Well,  I just returned from Italy and all I can say is I have been blessed to be able continue good health and to play the music I love. I have lost many friends and musicians who have my utmost respect and I continue to think of them as I travel. I cried on the plane returning to New York yesterday with happiness as the feeling I get from being appreciated as a musician is overwhelming. I thought of how proud my mother( a star operatic soprano destroyed by cancer) 23 years ago would be of me if she could see me now. I feel I am making impact and leaving a message each and every time I play. So with all this emotion flowing through me about my family and children, I turned my ipod on and listened to Joel Weiskopf’s  who has quickly become one of my favorite musicians and composers on this planet. He is very religious and his music speaks of this. I listened to his tune “Giving Thanks”, and I just broke down crying with happiness as the combination of music and emotion just knocked me out. My final concert in Italy on this past 2 weeks was at the Museo Di Archeologico in Napoli Italy. About 300 people were there to watch me perform with the Luigi Ruberti 5tet as a guest artist. Afterwards about 50 or more people just attacked me to by my CD’s,  and have me autograph them as well as take pictures with them individually. I was overwhelmed with happiness and it took me nearly an hour to finish all these peoples requests. Thank you god for giving me this ability to communicate with the music. I deeply appreciate everything I have in my life. I promise to continue to practice and work hard to make my craft even stronger, as I just want to leave a strong message of love and gratitude when I perform. This is what I live for. Above are several pictures from the last concert. A fantastic two weeks in Italy. I can’t wait to return in late February.

Well I just finished three days of recording as a guest artist on Italian bass player Luigi Ruberti CD project here in Napoli Italy. It is a dedication to legendary pianist Bill Evans and has tunes like “Very Early”, “We Will Meet Again”, and many other great Bill Evans compositions all thoughtfully arranged with great purpose by Luigi Ruberti, and I assisted him with many reharmonization and rhythm section arrangements. The musicians Mimmo Napolitano, and Giuseppe La Pusata are excellent especially the trumpet player Gianfranco Campognoli. He is only 32 years old and he just knocked me out. This kid flat out plays his ass off. Great tone, time,  incredible technique, big heart and emotion, and is deeply rooted in the jazz language. Straight out of Freddy Hubbard and Woody Shaw, Clifford Brown etc. He can really spell the stuff out correctly. He is like a young Joe Magnarelli who is one of  my favorites.  Most have never heard of him , but you will eventually, This type of talent cannot remain a secret forever. All in all a great experience for me as a guest artist I was featured a lot. Tutto bene!!!!

Yesterday I received my copy of pianist Chris Dawson’s first solo CD, STRIDIN’ THROUGH CHRISTMAS, and it’s a wow.  But perhaps you’d like to read some expert testimony:

Let’s get my personal prejudices out of the way.  To me, “Christmas music” tends either to be religious or fairly limited pop hits.  But I calmed myself when I saw there were no versions of THE LITTLE DRUMMER BOY or RUDOLF THE RED-NOSED REINDEER on this CD.  Dawson plays each selection as a new composition, exploring its improvisatory possibilities. 

Many CDs pall quickly because the artist or artists have one approach and sustain it through as many as twenty-five selections.  Not so here.  You will hear piano playing that’s sometimes rollicking, sometimes deeply sensitive . . . and Chris doesn’t take predictable paths. 

What’s loosely called “stride piano” has also come in for some rough handling from players who have only a superficial understanding of the idiom.  All it is, they think, is a steady left-hand pattern, rhythmically powerful, alternating low notes in the bass and a resounding chord . . . over and over, while the right hand does whatever it likes.  For many players, who may well be technically gifted, the result is rather like the ticking of a loud watch or the pounding of a machine.  Others model their playing on Fats Waller, which is fine in theory but not if it’s a matter of learning the eight or ten patented ”Wallerisms” and sprinkling them liberally through every composition.  Stride, clearly athletic and virtuosic, also gets confused in some pianists’ minds with exhibitionism: faster, more percussive, louder, longer. 

