May he rest in peace. I grew up in a home that regularly played Italian operas over the stereo, probably more than any other music. And of course, Luciano Pavarotti, was a huge part of that. I can not begin to tell you how his voice reminds me of childhood, or how he was the uncle I felt that had, that I never met. Honestly, I can't tell you what the first music I ever heard was. But odds are on either Pavarotti or Sinatra. But hearing about his loss immediately takes me to an innoccent and wonderful time in my life.

Labels: Rememberance

Labels: Rememberance

Max Roach has passed away.

I wanted to write about Max, but words can not express what a loss this is for the world and how horribly saddened I am.

May he rest in peace.

Labels: Rememberance

My mourning continues with the death of Michelangelo Antonioni today whose film L’avventura is one of my favorites with its amazing haunting quality. One of those films, that like all great art, lives with you everyday from the moment you see it. His loss, much like Bergman’s is enormous, but the legacy of artistry that they both left the world is untouchable.

Listened to lots of Henry Threadgill and Sabir Mateen last night.

Labels: Rememberance

A brilliant artist and visionary filmmaker. I used to collect films and study film as well and I adored (and still do) Bergman's work. His work was always compelling, thought-provoking and brilliant.

The Seventh Seal is always the first picture most associate with Bergman, but if you're interested in exploring Bergman's work, check out Cries & Whispers, Persona and of course, Fanny & Alexander. My personal favorite though is Wild Strawberries...brilliant & haunting.


Listening: Harry Partch, I.C.P., Henry Threadgill, solo Cecil records, Myra Melford, Leroy Jenkins, Monk, and some Gamelan stuff I picked up.

Labels: Rememberance

I paid my respects last night by listening to It's A Man's Man's Man's World and thinking about the rehearsal of his that I was honored to witness. His loss obviously saddens me a great deal, and his loss is tremendous.

I will not leave a post a traditional obituary for JB instead I leave you with a quote...

“I went to see the pope, and the pope told me that I should never come to church, because I can do more out there (on the street)… Music is the soul of the people. That’s why I’m the Godfather of Soul. I wouldn’t want to be anything else — wouldn’t want to be a king, or an emperor. I just want to be with the people.”


Rest in Peace




Listening to JB

Labels: Rememberance

One of the great film directors and one of my personal favorites, Robert Altman passed today at the age of 81. I’m sure there are many traditional obituaries scattered all over the internet but I wanted to provide a personal anecdote.

I saw Altman’s film Nashville about 7 years ago for the first time. Other than being directed by a true maverick of film, I felt at the time that the movie had little appeal for me. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Nashville blew me away stylistically and emotionally and left me with a very distinct feeling that still hasn’t left me.

After watching the majority of Altman’s films, I can say that Altman has consistently delivered a high quality of art within the “mainstream” Hollywood framework. What we had in Altman was a true auteur that took chances in his art and even though it may sound corny…I feel made the world a better place.

Two more of my favorites:
McCabe & Mrs. Miller
The Long Goodbye

He mill be missed.

Labels: Rememberance

NEW YORK (CNN) -- Ed Bradley, the longtime "60 Minutes" correspondent whose probing questions and deceptively relaxed interviewing manner graced some of that show's most notable reports, has died. He was 65.

Bradley died Thursday at New York's Mount Sinai Hospital of leukemia, according to staff members at the CBS program.

Bradley was known for his thoughtful, mellifluous voice and often laid-back approach, a style that often prompted unexpected emotion in his subjects.

Bradley, a great music lover, also interviewed Miles Davis, Lena Horne and Paul Simon, among other performers. He once moonlighted as a disc jockey, earning $1.50 an hour spinning records while working as a teacher by day. In his later years, he hosted the radio show "Jazz at Lincoln Center."

"The idea that I could go to a station and open the cabinet doors of what we called the library and pull out music present and past and play what I liked to play, music I liked to hear, and that there were people out there listening to my taste in music -- man, it just didn't get better than that," he told the online publication All About Jazz in 2004.

