MJF Reflections

It would be impossible to convey what it is like to attend the Monterey Jazz Festival. This year's 50th rendition was wonderful in spite of rain on Friday night's show -- only the second time in the Festival's history that it rained. Here are some of my random thoughts about it, in no particular order:

** Come on, is there anyone cooler than Sonny Rollins? The man literally tore the place up as the last act of the Festival on Sunday night. He performed at the very first festival in 1958 and he's still going strong, now at age 77. It was a true honor to see and hear that set along with 10,000 savvy jazz fans.

** Gerald Wilson rules. At age 89, with band members who have been playing with him for 40 to 50 years, the man is so elegant it's as if he's ready to ascend into heaven at any moment. He composed "Monterey Moods" for this 50th festival, and I can only say his big band is the best I've heard in many years.

** The Otis Taylor Band is a force to be reckoned with, playing something they call "Trance Blues." I was totally wowed by Otis' 20-year-old daughter, Cassie, playing a truly mean bass and singing with a smoky voice beyond her years.

** Ornette Coleman - a quintet with three (count 'em) basses! Yep, Ornette is still Ornette.

** Hearing Terence Blanchard play is always heaven for me. But hearing him play many songs from his moving new album "A Tale of God's Will (A Requiem for Katrina)" with the Monterey Jazz Festival Chamber Orchestra backing him up brought tears to my eyes.

** Getting to hear John Sayles talk about his new movie, with audience Q&A was so cool. We also got to see several clips from the film, "Honeydripper."

** John McLaughlin playing straight electric guitar ala Mahavishnu Orchestra days. The dude can still outplay just about any rock guitarist.

** Brubeck at 86. Still bringing it.

** Mort Sahl hosting the Sunday night show. "I heard Bush was born again. Why would anyone want to come back as George Bush?" Huge, huge cheer from the crowd.

I could go on, but you get the picture. Being at the Festival for three days is like going to another planet where all ages and races are mellow, intelligent, and just basically COOL.

~ Tom

P.S. Is there any sound cooler than trumpet and tenor sax playing together as the front line in a quintet?

Off to Monterey!

In a couple of hours we will be driving to Monterey for the 50th Monterey Jazz Festival!

A full report and review after I return.

Paul McCartney's latest...

I just finished a first-listen to Paul McCartney's new album, "Memory Almost Full." I had read many laudatory reviews, but I was prepared to be let down. To the contrary, this is certainly the best album Paul has made, sans the Beatles. Here is a review that says exactly what I would have to say on the subject.

The review is spot on about Paul's ruminations on his mortality and that of others. Here are the lyrics for the last track on the album "The End of the End." I'm sorry you can't hear the wonderful tune that Paul wrote for this, but "stories of old to be rode on like carpets that children have played on" should give you an idea of just how good it is.

At the end of the end
It's the start of the journey
To a much better place, and this wasn't bad
So a much better place would have to be special
No need to be sad

On the day that I die
I'd like jokes to be told
And stories of old to be rode on like carpets
That children have played on
And laid on while listening to stories of old

At the end of the end
It's the start of the journey
To a much better place, and this wasn't bad
So a much better place would have to be special
No reason to cry

On the day that I die
I'd like bells to be rung
And songs that were sung to be laid out like blankets
That lovers have played on and laid on
While listening to songs that were sung

At the end of the end
It's the start of the journey
To a much better place,
And a much better place would have to be special
No reason to cry
No need to be sad
At the end of the end

The other tracks are all terrific too. Wonderful song writing, super arrangements, kick-ass musicians and singers, and flawless engineering. Oh, and did I say that Paul's singing hasn't lost anything.

Tom gives this one a big thumbs up.

A dose of reality...

On September 1st I was at the football game between my beloved Cal Bears and Tennessee. The game was completely sold out, which meant that there were over 75,000 people in the stadium. While looking at this crowd, it made me think about how small it looked when I equated it to military troops. I thought "what if twice this number of soldiers had to conquer, pacify, and then hold THE ENTIRE STATE OF CALIFORNIA?!"

Thinking about it in those terms really brought the Iraq fiasco home for me. According to the World Atlas, Iraq consists of 166,859 square miles. The same source sizes California at 155,959, only slightly smaller than Iraq. I pictured a mere two stadiums full of guys having to take care of the entire state of California. Impossible! Sure we could send 100,000 heavily armed troops into Los Angeles and environs and quell unrest in that area, but then what happens if the insurgents conduct other operations in the San Francisco Bay area, or Sacramento, or they set up operations in the foothills around the cities ? We would only have less than a stadium full of guys around to deal with the entire state, because we would have a stadium-and-a-half of soldiers committed to Los Angeles.

Sound familiar?

~ Tom

Pat Buchanan on invading Iran

I've been into politics all my life. My late father followed politics avidly until his death in 2000 at age 80. One guy that he and I both liked, even though we disagreed with way more than half of what he espouses, is Pat Buchanan. We respected him because he is smart, loyal, and consistent in his beliefs, not to mention being a true fighting Irish Catholic. Dad was not Catholic, but I think he had a true respect for Catholics who "walked the walk" rather than just "talking the talk."

Anyway, I was watching last Friday's McLaughlin Group, (which I had TIVO'd), a show that Dad and I often watched together. Pat is a regular on that show. Pat pointed out that after the Petraeus testimony, the Democrats are not going to be able to do anything to really stop Bush and the neocons. Next, he predicted that near the end of the month, they will begin a huge push to attack Iran. You may not know or remember that Pat was one of the most vocal critics of the Iraq war, so his prediction on Iran was not coming from joy and support, but was coming out of true fear and concern that Bush, Cheney and the neocons are bound and determined to mix it up militarily with Iran while they still have the chance.

Coming from Buchanan, this is really scary. I truly believe that he knows what he is talking about. Eleanor Clift pretty much agreed with Pat, but pointed out that Bush would need a separate approval from Congress to do it. Pat countered by saying he did not believe that Bush believed he was constrained. Eleanor replied by noting that if Bush and his neocon hoard were stupid enough to bomb or invade Iran, impeachment was sure to follow. Pat was not given time to respond, but I could tell from the look on his face that he sincerely believes that these bozo's are going to have their way come hell or high water.

It could be that Pat is trying to prevent a move against Iran by firmly predicting it's going to happen, which of course sends guys like me into a frenzy. I'm really hoping that's his angle here.

~ tom

Quote for today...

Trickle-down economics results in a nation of "pee-on's"

~ Thom Hartman on his radio show this morning.

Eat your hearts out!

50th Monterey Jazz Festival coming soon!

The Lookout

I like movies that stick with you for a while -- especially ones that get better the next day as you think about them. "The Lookout" is one of those kind of flicks. Richard Roeper of Ebert & Roeper has picked it as his number one movie of the year so far.

Don't let it slip through the cracks. Rent the DVD and enjoy. It's worth it.

~ tom