Chris Dawson is someone who knows and has internalized the whole jazz piano tradition — forwards to Bill Evans, let us say, and backwards to the early James P. Johnson.  What you’ll hear on this disc is often delicate but never so ruminative as to become dull.  Most often, while listening, I thought of Chris as offering his own variations on three masters: Teddy Wilson, Dave McKenna, and Dick Hyman.  (And there are touches of Forties Johnny Guarneri in there, too — which is a high compliment.)  I hear the delicacy, strength, and vivid imagination that I associate with these three masters in every bar of this CD, and it’s not an archivist’s recreation, not jazz archaeology — but living improvised music.  He has a fine swing in his playing, but he is harmonically free, and at times the experienced jazz listener will marvel at the happy marriage of presumed opposites in his playing.  He can make something as melodically simple as SANTA CLAUS IS COMING TO TOWN hilariously mobile, and I was moved by Chris’s tender explorations of SILENT NIGHT.  He’s accurate but never stiff; the performances don’t go on too long; the CD is wonderfully varied and the sound of the recording is delicious.     

To hear some samples, I would direct the reader back a few posts to: http://jazzlives.wordpress.com/2009/11/17/an-early-christmas-present/.  Hear Chris stride through WE THREE KINGS, surely not the usual . . . .

Or, if you prefer soundbites: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/ChrisDawson

To buy the CD: http://shop.astinmusic.com/

I think that you’ll still be playing this CD in February 2010 and onwards, when the house has returned to its normal state and the only reminder of the holiday is the credit card bills.

This hauntingly beautiful song had French origins, but was adapted to English by American Johnny Mercer. Uploaded by mukurahat.us.

We would share this wonderful classic with Great French Things, were there such a thing, because its melody was written by a French songwriter, Joseph Kosma. American Johnny Mercer gave it English lyrics in 1947.

Johnny Mercer. Uploaded by broadwayworld.com.

Johnny Mercer founded and co-owned Capitol Records. Jo Stafford was under contract to Capitol Records. Therefore, Jo Stafford was the first to record Kosma and Mercer’s beautiful song.

Even though such popular artists as Bing Crosby and Artie Shaw did their own versions, “Autumn Leaves” didn’t really catch on for almost a decade. Then pianist Roger Williams took it to number one – the only piano instrumental ever to reach the top of the charts. From then on it became a jazz standard, brought to life by Duke Ellington, Bill Evans, Coleman Hawkins, Dizzy Gillespie, and Cannonball Adderley.

Most of the jazz versions are, understandably, instrumentals. Until recently, the essential vocal version was performed by Nat King Cole for a movie called – surprise! – Autumn Leaves. But once you’ve heard Eva Cassidy’s unbelievable version, you’ll realize that she now owns this song. OWNS it.

“Les feuilles mortes” (literally “The Dead Leaves”)

I’m not capable of listening to music I love without playing it for other people.  Rather than forcing you to ride with me in my Escort with the busted out sound system or taking up your lunch break with homemade mixtapes, I thought I’d just leave the songs I love the most each weekend here for you to soak up at your leisure.  Here’s the first installment.  Be sure to stay tuned through the end, since this set ends with my FAVORITE SONG OF THE YEAR.

1.  Brand Nubian – “Step To The Rear”

Grand Puba is a monster.  A monster, friends.

2.  Black Sheep – “Similak Child”

We’re keeping it Native for the first chunk of this post.  Like a lot of whiteboys, ATCQ was my first hip hop obsession, which later spilled over into the entire Native Tongues clique.  I figured it might be a safe place to start for people who say they like every kind of music except from rap and country.  Things might get a little rougher later.

3.  Poor Righteous Teachers – “Word Is Bond”

More “conscious” rap from New Jersey’s finest.  Check that 808.

4.  K.M.D. – “Humrush”

A little Daisy Age DOOM.

5.  Bill Evans – “Theme From Spartacus”

Bill Evans is one of the two pianists on the jazz album that nearly everyone has, Miles Davis’s “Kind of Blue.”  He’s also my favorite pianist, and this is from “Conversations With Myself,” where he overdubs take after take, yielding the cascading sound you hear here.  It works on the entire album, but this one grabbed me from the first time I heard it.