Bradley was born June 22, 1941. He grew up in a tough section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he once recalled that his parents worked 20-hour days at two jobs apiece, according to The Associated Press. "I was told, 'You can be anything you want, kid,' " he once told an interviewer. "When you hear that often enough, you believe it."

Bradley began his career in radio at WDAS in his hometown in 1963. In 1967, he moved to New York and radio station WCBS, and then joined CBS News as a stringer in the Paris, France, bureau in 1971.

After a stint in Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City), Vietnam, he came to Washington in 1974. He covered Jimmy Carter's presidential campaign in 1976, then became CBS' first African-American White House correspondent.

CNN's David Fitzpatrick, a former CBS producer who worked with Bradley, said there were tears in the halls of CBS News after word came of his passing.

"He was gracious," Fitzpatrick said. "He would always have a smile."

Bradley is survived by his wife, Patricia Blanchet.

Labels: Rememberance

It seems as though I’ve been losing a lot of things that I love lately. Today Tower Records announced that it was be sold to the highest bidder Great American Group for $134.3 million dollars. The reason why that is heartbreaking is that Great American Group is a liquidator and will do what the make money doing…closing up shop.

Here are the statistics:

30…hrs (length of bidding auction)

134.3…million (dollars Tower was sold for)

89…total Tower Records stores closing

Over 3,0000…Tower Records employees with jobs eliminated

46…years Tower Records has been open

500,000…dollars difference in winning bid

Yeah, I’m bummed but I think its important to think of what this symbolizes in the global scheme of the music industry. Internet music sales and especially music downloads constitute an enormous percentage of sales. With I-Tunes being the industry leader in downloads, the buying of an actual physical product has become obsolete.

Record stores are so important to me. Some of the greatest conversations I have ever had about music occurred in a record store with some stranger who happened to be in the isle I was in. In fact I met a great friend at Tower records once, Mr. Leonard from KFSR’s Jazz programming…that was over 10 years ago!

Ultimately, the reason businesses close down is simple. The demand for supply decreases to such a level that it no longer remains profitable to stay open. Unfortunately, as businesses close in the 21st century, much of that has to do with technology as a replacement. I wonder if we’ll ever miss the human touch of it all…


I'm gonna go a listen to some Ted Curson.

Peace

Labels: Rememberance

My heart is hurting.


Dewey Redman, An Enduring Original, 1931-2006
by Andrea Canter, Jazz Police

Dewey Redman once described himself as "survivor." He survived criticism of the "free" music he played with Ornette Coleman in the late 60s, well before the jazz public was ready for the unusual harmonies of what was then known as "avant garde." He survived prostate cancer (diagnosed in the late 90s), coming back to perform and record in the 21st century, playing into his 70s and outliving, outplaying many of his early cohorts. And he survived a fair amount of oversight, these days known more as the father of modern lion, Joshua Redman, despite his years as a singular artist with a very different style than his offspring. Dewey passed away on September 2nd at age 75 due to liver failure. Probably his music will finally receive the level of recognition it always deserved.

Growing up in the 30s in Ft. Worth, Texas, Dewey heard Duke Ellington on his parents' records. He also traces his musical inclinations to a man he later realized was most likely his uncle, the great bandleader Don Redman, whom he never met. At first he sought trumpet lessons, "because it had three keys. I figured I could work that out." However, he was discouraged when the school music teacher told him "your lips are too big." Instead, Dewey started out on clarinet in a church band at 13 and later played in his high school marching band with another young musician named Ornette Coleman. He was largely self taught, having "learned by trial and error and watching other saxophone players do what I do and asking them questions. That's the best lessons in the world."

