George's Journal

Click here to see older SECRETS FROM THE JAZZ GHETTO posts.
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The Jazz Shmammys - who cares?

Posted: 6 February 2012, 7:47 am - SECRETS FROM THE JAZZ GHETTO

OK, pardon me if I vent a little.  With the new awards structure created by the Grammy Organization, they have cut back the Jazz category from 6 to 4 awards.  

One of them, “Best Improvised Jazz Solo”, has always been a bit of a joke.  How can one solo a year by a jazz artist top all others?  And how many of the Grammy members seek out the recordings and then seek out the solos in question to actually judge which is best?  Luckily, Herbie Hancock did not release an album this year, so someone else has a shot at this category.   

The one good thing they did was remove the “Best Contemporary Jazz Album” category, merging it with the “Best Jazz Instrumental Album” category.  Now that “Smooth Jazz” is officially dead, who can draw the line between “jazz” and “contemporary jazz”?  Of course now The Yellowjackets compete against Sonny Rollins, but hey, why not?  At least they have moved Dave Koz to the "Best Pop Instrumental Album" category. 

More Good news: of the 21 albums nominated, 16 are from independent labels (unless we consider Concord Records a major label – they have 5 nominations).  And now, with the help of Spotify (and little or no help from the Grammy Organization) we can actually listen to all the artists before we vote for a $5.00 monthly fee.  I guess we will see on Feb. 12 if any new names surface amongst the winners, or if the Jazz Grammys continue to be a popularity contest amongst established artists.

Passion Party #424 - Mahler-Palooza

Posted: 6 February 2012, 7:06 am - Passion Party

Some say Mahler is an acquired taste
but I took to his music immediately
when I was introduced to it.

Although he wrote in a Post-Romantic style, in many ways he was the first truly 20th Century composer.

A few words used to describe Mahler in Harold Schonberg's "The Lives of the Great Composers":
eternal questing
seeking and searching
inability to come to terms with society
guilt complex
doubt and anxieties
an "obsessive neurotic"
a psychic weakling
a sentimentalist
austere
despotic
querulous
arrogant
a "manic depressive"

In other words, the first 20th Century Schizoid Man.

"Only when I experience do I compose -
only when I compose do I experience."
- Gustav Mahler

The Los Angeles Philharmonic, under the direction of their 30-year old conductor Gustavo Dudamel, is performing "The Mahler Project", all 9 symphonies (plus the Adagio from the 10th) in a three-week time span.

I, of course, have to go.
I will bask in 7 symphonies in the course of the next 14 days, including the rarely performed Symphony #8 which asks for an orchestra and chorus of 1000 performers.

Over the years this overwhelming amount of music
has spoken to my heart
led me into marriage
and charted points in my mental joy and anguish.

Mahler died at the age of 51 in 1911.
His last completed score (Symphony #10: Adagio) was completed in 1910.
His music, and his life, bridges the last Millennium.
Two years later, Schoenberg performed "Pierrot Lunaire".
Three years later, Stravinsky performed "The Rite of Spring".
Mahler's symphonies certainly led the way, consciously or unconsciously, for these composers.

Mahler was a crazy diamond.
I look forward to spending time studying the facets,
watching them shine.

Passion Party #423 - Three Day Getaway

Posted: 30 January 2012, 7:00 am - Passion Party

This is why you work so hard
This day of leisure
vacationing in Paradise
without getting on a plane
Three days of taking care of just myself
and my wife
our bodies
so in need of repair
our minds
so in need of a cleaning
Not blanking out
just turning off the noise
exercise and conscious eating
and being together.

Passion Party #422 - Compromise

Posted: 24 January 2012, 6:40 am - Passion Party

Somehow in our society
compromise has become a bad word.
"My way or the highway" has become the
Standard Operating Procedure.
Cars have Personal Climate Control
so driver and passenger
need not negotiate on temperature.
Beds come with Firmness Control Numbers
so husband and wife
need not negotiate on sleeping conditions.

We strive for convenience
not compromise
Rather than the pursuit of happiness
we are in pursuit of personal comfort

What do we lose
in embracing the technologies of comfort?
If we no longer need compromise on the easy stuff,
what about the important issues?
Compromise is a skill
and like all skills
it needs to be nurtured and developed
or it will atrophy from lack of use.