6.  Gonzales – “Gogol”

Gonzales is Chilly Gonzales, who is apparently a rapper, though I’ve never heard him do that.  He plays piano on both of Leslie Feist’s albums.  His playing and compositional style reminds me of Vince Guaraldi (the guy from the Peanuts cartoons).

7.  Feist – “Limit To Your Love”

Speaking of Leslie Feist.  This is what a great record sounds like after the hype has left it alone.  See also: Fleet Foxes, Vampire Weekend, The Strokes, The Police, et al.

8.  Benjy Ferree – “Private Honeymoon”

Such a weird, lovely song.

9.  David Amram – “Theme From Manchurian Candidate (Jazz Version)”

Keeping the weird and lovely thing going.  This is from the Sinatra version of the movie.  Oddly, the only way you can get this now is if you buy a package album with the music from the Denzel Washington version of the movie, which is all bland “suspense strings.”  I don’t know why they’d choose to cast the modern recording in such an unflattering light.

10.  Dusty Springfield – “No Easy Way Down”

Sigh.

11.  O.V. Wright – “I’m Going Home (To Live With God)

From O.V.’s years with the Hi Records band – the same one you can hear on every Al Green and Ann Peebles record.

12.  Aretha Franklin – “You’re All I Need To Get By”

This is my favorite Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell song, written by Ashford and Simpson.  Tammi sung it in a wheelchair because a brain tumor had immobilized her.  Marvin loved Tammi and Tammi loved Marvin.  I’m convinced of it.  But, obviously, this is Aretha’s version of it.  It’s irritating to me how she tries to cram in the R.E.S.P.E.C.T. reference, but I love the way she sings and plays it.

13.  Jamie Lidell – “Another Day”

Jamie Lidell is my modern-day hero.  I wasn’t sure it was possible to make soul music nowadays without sounding derivative and unoriginal, but Jamie proves that you can always find new space to express yourself within an existing idiom.  Innovation is great, but it’s not the only valid form of self-expression.

14.  Wale ft. Bun B – “Mirrors”

From Wale’s underwhelming but occasionally great full length album.  Bun B is a legend, and he just gobbles up poor Wale here.  I thought of this one because Jamie Lidell and Mark Ronson (the producer) seem to be among a handful of white English folks who’ve been listening to a lot of Motown and Atlantic records lately.

15.  G-Side – “So Wonderful”

There’s gonna be more of this Southern stuff later on.  The beats on this (free!) album are absolutely unlike anything else I’m hearing in hip-hop right now, and G-Side are passionate rappers who don’t just rap about rapping (I’m looking at you, Royce).

16.  Robyn/Royksopp – “The Girl and the Robot”

Royksopp don’t deserve Robyn.  Robyn is, hands-down, the best melody writer/pop lyricist going right now.  I would throw down a few bucks just to hear what she sings in the shower each morning.  Don’t get me wrong, Royksopp have created a sturdy ladder for her to climb, but I’ve heard the rest of their album, and they don’t reach heights anything like this anywhere else on it.  Robyn could take over the world and her sheer soul power would remain intact, which I honestly can’t say about anyone else right now.  Even Kelly Clarkson, who appears to be bulletproof.

Sunday, June 25th 1961
Village Vanguard in New York
An afternoon and evening gig
Bill Evans Trio
Scott LaFaro bass, Paul Motian drums
Incredible collaborations
Revolutionizing the Trio format
Subtlety of brushwork
Strings Clacking
Audience murmurings
Glasses tinkling
Bill Evans lyrical beyond words
An ambient experience
Step into a Jazz Time Machine

Amazon

His music was profound

Creating a new interplay between instruments

His right hand play became another voice

The piano trio would never be the same after his passing

He never created a disappointing album

Surrounding himself with superb talent

He mastered the art of becoming the music…becoming a legend

I consider him a Must Discover!!!

Discography

While living in New York for a few months in the early 1970s (after my first year of college), I often heard Bill Evans at a place in Greenwich Village, the Top of the Gate, where, for the price of a beer, you could linger all night. Hunched over the piano, he looked, at times, as if he was about to fall inside and disappear.

Bill Evans, “My Foolish Heart,” live (TV broadcast), Sweden, 1964

*****

Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Keith Jarrett, Fred Hersch, Brad Mehldau: the list of piano players who wouldn’t sound the way they do but for Bill Evans, whose approach to harmony made him the most influential piano player in jazz since Bud Powell, goes on and on and on.