Redman played alto and tenor in his college jazz band at Prairie View A & M, finally settling on the tenor. After a stint in the Army and years of teaching music while gigging on weekends, he moved to California in 1959, working with Pharoah Sanders and Wes Montgomery around the Bay Area; he moved to New York in the late 60s where he became a part of the avant garde scene with old pal Ornette Coleman. In addition to his work with Coleman, he displayed a talent for adapting to a wide range of styles, playing with Old and New Dreams (Don Cherry, Charlie Haden and Ed Blackwell), Pat Metheny, Keith Jarrett, Carla Bley, and Haden's Liberation Orchestra, and leading his own ensembles. "I like to play it all-styles as far as I can, because in my band we are playing the so-called avant-garde, a little be-bop, ballads, blues. I also play the musette… it comes from the Middle East. I try to do a variety of styles, because one style bores me."

Redman was a more popular performer in Europe than in the U.S., noting that "I especially like to play in Europe, because the appreciation for jazz is much greater than it is in America outside of New York, New Orleans and Chicago. America is not as great for me as Europe." Free or bop and everything in-between, Dewey released more than a dozen recordings under his own name, and twice recorded with son Joshua on Coincides and African Venus. Last spring, Redman celebrated his 75th as part of the SF Jazz season (directed by son Joshua) in San Francisco, performing with a quartet anchored by Twin Cities' giants Gordon Johnson (bass) and Phil Hey (drums), with Frank Kimbrough on keys. He reconnected with Johnson and Hey at the Twin Cities' Hot Summer Jazz Festival in June. Noted Phil Hey, "He was a great artist and a very cool guy. I never met anyone who loved music more."

Dewey was still blowing strong at the end. He played his last gig just a week earlier in Manhattan at the Charlie Parker Jazz Festival in Tompkins Square, with his quartet including Frank Kimbrough, John Menegon and Tani Tabaal.

With his "limitless capacity for improvisational invention" (Jazz Times), Dewey Redman was one of the last of the great "Texas Tenors, " but perhaps more than any other, had a sound that defied classification, a style that was free yet melodic, beyond mainstream yet always accessible. It was a sound that, like Dewey himself, endured despite the ever-changing norms of the jazz audience.

Labels: Rememberance

John Hicks, known as "June" to his family, wrote these final words,
read to loved ones by his brother Raiford Hicks at his funeral May 26, 2006.

TO MY FAMILY; THINGS ARE GOING TO BE DIFFERENT
(June's Wishes Before the Final Call)


I have now stepped aside and leave you all with a grave responsibility, the responsibility of sharing and caring for each other; the responsibility of loving each other unconditionally; the responsibility of letting go of anger towards God; resentments and attitudes of indifference and intolerance. No day can be too long, no demands upon your time can be too urgent, no task too hard, no effort too great. You will need rigorous patience with yourself and each other. You must be prepared for criticism. At times, you may even feel a lack of appreciation. You may even be misunderstood at times. I call on each of you, especially Paula, Raiford, and Emma Lou to continue to practice what mama and daddy taught us: that sometimes it's better to understand, rather than be understood. We have seen fire and rain together. Some sunny days we thought would never end.

Remember, the only thing that is impossible is the impossible.

With Love,
June

Labels: Rememberance

Duke Jordan died on Tuesday (August 8th) in Copenhagen. The news summons thoughts of the beauty of his piano playing and the gentleness of his personality. Jordan's touch, harmonic sensitivity and gift for the creation of melodic lines made him a favorite colleague of Charlie Parker, Stan Getz, Gene Ammons and Chet Baker, to name a few who benefited from his artistry. He had worked earlier with Roy Eldridge, Coleman Hawkins and the Savoy Sultans, but his playing on Parker's 1947 recordings on the Dial label, when he was twenty-five, brought him his first wide recognition. His introductions to ballads were often little masterpieces. The four bars leading into Parker's "Embraceable You" constitute one of the most exquisite moments in all of recorded jazz, and one of the most imitated.

