Scratch My Brain – Page 76 – Jeff Albert's blog and podcast home

Grateful Dead widow burns down online show-library

I’ve never been a big Dead fan, but this article offers another look at the constantly evolving world of coyright and intellectual property.

Boing Boing: Greedy Grateful Dead widow burns down online show-library

Here is a band that was built upon a tape trader mentality. They and their fans were at the forefront of the type of thinking that has led to open source and creative common concepts. Now some survivors and family members apparently see too great a business opportunity to pass up.

Right now I have CC licensed tunes on my site. I just want people to hear my music, and hopefully talk about it. I wonder if I will feel the same way after the free jazz revolution has made it possible for me to get rich from my stuff.

Artists must always risk offending

This is an interesting essay dealing with modern adaptations of classsic theatre, and the unspoken root of that issue, which is balancing the artist’s responsibility to society with the artist’s responsibility to his art.

Guardian Unlimited | Arts front | Artists must always risk offending

Atomic/School Days hit the spot tonight

You never know where an evening’s listening will take you. I ended up on Atomic/School Days Nuclear Assembly Hall. Great music. Just thought I’d share…

Deborah Weisz – Grace (for Will)

Grace (for Will) by Deborah Weisz is a rewarding CD of mostly original music. “Touch” by Jim McNeely, and the standard “Body and Soul” are the only compositions on the recording that aren’t by Weisz or one of her bandmates. The stylistic range is from the fairly free to the swinging straight ahead. “Pablo’s Crib” by saxophonist Andrew Sterman is particularly catchy.

Weisz’s trombone playing is superb. Her sound is rich and full, and her time feel is fluid and swinging. Andrew Sterman’s saxophone stands out in a positive way, especially when the band reaches to those farther out spaces. The presence of Olivier Ker Ourio’s chromatic harmonica on 5 tracks adds and interesting sonic color and a fresh new voice.

I bought this disc somewhat out of curiosity, because I was not very familiar with Weisz’s music. It has stayed in my personal rotation since it arrived. Grace (for Will) is available from Cadence and CD Baby.

Abstracts: A Review

Here is a link to a review I just wrote for the Online Trombone Journal. I reviewed Abstracts by Jacob Garchik. It’s a great CD, check it out.

Remixing Pop Culture » CC:365 – Creative Commons Music, Three Sixty Five

Indieish: Remixing Pop Culture » CC:365 – Creative Commons Music, Three Sixty Five

What a great idea. A new Creative Commons licensed tune everyday for a year. Very cool. And hopefully a good introduction to Creative Commons.

Insert Object, and Out Comes an Artful Replica

Insert Object, and Out Comes an Artful Replica – New York Times

I caught this on Boing Boing, and from my buddy and instigator John Worthington.

The world needs more creativity like this. As the article says, “there’s magic in new art.”

Alan Ferber Nonet – Scenes From An Exit Row

A few weeks ago, I heard about a podcast from RedJazz.com. I randomly picked an episode to explore, and was greeted with excellent large-ish jazz ensemble writing. As an added bonus, there was a great trombone solo on the tune as well. The host back announced the track as coming from the Alan Ferber Nonet’s CD Scenes From An Exit Row. Shortly thereafter, I ordered the Cd from CD Baby.

I figured that Ferber was the composer/arranger, because it sounded like it was a writer’s CD. It turns out that he is also the trombonist. The band is made up of talented young players from the NY scene. John Ellis is featured on tenor sax, and David Smith is listed on trumpet. I am pretty sure this is the Dave Smith that I worked with in a cruise ship band some years ago. Besides being a great musician and a nice guy, Dave was one of the founding members of the Bahamian Deck Hockey League.

Scenes From An Exit Row is full of great playing and writing, and cuts a pretty wide stytlistic swath. Ferber makes compelling use of less often heard colors like wordless vocals and bass clarinet. The tunes range from modern sounding multiple meter grooves, to Mingus flavored textures, and even pretty straight up bebop. Despite the stylistic range, this recording doesn’t sound like a demo or an aural calling card. It has a nice flow as a larger unit, and is an enjoyable and rewarding listen.

How James Joyce can lead to Ben Webster

From an entry on Rifftides: Doug Ramsey on jazz and other matters.

My favorite line:
“My God,” one of the women said about halfway through, “It’s as if he doesn’t have a horn, as if he’s just breathing the music.”

That’s what every artist strives for. Communication that erases the medium.

Robert Bachner – Heart Disc

I first read about Robert Bachner‘s CD Heart Disc about a year ago, I guess. It caught my attention because he was mentioned as a member of the Vienna Art Orchestra. I wasn’t really familiar with Bachner’s name, but the one VAO disc I had at the time was one of my favorite large ensemble discs. I made a mental note that I should pick up Bachner’s CD. A few months ago, I actually noted my intention to buy the disc on a computer desktop stickie note (along with a reminder about a novel I wanted to buy, and a note to call my insurance adjuster).

Well, last week, while on a CD Baby surf fest, I finally ordered it. I’m glad I did, it is a great CD. The compositions are all by Bachner. He is joined by Christian Maurer on tenor and soprano saxes, Reinhard Micko on piano, Uli Langthaler on bass, and Christian Salfellner on drums. The music is often fiery and aggressive, and it swings. It is well crafted music that seems familiar on the first listen.

Bachner’s trombone playing is marvelous. He expresses himself confidently in every tempo, and we never hear any deficit of chops, yet he doesn’t play anything simply because he can. His range and facility are used to very musical ends. He takes full advantage of the trombone’s more aggressive and raucous capabilities (check out the title track) , lets the beauty and sensitivity flow when needed, like on “For Gary,” and always maintains his spark and urgency. The rest of the quintet matches Bachner’s musicality and spirit.