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lagniappe

The ‘open’ voicings that [Bill] Evans used [i.e., leaving out a chord's root note] were not new . . . . They had been there in ‘classical’ music since the early part of the century, since Bartok and Stravinsky. But they were new to jazz, and they opened up melody and flow in new ways.—Martin Williams, The Jazz Tradition (2d ed. 1983)

*****

Bill [Evans] had this quiet fire that I loved on piano. The way he approached it, the sound he got was like crystal notes or sparkling water cascading down from some clear waterfall.

—Miles Davis (in Miles Davis with Quincy Troupe, Miles: The Autobiography [1989])

A lo largo de su vida Miles Davis no sólo reinventó una y otra vez el jazz. También sufrió diversos avatares, aderezados con el dulce néctar del mito: accidentes de auto (fractura de ambas piernas: se dice que mandó matar a dos policías blancos que trataron de detenerlo previa y arbitrariamente), operaciones de cadera, complicaciones cardíacas producto de su vieja afición como yonqui. Tras seis años de retiro, a comienzos de 1980 emergió un nuevo Miles, de la mano de ciertos jóvenes ‘eléctricos’: los saxos Bill Evans y Kenny Garrett (quien acompañó a Miles en Montreux, dos meses antes de morir, y en 1997 vino al Teatro Colón, de Bogotá); el guitarrista Mike Stern (el preferido de Miles y con quien grabó tres álbumes); el teclista Adam Holzman; el bajista Marcus Miller; los bateristas Al Foster y Vincent Wilburn (sobrino de Miles); el percusionista Mino Cinelu… De sus viejos camaradas sólo volvería a llamar a John McLaughlin y Gil Evans, mientras que de forma progresiva irá “modernizando” su repertorio, sus colaboraciones (con Cindy Lauper, Sting, James Brown, Sly Stone, Prince, Micaela Jackson) e incluso su economía. Tuvo que convertirse en su propio mánager tras comprobar que un blanco lo robaba.

"  "Alfie" is a song written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David.

It was the theme from the 1966 film Alfie. It was performed in the film during the end credits by Cher in an arrangement by Sonny Bono.

In 1966, Cher released her version (also the original version of this song) as a single. Released on the Imperial label, this version became a top forty hit on the Billboard Hot 100.

Also in 1966, Cilla Black released her version of "Alfie" as a single. It became a top ten hit on the UK Singles Chart, where it peaked at number nine. It was also a minor hit for her on the Billboard Hot 100.

On the Billboard adult contemporary chart, two further versions competed in 1966. While Carmen McRae took her version to number 29 on that chart, the version by Joanie Sommers enjoyed greater success, peaking at number nine.

In 1967, Dionne Warwick released her cover version as a single. This version outperformed both Black’s and Cher’s in the United States, going all the way to number 15 on the Hot 100 and number five on the Billboard R&B chart.

In 1968, Stevie Wonder released a harmonica instrumental version. This version also made the Hot 100, peaking at number 66. It was also a top twenty adult contemporary hit. Wonder released the single for Gordy Records under the pseudonym Eivets Rednow  (Stevie Wonder).

Other artists to record versions of "Alfie" include several versions by Burt Bacharach himself, Vikki Carr, The Delfonics, Bill Evans, Percy Faith, Blossom Dearie, Maynard Ferguson, Stan Getz, Dick Hyman, Jack Jones, The Anita Kerr Singers, Johnny Mathis, Brad Mehldau, Matt Monro, Mina Mazzini, Olivia Newton-John, Elaine Paige, Buddy Rich, Joss Stone (for the 2004 remake of Alfie), Barbra Streisand, The Sweet Inspirations, McCoy Tyner, Patricia Barber, Midge Ure, Sarah Vaughan, Nancy Wilson and Vanessa L. Williams.

