A CD Review...

Through the graces of Blogcritics, I've been supplied with a few promo CD's for reviewing purposes in recent months. The first one to arrive proved to be a difficult nut to crack. It wasn't quite what I was expecting, and I felt I needed to study it pretty hard and educate myself a bit before putting my impressions onto pixels. And, quite frankly, I felt that it deserved at least a somewhat positive review, even though it didn't really excite me on first hearing. So, I've ended up listening to it a dozen or so times over the last month or two, and gradually pulled together the following. I'd probably call it a three star CD on a five star scale. (Or maybe 7 on a 1 to 10 scale... I think American Bandstand has a lock on the zero to one hundred "it's got a good beat you can dance to it" concept!)

Sir Roland Hanna - Tributaries (Reflections On Tommy Flanagan)

Detroit developed a burgeoning jazz scene following World War II, but like many midwestern urban centers, it's lasting heritage is the string of Jazz Musicians it fed to the gravitational pull of New York City rather than the fruits of its own indigenous scene. Consider the effect on the Big Apple music scene had Milt Jackson, Paul Chambers, Ron Carter, the Jones brothers (Elvin, Thad and Hank) and Kenny Burrell not gone East in the 50's...

Sir Roland Hanna (Unlike 'Duke' Ellington and 'Count' Basie, 'Sir' was not a nickname, but an actual title, bestowed on him by the President of Liberia in 1970 for humanitarian efforts on behalf of that country!) was another Detroit native who made his mark in New York. He approached jazz from the classical tradition, having studied at Eastman and Julliard, then served with both Benny Goodman and Charles Mingus in the 50's before concentrating on his own trio and a steady gig with the Thad Jones / Mel Lewis big band. A tenured professor at Queens College in New York, Hanna finished "Tributaries (Reflections on Tommy Flanagan)" just before his own sudden death in November 2002. (Flanagan had passed away the previous year.)

This Solo Piano CD begins and ends with Flanagan compositions. "Sea Change", the opener, begins in a George Winston mood, then segues into a march tempo with unexpected harmonies and syncopation, relaxing again to the contemplative by the end. The closing "Delarna" sounds like a song with no words, putting me in mind of Bryan Ferry's "These Foolish Things (Remind Me Of You)" for some reason. Lyricism may be the dominant characteristic of the CD, reflecting, perhaps, Flanagan's decade-plus spent as Ella Fitzgerald's accompanist, or Hanna's own time spent with Sarah Vaughan.

Hanna's take on Thad Jones' "A Child Is Born" seems to quote from "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star". If it's good enough for Mozart, why not a 20th Century jazz composer? I wonder if this is intended to evoke a Christmas mood? Not quite the Vince Guaraldi Trio, this feels more like sitting back with a glass of egg nog and rum at midnight after the presents are finally wrapped and under the tree. In contrast, another Jones composition, "'Tis", features considerable energy, syncopation and dynamics.

Gershwin's "Soon" has a nice angular, percussive feel under the melody. Further standards by Cole Porter and Mercer Ellington, and the chestnut "Body And Soul" are explored in a laid-back fashion, swinging melodically, with restrained dynamics, at medium tempos...

Illinois Jacquet's "Robin's Nest" is probably the most upbeat number on the disc. It's easy to imagine a Forties or Fifties tenor sax quartet ripping through this one. Sir Roland flirts with a boogie woogie beat and keeps my toe tapping throughout.

Overall, this is not avant-garde or especially propulsive piano music, but melodic and elegant, with subtle variations in style and texture. A relaxing hour of late evening or weekend afternoon listening. My usual taste in piano players tends more to Professor Longhair and Glenn Gould, and while Hanna shares few obvious characteristics with that odd couple, he also steers clear of the overheated pounding with the sustain pedal that used to pass for dramatic romantic dynamism in the days before heavy metal. Overall, a worthy recording, and a fitting tribute to the memories of two fine musicians.

Comments may be posted at Blogcritics.

Twyford Vitromant Update


Via Ben Turner, corresponding from olde Blighty, Twyford Vitromant is apparently a brand of Toilet fixtures over there in England. Thanks!

I remember being mystified by the neat blue text "K of K USA" on the urinals back in elementary school, eventually deducing that the fine porcelain items in question were probably manufactured by the Kohler Company up there in Kohler, Wisconsin. I never wrote a song about it, though.

The Thoughts of Chairman Bob

Part of the reason I find it worthwhile to check out Robert Fripp's online diary (link to the left) even when he goes weeks without uploading new posts (a common side effect of touring Eastern Europe, running a Guitar Craft seminar in South America, or other extended absences from internet access) is that they automatically revive postings from "this date in history", as well as a randomly selected entry. Recent postings concern the editing and preparation of a 21st Century Guide to King Crimson and his various dealings with home remodeling tradesmen as well as his small pleasures with his wife, his home, and his village. Interesting to me, if not of major importance. And once in a while an observation from the past feels useful in the present tense...

