I've been meaning to mention a web site that I check out routinely. When I mention it to others it seems most of them have never heard of it. To get you started check out this article and then poke around site. You can't help but love The Smirking Chimp if you are a member of the choir that is being preached to!
~ Tom
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Sunday, October 7, 2007
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Thinking of dead friends...
I was surfing around and found this wonderful, wonderful piece of music. I had never heard it before. I listened and watched it three times in a row, thinking of fallen friends who would have loved it, and getting pretty choked up in the process: Lee Lally, Sue Mahannah, Bill Mahannah, Ralph Dickey, Brian Sax, Linda Akulian, and Virginia Broder.
There are other friends who have passed who would have appreciated the song, but not loved it. The key here is that I am pretty positive that the folks I listed above would have played it three times in a row, just as I did. If you want to leave a comment listing your fallen friends who would have loved it, I would be honored.
T.
There are other friends who have passed who would have appreciated the song, but not loved it. The key here is that I am pretty positive that the folks I listed above would have played it three times in a row, just as I did. If you want to leave a comment listing your fallen friends who would have loved it, I would be honored.
T.
Still howling after 50 years
Please take the time to read the following article. Then go to the link mentioned in the article to hear a full show about Howl, which includes a reading of it from 1959 by Ginsberg himself.
Why is it we can allow all manner of truly obscene matter on the airwaves (Bush's lies and deceit being near the top), but an enduring stroke of pure genius is too much for us to be trusted to hear? As Lenny Bruce once said in an analogous context, "a knowledge of syphilis is not an instruction to get it."
After listening to a bit of the program I was staggered to find that there have been readings by the author of Howl on daytime TV in past years! This shows me that the current milieu is indeed draconian if not a full-blown fascist totalitarian regime.
Sigh.....
Why is it we can allow all manner of truly obscene matter on the airwaves (Bush's lies and deceit being near the top), but an enduring stroke of pure genius is too much for us to be trusted to hear? As Lenny Bruce once said in an analogous context, "a knowledge of syphilis is not an instruction to get it."
After listening to a bit of the program I was staggered to find that there have been readings by the author of Howl on daytime TV in past years! This shows me that the current milieu is indeed draconian if not a full-blown fascist totalitarian regime.
Sigh.....
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
September snow!
Last weekend we went to our place at Tahoe/Donner to winterize it for the coming cold season. This mainly involves taking down outside watering system and turning off the main water valve to the house. When we go back up for skiing this winter we will turn main water back on, but the reason we turn it off is to prevent pipe freeze/break if the power goes out. Anyway, we got up there last Friday and went to bed, only to wake up to SNOW! the next morning. It wasn't a lot, but 2-3 inches in September is pretty rare. Here are some photos to prove that I was not hallucinating!
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
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?
** 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?
Friday, September 21, 2007
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.
A full report and review after I return.
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