In a deleted scene from the movie Austin Powers in Goldmember, they parody the song, replacing Alfie with Austin. The song is sung by most of the main characters. Michael Caine, who plays Austin Powers father, also played "Alfie" in the original movie. Scenes from the 1966 film Alfie can be seen in the background while he is singing.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfie_(song) . "

In this video, Tom Hope is on piano and my friend,

Jazz singer, the FABULOUS Kimberly Gordon

singing one of my favorite Burt Bacharach 

and Hal David songs, check it out! Kimberly has a CD

with her Trio called Melancholy Serenade which has

a wonderful and PROFESSIONALLY recorded version

of "Alfie".

miles davis

di Aldo Bassi

Kind of Blue, è considerato la pietra miliare del jazz modale. I toni pacati, gli andamenti ritmici leggeri, le strutture ampie e le armonie dai cambi lenti, la moderazione delle scale modali, delineano il clima della nuova era, quella del jazz modale per come lo ha inteso Miles. Niente a che vedere, per quanto riguarda i toni pacati e la moderazione delle scale, con My Favorite Things anch’esso modale, ma suonato da Coltrane anni dopo.

L’improvvisazione di questo jazz consiste nella utilizzazione di modulazioni lente, che non fanno riferimento a progressioni armoniche come nel sistema tonale, hanno quindi strutture formate da pochissimi accordi, tenuti per più misure sui quali l’improvvisatore utilizza delle scale, dette anche modi, che sono diverse dalle scale maggiore e minore o bebop in uso prima. Si dà origine quindi ad una musica più dilatata, più “orizzontale”.

I modi più utilizzati sono ricavati partendo da ogni grado della scala maggiore. Ovviamente la stessa cosa è possibile farla utilizzando, come scala base, le scale minori armonica e melodica ascendente. L’improvvisazione modale si è andata nel tempo perfezionando attraverso la sperimentazione sui modi fatta dai musicisti jazz. Così, dalla stretta aderenza alle note del modo si è passati alla utilizzazione di note di abbellimento e di passaggio estranee, “verticalizzando” così anche il sistema modale.

Tutte queste forme di sperimentazione sui modi hanno portato l’improvvisazione jazz verso forme lessicali ed espressive più libere, sino ad essere completamente svincolate da qualsiasi struttura e forma con il free jazz.

STRUTTURE MODALI
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All’interno delle strutture modali si possono avere quattro tipi di modulazioni:

- tra modi che usano la stessa scala, per es. tra Re Dorico e Fa Lidio (Do Magg.);

- tra un tipo di modo allo stesso tipo in un altro tono, per es. tra Re Dorico e Mib Dorico;

- tra modi diversi sullo stesso tono, per es. tra Do Dorico e Do Frigio o Lidio;

- tra modi completamente diversi, per es. tra Do Dorico e Do# Misolidio.

Volendo prendere come brano di riferimento So What, la modulazione che lo riguarda è del tipo 2, ovvero tra un tipo di modo allo stesso tipo in un altro tono, tra Re Dorico e Mib Dorico, ed è improvvisa cioè senza preparazione.

La struttura di So What è molto semplice: A A B A di 8 misure ciascuna per un totale di 32 misure. Le A sono composte dall’accordo di Dm7 per tutte e otto le misure e la B è composta dall’accordo di Ebm7 per tutte e 8 le misure.

Facendo un’analisi dell’assolo di Miles in So What, si evince sin dalle prime note che Davis non ha nessuna intenzione di sorprendere con guizzi tecnici, come faceva il suo precursore Gillespie o il mitico, prematuramente scomparso, Clifford Brown. Bensì, egli usa quasi esclusivamente note cordali o dell’estensione dell’accordo fino ad utilizzare tutte le note del modo, con ritmi semplici composti da ottavi, quarti e minime. Una sorta di cool jazz più moderno. Ma la sua peculiarità, anche in questo caso, la troviamo nel genio del suo microcosmo, ovvero in uno stile che fonda le proprie radici nella sfumatura, nel “non suonato”, nell’effetto del mezzo pistone o nell’inflessione del labbro sulla nota, creando un forte “swing sottinteso”, molto diverso da quello dei suoi “colleghi predecessori”.

Davis, come dicevamo, si muove all’interno del modo, dando lezioni di classe ed eleganza, utilizzando di tanto in tanto note blu per ricordare la sua estrazione musicale. Altra nota che esula dal modo dorico è il Do# (la sensibile, che fa parte della scala minore melodica di re) che sia Davis che gli altri solisti usano un pò tutti.