In the days of three-minute records, Jordan rarely had more than sixteen bars of solo time in Parker's quintet or sextet sessions, but he invariably constructed short stories with beginnings, middles and endings, never filling the time with random improvisation. An example of his cogency is in the middle of "Quasimodo," which happens to also be "Embraceable You" under the guise of an original Parker melody line. Both of those pieces are on this CD.

A prodigious composer, Jordan's most famous piece is "Jordu," a staple of the modern jazz repertoire. "No Problem" may be a close second. He wrote it for the sound track of Roger Vadim's Les Liaisons Dangereuses. He was also the co-composer, as Jacques Marray, of the soundtrack for that 1959 film, with contributions by Thelonious Monk. After he moved to Copenhagen in 1978, Jordan recorded copiously as a leader and with Chet Baker, Doug Raney, Clifford Jordan and others.

The times I was privileged to be around him, Jordan was quiet, easy in his skin and earnest. He was the pianist for Sam Most's 1976 album Mostly Flute, which had Tal Farlow on guitar, bassist Sam Jones and drummer Billy Higgins. In the liner notes, I recounted a recording session incident that typified Duke's attitude.

"The More I See You" is taken at a bright medium-up tempo. Duke's introduction recalls some of the gems he recorded with Parker, and he has one of the best solos of the date. In the control room, heads were shaking in admiration during this one, and afterward when Jordan walked in asking, "Was that all right?" everyone broke up.
Duke Jordan, dead at eighty-four.

Labels: Rememberance

Moacir Santos, a Brazilian pop music composer who influenced scores of musicians in his native country while living his later years in relative obscurity in the U.S., has died. He was 80.

Santos died Aug. 6 of complications from a stroke suffered about a month ago, said Richard Zirinsky Jr., managing partner of Adventure Music, which released Santos' last two albums. Santos had been living in an assisted living home in Pasadena, a suburb of Los Angeles.

Santos was raised in rural poverty in the northeast Brazilian state of Pernambuco. After his father left and mother died, a young Santos was taken in by a local family and sent to music lessons.

Santos was able to play several instruments by the age of 14, including clarinet, banjo, mandolin and baritone saxophone. By his 20s, Santos was earning a living as a musician in Rio de Janeiro, composing music for Brazil's Radio Nacional.

In the 1950s and '60s, Santos taught music to several young musicians who became important bossa nova performers, including Nara Leao, Baden Powell, Carlos Lyra and Roberto Menescal.

During this time, Santos also scored a number of Brazilian films and recorded the acclaimed album "Coisas" - a musical embodiment of Brazil's diverse ethnic heritage. The album was a mix of marches, African rhythms, jazz influences and regional Brazilian idioms.

Critic Larry Blumenfeld wrote in the Village Voice that "Coisas" represented "the best of Brazilian jazz."

In 1967, Santos left Brazil with his wife for Southern California, where he recorded several uncredited scores for Hollywood movies and three albums for the Blue Note. His 1972 album "The Maestro" received a Grammy nomination.

After several years of obscurity, a group of younger and better-known Brazilian musicians, including Milton Nascimento and Gilberto Gil, recorded a compilation of covers of Santos' best work - a two-CD set called "Ouro Negro."

The 2001 album reawakened musicians and fans of Brazilian music to the scope of Santos' influence.

"Moacir spent the better part of his life in obscurity and it's really a thrill for me that he finally was recognized at the latter years of his life," Zirinsky said.

Santos is survived by his wife, Cleonice; son, Moacir Santos Jr.; and three grandchildren who all live in Pasadena.

Labels: Rememberance

R.I.P. John Hicks (December 21st, 1942-May 10th, 2006)

John Hicks was my teacher, hero, and my friend. I loved him, and it has broken my heart to know that I will never see him again. John meant more to me personally than any other musician ever has, and fortunately for me, he also invested more time in my musical future than anyone else. I would love for John Hicks to be remembered for his warmth, humor, and his unique musicianship: there was no one quite like him and there never will be. My first album was dedicated to him, and a rare EP I released a few years ago contains a song I wrote dedicated to and inspired by him simply entitled, Mr. Hicks. I was fortunate enough to perform it for him at a concert at which I opened for him. I will always remember John’s look after that performance…I Loved Him Madly.

