8 posts tagged “jazz”

 

I love music and I love to write.  I am not a musician but I am a writer.  Through the years many family members, friends, and professional colleagues have suggested to me that I become a jazz critic or a music writer.  I have always been hesitant and a bit skeptical becaue while I like reading about music I often return to the much quoted words of Nat Hentoff, jazz critic par excellence ...

"John Coltrane would ask me not to write the liner notes for his albums because, he’d say, 'If the music can’t speak for itself, what’s the use?'".

In any event whether or not I write about music myself, I do enjoy writing on music when it brings something else to the music and keeps me informed.  While I am not a big fan of his writing or his opinions on music, I will admit the I admire the career trajectory of Kelefa Sanneh and I am a bit envious of his current gig. Sanneh is a "New York Times" music critic who focuses on rock and roll, hip/hop/rap, and pop music in general.  I first became familiar with Sanneh when he served as deputy editor of "Transition ", one of my favorite magazines which is based at Harvard University and edited by Henry Louis Gates and Kwame Appiah. "Transition"  features provocative articles and stunning black and white graphics while focusing on issues of race, culture, and politics.  From "Transition" to the "New York Times", that's quite a career path for Brother Sanneh.  Congratulations and keep up the great work.

Now my main man Nate Chinen is a different ball of wax all together. I truly love the way this guy writes about music and most specifically the way he writes about jazz. Chinen in addition to being a "New York Times" music critic focusing on jazz also is a  frequent contributing writer to perhaps the most informative jazz magazine on the market Jazz Times.  Thanks Brother Chinen for keeping me informed of what's going on in the world of jazz.

It's been awhile since I've been to a good jazz show.  I'm really looking forward to the Second Annual New Mexico Jazz Festival.  The dates are July 19 - July 29.  I am most particularly excited about the July 27 concert in Albuquerque that will feature Sonny Rollins.  Sonny is a legend.  One of the best jazz shows I ever went to was a Sonny Rollins concert in Charleston, SC for the Spoleto festival several years ago with my mother.  Sonny was smoking.  I hope that he will be "ON" for this upcoming show in ABQ.  Thanks to Outpost Performance Space in  Albuquerque for their great work.

HERE IS THE LINEUP:

$55/40/30/20 ($5 Discount for Outpost Members) www.ticketssantafe.com

I have big a life long listener of public radio and can't see life without it.  As a child I remember my mother picking my sister and me up from school and listening to "All Things Considered" from NPR back in the late 1970s and early 1980s during our rides from school to home.  I was too young to appreciate what I was being exposed to then but in retrospect, a template was cast and I grew to appreciate this early influence.  When I lived in Ann Arbor, Michigan I was blown away by WEMU, the jazz, blues, and news NPR affiliate broadcast from neighboring Ypsilanti, MI and the campus of Eastern Michigan University.  When living in Boston I was constantly tuned to WGBH and WBUR which are the be all and end all of public radio in my opinion.  Now living in Albuquerque, New Mexico and currently without cable television or Internet access at home, I find myself constantly tuned to KUNM-FM.  KUNM is amazing in it's broad array of broadcasts related to local issues and affairs germane to Albuquerque and New Mexico in general.  Kudos to KUNM and keep up the good work.  As I continue to develop roots in this town of ABQ, I plan to become a more active supporter of KUNM.

 

Don Cheadle is the man.  I've seen him in all types of roles and I was moved by his portrayal of the character "Mouse" in Devil in a Blue Dress.  I was completely blown away by his role in the HBO film A Lesson Before Dying as Grant Higgins.  Today I was treated to Don Cheadle in a very poignant film entitled Reign Over  Me also starring Adam Sandler.

I highly recommend this film.  It's subtlety is overpowering.  Adam Sandler does a brilliant job of acting and proves himself to be quite believable in this story of a man who has lost his wife and 3 daughters in the tragic event of September 11.  I was also very impressed with Jada Pinkett Smith who is oh so beautiful and quite an actress herself.  Jada has only a small role in the film but her character is essential to the plot.  Saffron Burrows as the character Donna Remar is quite sexy and I can't recall seeing her in any other films but will be on the look out for her work.  Donald Sutherland has a strong performance in the end of the movie that truly makes me appreciate all of the great work he has done through the years.

Reign Over Me is heavy but enlightening.  I laughed.  I cried. I was made to think about the human mind and dealing with life's numerous challenges as well as grief.  Four out of five stars. Thumbs up.  I highly recommend this dramatic film that was beautifully shot, superbly acted, and featured a compelling story line that kept me guessing until the very end.  I particularly loved the wonderful interiors.  The wardrobe department did a smash up job.  Don Cheadle looked immaculate in many different suit and tie combinations and the film itself displayed many provocative shots and scenes of one of my beloved cities ... New  York, NY.

There has long been a buzz that Don Cheadle is eventually scheduled to attempt to portray the jazz trumpeter Miles Davis in a forthcoming biopic.  I've studied the life and music of Miles Davis for quite some time and I don't know if anyone can pull off telling his story for film but if any actor is capable it would be Don Cheadle.  I am excited to see if that project ever comes to fruition.