Rispetto a Miles che sembra essere il più “integralista”, gli assoli di Coltrane e di Cannonball sono ricchi di scale che esulano dalla “costrizione” del modo creando sapientemente un contrasto decisivo con il leader.

Gli altri musicisti completano il quadro musicale con i loro accompagnamenti e i loro assoli pienamente a fuoco nel “nuovo” lessico jazzistico soprattutto il grande Bill Evans, che senza il suo grande apporto compositivo, non avrebbe avuto modo di esistere Kind of Blue.

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Due versioni di So What,  l’originale tratta dal disco stesso con Bill Evans al piano, la seconda tratta da un live dello stesso anno con Wynton Kelly al piano.

So What – Originale da Kind of Blue

So What – riedizione live aprile 1959

MORE LINKs
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>> Blog WordPress dedicato a Miles (English)

>> KIND OF BLUE TRIBUTE, auditorium 9.11.09

>> Aldo Bassi Tribute to Miles Davis (Concerto all’Alexanderplatz)

>> Aldo Bassi on Facebook

8-30|11|2009
Kind of Blue Tribute
ROMA JAZZ FESTIVAL ‘09  – 33a ed. >> more info
JAZZ LABELS
Auditorium Parco della Musica
h. 21:00  da 15 a 20 €

Ho chiesto di presentare questo concerto ad un artista che conosce molto bene Miles Davis, soprattutto della sua musica. 

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di Aldo Bassi  www.aldobassi.it

Il 9 novembre 2009 alle 21,00 al Roma Jazz Festival, ci sarà un evento eccezionale. Un tributo a Kind of Blue (CBS, Columbia con varie ristampe) per il cinquantenario dell’ uscita del disco di jazz più venduto in assoluto, con di circa 10 milioni di copie.

A fare questo omaggio al grande Miles, saliranno sul palco della sala Sinopoli dell’Auditorium di Roma 6 musicisti di jazz tra i più apprezzati al mondo. Jimmy Cobb alla batteria, Wallace Roney alla tromba, Vincent Harring al sax alto, Javon Jackson al sax tenore,  Larry Willis al pianoforte ed infine Buster Williams al contrabbasso, che insieme hanno costituito la So What Band, per rievocare le atmosfere magiche dei 5 brani contenuti in Kind of Blue.

I brani incisi, So What, Freddie Freeloader, Blue in Green, All Blues, Flamenco Sketches furono attribuiti tutti a Davis, Blue in Green e Flamenco Sketches firmati insieme a Bill Evans. Milioni di persone hanno goduto di questo capolavoro, gioendo, piangendo, gemendo, sorridendo o provando tante altre emozioni al suono ipnotizzante di questo disco.

La formazione originale era di tutto rispetto: Julian “Cannonball” Adderly al sax contralto; John Coltrane al sax tenore; Wynton Kelly (solo su Freddie Freeloader) e Bill Evans al piano; Paul Chambers al contrabbasso; il sopracitato Jimmy Cobb alla batteria, e naturalmente Miles alla tromba.

 
wynton kelly                                      bill evans

Dice Jimmy Cobb, l’unico ancora in vita dei 5 musicisti che erano con Miles in quei giorni del ’59, che mentre registravano il disco non avrebbero mai immaginato di lasciare impressa sul vinile una musica che sarebbe stata considerata da molti il capolavoro assoluto del guru della tromba e del suo spettacolare sextet.

Tornando ai giorni nostri, i musicisti che ascolteremo al concerto del 9 novembre, non so se eseguiranno filologicamente tutto il disco, o se nel loro omaggio faranno degli riferimenti più o meno forti, ad ogni modo sapranno sicuramente cogliere in pieno il linguaggio del jazz di quegli anni. La Musica di Miles fa parte del loro bagaglio culturale e questo si avverte ancora di più nel suono altamente davisiano della tromba di Wallace Roney.