John's last performance on Sunday was at the church his late father ministered at - St. Marks United Methodist Church 138th Street & St. Nicholas. This was also the Church that John first played when he moved to NY from his native St. Louis.

John, You Will Never Be Forgotten.

Labels: Rememberance

Jackie McLean-one of my heroes and a great inspiration to me personally is now in heaven.

If you want to know more please read below...


HARTFORD, Connecticut--Jazz alto saxophonist Jackie McLean, a performer and educator who played with legendary musicians including Miles Davis and Sonny Rollins, died Friday. He was 73. McLean, a contemporary of some of the 20th century's most famed jazz musicians, died at his Hartford home after a long illness, family members told The Hartford Courant.

McLean was founder and artistic director of the Jackie McLean Institute of Jazz at the University of Hartford's Hartt School. He and his wife, actress Dollie McLean, also founded the Artists Collective, a community center and fine arts school in Hartford's inner city primarily serving troubled youth.

University of Hartford President Walter Harrison said Dollie McLean called him Friday with news of her husband's death.

Harrison said that despite his many musical accomplishments, McLean was a modest man whose connections with his students lasted for decades after they left his classroom.

”He fully understood the way that jazz as an art should be passed down to students,” Harrison said. “He saw his role as bringing jazz from the 1950s and '60s and handing it down to artists of today.”

McLean, a native of Harlem in New York City, grew up in a musical family, his father playing guitar in Tiny Bradshaw's band. McLean took up the soprano saxophone as a teen and quickly switched to the alto saxophone, inspired by his godfather's performances in a church choir, he told WBGO-FM in Newark, New Jersey, in an interview in 2004.

McLean went on to play with his friend Rollins from 1948-49 in a Harlem neighborhood band under the tutelage of pianist Bud Powell. Through Powell, McLean met bebop pioneer Charlie “Bird” Parker, who became a major influence on the young alto saxophonist.

He made his first recording when he was 19 on Miles Davis' Dig album, also featuring Rollins, which heralded the beginning of the hard-bop style.

In the 1950s, McLean also played with Charles Mingus and Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, experiences that he credited with helping him find his own style.

”I never really sounded like Bird, but that was my mission,” McLean said in the WBGO radio interview. “I didn't care if people said that I copied him; I loved Bird's playing so much. But Mingus was the one that really pushed me away from the idea and forced me into thinking about having an individual sound and concept.”

McLean made his first recording as a leader in 1955. He drew wide attention with his 1959 debut on Blue Note Records, Jackie's Bag, one of dozens of albums he recorded in the hard-bop and free jazz styles for the label over the next eight years. His 1962 album Let Freedom Ring found him performing with avant-garde musicians.

In 1959-60, he acted in the off-Broadway play “The Connection,” about jazz musicians and drug addiction. McLean, a heroin addict during his early career, later went on to lecture on drug addiction research.

In 1968, after Blue Note terminated his recording contract, McLean began teaching at the University of Hartford. He taught jazz, African-American music, and African-American history and culture, setting up the university's African American Music Department, which later was named in his honor.

He took a break from recording for much of the 1980s to focus on his work as a music educator, but made his recording comeback in 1988 with Dynasty, and later re-signed with Blue Note. His last Blue Note recordings included Fire and Love (1998), featuring his youthful Macband with son Rene McLean on tenor saxophone, and the ballads album Nature Boy (2000).

He received an American Jazz Masters fellowship, the nation's highest jazz honor, from the National Endowment for the Arts in 2001, and toured the world as an educator and performer.

Labels: Rememberance