It's spring here in ABQ and I find myself listening to a great deal of Brazilian music and Joni Mitchell to keep my soul and mind on fire.  I'll be writing more about Joni in a few weeks as she has long been a favorite of mine since college days.  The first time I took a concious note of Joni Mitchell was in 1987 during my junior year at Morehouse. I was driving my 1985 Nissan Sentra on a school night back to my grandparents house in Atlanta where I lived.  I was listening to WCLK, the jazz radio station from then Clark College in Atlanta.  I don't remember the tune but it was from her album entitled The Hissing of the Summer Lawns.  I was immediately drawn to the track and was surprised when at the end of the tune the announcer said it was Joni Mitchell who I didn't recognize as a "jazz" musician.  However after many years of listening to that album, I consider Joni not only a jazz musician but one of the greatest singer song writers in the history of music.  As I said ... more later ...

One of the first things I ask people about when in engaging in conversation is what types of things they are reading and what are they listening to as far as music is concerned.  I've always been drawn to people who are passionate about music.  No matter what type of music one may listen to, I am always suspicious of people who are ambivalent about music all together.  It's okay by me if you like death metal or Britney Spears pop drivel but you have to care about music in some form or fashion to rate in my book.

I've basically been listening to music all my life as both of my parents were music lovers and our family home always seemed to be filled with the sound of music.  Motown, classic jazz, early rhythm and blues, soul, funk, folk music, and classical were all exposed to me at an early age and I've had a life long love affair with music.  I am always excited to be turned on to new music and remember several key moments in my life when I discovered "free jazz", reggae, and Brazilian music.  I went off deep into all three of those areas at different points in my life.

 

Recently I was exposed to a band that upon first listening I was unsure of my opinion of but upon further and deeper listening they have become a part of my constant rotation and it was due to one particular work.  The band is The Flaming Lips. The work that has become a source of inspiration to me is entitled Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots. It's the first piece of music in a long time that actually struck me as very unique and whose energy immediately touched me in ways I don't know if I can describe. Many of the songs contained within the work seem to directly resonate with my life right now.  I first heard the work about a few weeks ago, while in a depressed mood and in a dour state of mind. I made a visit to my around the corner neighbor in downtown ABQ,  Adam Rubinstein  and he said let me play this for you and I was galvanized by the sounds and the lyrics.  Thanks Adam!  I suppose next I have to get my hands on the Yoshimi DVD!

The Flaming Lips are often labeled a "psychedelic alternative rock band" but in my opinion sometimes labels don't do justice to adequately describe certain artists or musical acts.  The Flaming Lips just may be beyond labeling or easy categorization. As a neophyte to their work I am discovering that one must listen to the Lips themselves in several contexts to truly understand the music.  I am just beginning to get into the band and look forward to learning more and listening more.  Thanks to Jama Drapeau and Adam Rubinstein both of New Mexico by way of the East coast for providing the initial inspiration to listen to more of The Flaming Lips.  I'm still dissecting Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, can't wait to get The Soft Bulletin which has been recommended to me by several Lips fans, and I hope to see the band live during their April tour of the southern U.S in Athens, GA. 

It's just so great to really be listening to all kinds of music with fervor again (for some reason music significantly fell off my radar during 2006).  It's also great to have a new musical frontier to discover.  Look for more of my reflections and thoughts on The Flaming Lips in the very near future.

With all the recent hubub over the reunion of The Police, I've been taken back to a lot of the solo work Sting did after The Police broke up in 1984.  I am particularly happy to be listening again to Bring on the Night.  This was a 2 disc affair recorded live in France with the backing band  that featured Omar Hakim, Kenny Kirkland, Daryl Jones and Branford Marsalis.  Bring on the Night came out in 1986 and I bought it immediately.  It is much more compelling to me now to listen to it because the pianst Kenny Kirkland has passed on.  Kirkland's piano playing is so intense and mind boggling.

Through listening to Sting I am taken back to my main man Branford Marsalis.  Branford is one of the most underrated musicians on the planet.  His recent quartet jazz work is so profound.  I visited the Branford Marsalis web site today and found a good link to an interview Branford did with Eric Jackson

who is THE jazz DJ on WGBH in Boston.  I used to listen to Eric all the time when I lived in Boston.  Eric has such a great delivery of the spoken word and his knowledge of jazz is immense.  Here's the link to the interview Jackson did with Branford.

Despite my current pitfalls and snares in life, I am listening intently to music again and that's always a good thing for me.  Nice to have The Police, Sting, and Branford Marsalis back in heavy rotation.

I don't move to Albuquerque until July 31 and while I regret that I will miss it, I am pleased to know that my arrival will immediately be preceded by a 10 day (July 20 - 29) jazz festival in Albuquerque and Santa Fe.  I posted  recently on The Duke City Fix forum about the existence of a jazz scene in Albuquerque.  So far only one respondent has posted in response and has led me to believe I will be disappointed about if and where any on going jazz scene exists in Albuquerque.  That's okay however, I'm not easily deterred.  I just hope that this first annual New Mexico jazz festival is a tremendous success and becomes a regular staple to the cultural scene between Albuquerque and Santa Fe.

I've been fortunate enough to live in some great places with access to a jazz loving community, frequent jazz performances and ample performance venues for the music.  Most specifically Ann Arbor, MI and Boston, MA come to mind.  I found that in both of those places that I could count on public radio broadcasts to keep me informed of local jazz currents and undergird a jazz scene.  In Ann Arbor it was WEMU 89.1 (shout out to on air personalities Michael Jewett and Arwulf Arwulf) broadcasting from Ypsilanti, MI and in Boston it was WGBH 89.7 (shout out to on air personality Eric Jackson).  I have yet to suss out the public radio scene in Albuquerque and the surrounding areas.  Hopefully the stations in the area have at least a few hours devoted to jazz  related broadcasts. I'm headed off on an Internet search now to explore the public radio system in New Mexico.  I'll post later on what I find.