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Ma ora la questione si fa più complessa. Aldo Bassi, trombettista jazz, ci porta a conoscere da vicino questo tipo di jazz che trova il suo milestone proprio nell’opera Kind of Blue  >>> VIAGGIO NEL JAZZ MODALE di A.Bassi – online dal 10.11.09

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more

>> Aldo Bassi Tribute to Miles Davis (Concerto all’Alexanderplatz)

>> Blog WordPress dedicato a Miles (English)

>> Aldo Bassi on Facebook

"I don't like the new Brand New album as much as 'The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me'." Bullshit, peacock!

Outside of the hearing impaired, I don’t know anyone who doesn’t enjoy music or even disregards its impact on their life.  There is no way that you can trot through life or consume in our society without considering music as an integral facet in your life.  As I write this, I’m listening to Bill Evans and Stan Getz get it on… musically.

I can’t get away from music in my own life.  This is self-imposed.

Even if you didn’t listen to a death-core album a day, which is proven to keep doctors away, your ears are pummeled by sound daily.  The television/radio jingles that you hear on your way to work, the lobby playlist at your dentist’s office, the crazy man on S. Congress that frantically strums and croons at passersby, etc. are all sonic reminders of how we are connected and, at times, disconnected through music.

Forms of consumption are often used as tools for peacocking.  In my life, I have found that no one is excluded from this practice.  Many of us use the universal concept of music  to connect to the people we care to be with, to separate ourselves from the ones we feel are different and/or to grandstand as connoisseurs, civilized or fun types.

I think I’m just writing this because I read Adorno this week and feel especially cynical about certain things.

——————————–

At 11, my mother decided that it was best that I not go to Sharpstown Middle School.  The gang initiations and violence had alarmed my mother enough to request my enrollment in Paul Revere Middle School’s Magnet Program.

Before my adventures in suburban schools, I was a Latino kid who lived in the “ghetto” and loved rap music.  97.9 The Box was the only station I listened to.  My cousin Tony from Chicago introduced me to the greats.  I loved Tupac, Biggie, Bone Thugs, Easy E, Ice Cube, Cypress Hill.  If they were gangsta’ and from the 90s, I listened to them a lot.  I even remember discussing the latest Lil’ Keke album with a chum during lunch in 6th grade.  Just like Texas, Dago was from “da souf”.

The culture was different in suburban middle school.  There weren’t as many “gangstas” around and the ones that pretended were just assholes.  I needed to fit in somehow.  I was smart, but that made you the butt of a lot of jokes.  I used music as my in.  I learned so much about these alien kids and their culture through TV and the radio.  I would listen to Top 40 Radio and the Alternative station because I wanted a clue.  There kids never heard of Los Bukis and for sure didn’t actively listen to “My Ambitions As a Ridah”.  I watched Dawson’s Creek and other shows with youth-driven plots because I wanted to get to know my peers better.

I borrowed copies of Green Day’s Nimrod and The Smashing Pumpkins’ Siamese Dream.  I bought my own copy of Melon Collie and the Infinite Sadness in 7th grade–1998.  I know that’s a few years after the fact, but I was behind in the game, and the kids I loved to hang out with had older siblings that made them listen to their depressing/awesome alternative rock albums.  I was playing catch-up.

My mother and father were delighted about my new found love for music, or at least they pretended to be.  For years, I rode the wave of “alternative” rock and metal.  I loved Korn through high school, secretly through Junior and Senior year when I was in a punk band.  At 12 I had earnestly picked up guitar and learned three Korn albums in their entirety by 14 or 15.

In high school, I quickly learned that no one took you seriously if you listened to Korn. NO ONE.

Metal heads are never taken seriously because they are considered weird and focused on being strange.  This is a notion I still have today.

I had to change, and I did.  Then I changed again in college.

However, the latter was not purposeful in its progress.  It was more organic and without intent.  I listened to things I found interesting and challenging.  In my teens and early twenties, music had become my social crutch.  I used it to become more connected to the people around me.  There wasn’t necessarily a scene that I followed because, in all honesty, large gatherings always frighten me.  However, the fact remains that I used music as a means to an end and not as a leisurely activity.

I feel that a lot of us lose sight of ourselves in the selfish expectations that we create for others to consider when discussing us.  A lot of us create these images in order to fit in but only find ourselves empty down the line.  If we cut the bullshit how much more diverse could our society be?  How much harder could we make it for industry to capture demographics?