Mahler-Palooza

Posted: 22 January 2012, 11:58 am - SECRETS FROM THE JAZZ GHETTO

Some say Mahler is an acquired taste
but I took to his music immediately
when I was introduced to it.

Although he wrote in a Post-Romantic style, in many ways he was the first truly 20th Century composer.

A few words used to describe Mahler in Harold Schonberg's "The Lives of the Great Composers":
eternal questing
seeking and searching
inability to come to terms with society
guilt complex
doubt and anxieties
an "obsessive neurotic"
a psychic weakling
a sentimentalist
austere
despotic
querulous
arrogant
a "manic depressive"

In other words, the first 20th Century Schizoid Man.

"Only when I experience do I compose -
only when I compose do I experience."
- Gustav Mahler
The Los Angeles Philharmonic, under the direction of their 30-year old conductor Gustavo Dudamel, is performing "The Mahler Project", all 9 symphonies (plus the Adagio from the 10th) in a three-week time span.

I, of course, have to go.
I will bask in 7 symphonies in the course of the next 14 days, including the rarely performed Symphony #8 which asks for an orchestra and chorus of 1000 performers.

Over the years this overwhelming amount of music
has spoken to my heart
led me into marriage
and charted points in my mental joy and anguish.

Mahler died at the age of 51 in 1911.
His last completed score (Symphony #10: Adagio) was completed in 1910.
His music, and his life, bridges the Millennium.
Two years later, Schoenberg performed "Pierrot Lunaire".
Three years later, Stravinsky performed "The Rite of Spring".
Mahler's symphonies certainly led the way, consciously or unconsciously, for these composers.

Mahler was a crazy diamond.
I look forward to spending time studying the facets,
watching them shine.

Passion Party #421 - I'm Not So Different From My Dad

Posted: 20 January 2012, 7:58 am - Passion Party

He got his start in the Sheet Metal Business
and soon he knew he had to be his own boss.
He did not love the sheet metal business
He saw it as a way to make money
improve his life
take care of his family
and be able to live well.

I got into the Mortgage Business
and soon I knew I had to be my own boss.
I did not love the mortgage business
I saw it as a way to make money
improve my life
take care of my family
and be able to pursue my creativity and dreams.

The difference is
my dad was consumed by his business.
It meant everything to him.

I built a business designed to give me
financial security and freedom to pursue my passion.
I may not get really rich financially
but my life is incredibly rich
in passion - love - friendship - creativity.

Passion Party #420 - No Limits - No Expectations

Posted: 19 January 2012, 8:14 am - Passion Party

Certainly life has natural limits.
No one lives forever.
A tree does not grow to the sky.
But the human mind and human potential has no limits
Every time someone says "You can't do that",
all you have to do is search for a while
to find someone that has already done it,
and then you know it is possible.

Couple this belief in having no limits
with a lack of expectations
and you get powerful movement.
The voice that says, "It won't work" is momentarily silenced
by "Let's see what happens".
You won't know the result in advance
but isn't hat what life is about?
Living today with
no limits -
no expectations.

Passion Party #419 - After Thanks

Posted: 18 January 2012, 6:35 am - Passion Party

After I give thanks
and tell someone how grateful I am
the most valuable thing I can give
is my time
and my talent.

It can be as big as spending a day at the food bank
or as simple as taking a less fortunate friend to lunch
or taking the thing I am best at
and giving it away for a day.

Imagine if everyone in the world agreed
to give 10% of their time and talent.
2 hours and 15 minutes a day
or 36 1/2 days a year
of just helping others.

It would be a different world.

Just a reminder - The Jazz&Blues Revue at Vitello's Jan 25

Posted: 17 January 2012, 6:53 am - SECRETS FROM THE JAZZ GHETTO

Passion Party #418 - Why? vs. How?

Posted: 17 January 2012, 6:46 am - Passion Party

When we were kids
every question was "Why?".
Why is the sky blue?
Why do I have to brush my teeth?
Why do the stars twinkle at night?

Then our questions turned to "How?".
How do you make breakfast?
How do I tie my shoes?
How do you drive a car?
And how does the engine work?

Schools are filled with how.
Jobs are filled with how.
We get so filled up with How
we often forget Why.

But the passion is in the why:
that is where the power lies.
Why are you doing what you are doing?

If you have a strong enough why
you can always find the how.

Click here to see older SECRETS FROM THE JAZZ GHETTO posts.
Click here to see older Passion Party posts.