I want/need to check out. It is a great way to explore new stuff. I first heard the Vandermark 5 through my old eMusic days, and that music has been very influential on me. I burned through my 50 free downloads of my trial membership in the first night. I got lots of cool music though. Ornette (a couple I didn’t have); some John Zorn I have been looking for; an Andrew Hill that I never would have bought in a store, but totally dig; an old Vandermark 5 that I didn’t have; and this Ben Allison that is slammin’. Anyway, I am back in the eMusic fold, and looking forward to more exploration.
Buying an album has become a political act
London Free Press – Dan Brown – Web Exclusive – Buying an album has become a political act
To go to the trouble of actually walking into a record store and paying full price for an actual CD is now a transaction that carries with it all kinds of meaning. It signifies that a music lover is making a choice to support a particular group or musician. It’s a way of saying “I’m casting a vote in favour of the record labels and all of the traditional gatekeepers of the recording industry.”
Or, I would like to add, buying music directly from an artist’s website, either in platic disc or digital format, is casting a vote for that artist, AND for the future of the music industry, or at least one vision of the future of the music industry.