And it’s not that I don’t care what people are listening to.  I do.  No matter how much you fight the urge, you still want to peek your head out and see what the others are doing.  You want to remain socially functional in some sense.  This is the behavior that gets me in “trouble” and in possession of the new Dirty Projectors album.  I’m a hypocrite.

Fuck Dirty Projectors,

Dago

PS: Go Texans! 5 – 3, baby!

“Kind of blue” (1959) puede considerarse la obra maestra de Miles Davis y ahora vuelve a nuestra memoria gracias a su cincuenta aniversario. Por aquella época, el trompetista ya había entrado en la década de los 30 (por edad), pero nada hacía pensar que este sería el disco más vendido en la historia del jazz.

¿Qué tiene de especial este disco? ¿Dónde reside su belleza? Seguramente si Miles Davis leyera este post nos diría algo así como: “No tenemos tiempo para Kind Of Blue. Ahí está. Lo hice en un momento determinado, en el momento oportuno, el buen día y ya está. Se acabó, está grabado” (es una cita histórica).

Sin embargo, esta obra creó un arquetipo dentro del jazz. Está claro que no es la única obra que cabe recordar si indagamos dentro de este género, pero si se edita una edición especial por el aniversario y si desde distintas asociaciones se homenajea el disco por algo será.

Así el colegio mayor San Juan Evangelista con su XXVIII festival le dedica un homenaje, como la sexta edición del Festival de Jazz de Madrid que tendrá su particular recuerdo al disco el próximo 6 de noviembre. Todo quieren recordar esta magnífica obra del jazz.

Es cierto que el disco no es solo Miles Davis, ya que supo codearse con otros grandes de la época como John Coltrane (al saxo tenor), Cannonball Adderley (al saxo contraalto), Wynton Kelly (piano), Bill Evans (piano), Paul Chambers (contrabajista) y Jimmy Cobb (batería).

Una de las muchas cosas interesantes que puedes encontrar en el disco es, precisamente, la forma de grabarlo. Un enfoque conocido como “modal”, es decir, se improvisa sobre escalas y no sobre acordes, como era habitual hasta el momento.

De hecho, los músicos no tenían claro qué iban a grabar hasta el mismo instante en el que comenzó la grabación, experimentación y jazz en estado puro.

As “Portrait In Jazz” is also the name of this blog, it obviously has to be the first jazz album to be reviewed here.

Portrait In Jazz (recorded december 28, 1959 in New York City) was Evans’ first album with his legendary trio, consisting of bassist Scott LaFaro, drummer Paul Motian and Bill Evans himself on piano. Although not as strong as the later recorded “Explorations” – according to my personal opinion -, it is still a wonderful piece of art, showcasing amazing interplay between the three musicians. Evans’ piano playing here is absolutely stunning (as usual), raising the bar for following jazz pianists with his versions of “Someday My Prince Will Come” or “Autumn Leaves”. An absolute must hear for any jazz lover!

It can be widely found in various music sharing blogs on the internet, for example here or here. Don’t forget to buy yourself a copy if you like it, it is well worth the buck!

Enjoy!

As músicas da primeira fase do Bill Evans são tipo aquele whisky que se toma depois do trabalho.

It’s ME!!!

Music is so fascinating and full of what life is about. It tells our stories in the most creative, innovative and diverse ways. I’ve found genius in these featured artists. Prepare to be dazzled, sucked in and amazed… Let the incredibleness begin!

Rho ( Miss R&B )

Oscar Peterson… astoundingly amazing, genius at his craft, compared to the greats of all time, yet is a great in his own right…

Bill Evans… wonderfully talented, beautiful touch to the piano and totally in the music

Art Tatum… a pioneer and inspiration to a lot of the greats, insanely good, with a flare all his own

Ahmad Jamal… so fabulous with his finesse, great ear and wonderful musician

Thelonious Monk… unique playing style, madly talented and eccentric

Umi Garrett… a phenom, beautiful spirit, and exceptional ability

Chick Corea… modern yet classic, skilled execution and inspiring player