Wednesday 23rd. August, 2000

Part of my morning's reading & reflection: how help is always available, even though we are often not available for help to help us.

The centre of gravity of the act of redemption is love. How easily said, how easily typed. What can this mean? I don't know, and I don't believe it is possible to know redemption on its "own" terms.

The first paragraph resonates especially in my work life just lately. I must attempt to find a way to seek and accept "help" when I find myself spinning my wheels, in loose sand with no traction. Remaining "available" at home is a continuing challenge, as well. And redemption, I suppose, is a gift that needs mostly to be accepted, not necessarily understood.

And I think that's all the bloviation I have time for on that subject today. Now to work!

Happy 13th Birthday, Peter!

Well, as of yesterday, we now have three teenagers in the house. Yow. Good kids, one and all; I hope I can somehow afford to send them off to college in a few years.

I see all the text formatting buttons have disappeared since my last posting. I guess I'll find out what this looks like after I post it. Gotta put something up here before the month disappears, or so the contract requires...

Lots I could write about, but I have a tendency to get things out of my system in various e-mail exchanges, so they don't wind up here. Considering there are but infrequent clues that anyone may be reading this stuff (and that's okay, of course), I see no reason to change at this time.

The Gala BCHS 73 31st Classless Reunion was great fun a couple weekends ago, and if I saw you there, I hope you felt the same. If I didn't see you there, you may be hearing from me yet! My sunburn is nearly done peeling off my shoulders, the photos aren't back from the drugstore yet, and I hear Bruce's stereo is rebroken already. And I have lots of Work to do and not a lot of time to do it in.

Till next month...

James Lileks, Michael Moore, George Orwell and Bob Dylan

The Daily Bleat pointed to Christopher Hitchens' response to Fahrenheit 9/11 over at Slate/MSN. Interesting reading, but if you don't make it all the way through his deconstruction of Moore's disjointed anti-Bush spew, don't miss the George Orwell quotation near the end:

Perhaps vaguely aware that his movie so completely lacks gravitas, Moore concludes with a sonorous reading of some words from George Orwell. The words are taken from 1984 and consist of a third-person analysis of a hypothetical, endless, and contrived war between three superpowers. The clear intention ... is to suggest that there is no moral distinction between the United States, the Taliban, and the Baath Party and that the war against jihad is about nothing. If Moore had studied a bit more, or at all, he could have read Orwell really saying, and in his own voice, the following:

The majority of pacifists either belong to obscure religious sects or are simply humanitarians who object to taking life and prefer not to follow their thoughts beyond that point. But there is a minority of intellectual pacifists, whose real though unacknowledged motive appears to be hatred of western democracy and admiration for totalitarianism. Pacifist propaganda usually boils down to saying that one side is as bad as the other, but if one looks closely at the writing of the younger intellectual pacifists, one finds that they do not by any means express impartial disapproval but are directed almost entirely against Britain and the United States …

And that's just from Orwell's Notes on Nationalism in May 1945. A short word of advice: In general, it's highly unwise to quote Orwell if you are already way out of your depth on the question of moral equivalence. It's also incautious to remind people of Orwell if you are engaged in a sophomoric celluloid rewriting of recent history.

I'll try to remember.

On an unrelated note, an eminent poetry scholar has published a 500 page book about the poetry of Bob Dylan, and more or less misses the point. Good article if you're a Dylan fan, or especially if you're a high school English teacher subjecting the kids to a "Poetry of Rock" curriculum.

Cartoon Cat Commentary

Ray's Place is a bit short on advice today, but his analysis of (I guess you'd call it) Today's Alternative Rock sure strikes a chord. (How about G⁷?)

It is some hot heavy that you got a gig at Live 105... For those of you who don’t know, Live 105 plays alternative hits from the 70s, 80s and 90s, but they also spin the latest generation of alternative, you know, where a bunch of haircuts who are 20 play in a band that has the levels mixed essentially correctly and the lyrics are:

I’M A KID AND I’M KID KID YELLIN’
I’M KID KID YELLIN’
I’M A KID AND I’M KID KID YELLIN’
KID KID YELLIN’ AT YOU

So sometimes when Live 105 does “flashback lunch” or whatever, I can get meaty bones on old Iggy or also on an old Blondie track. But when they play Kid Kid Yellin’, I just feel like I have a big shit in my pants, and that Live 105 put the shit there with that type of tri-nozzle machine that fills up Twinkies.

Ray has a hella way with words. All hail, Chris Onstad.

The Daily Fripp

As an adult, in situations where there is no intention on my part to upset or disturb, the reaction of others is not, and cannot be, my responsibility. As adults we accept responsibility for our own emotional lives. If I hold a grudge over time, this is my responsibility, not the responsibility of the person who gave offence. The benefit of several decades of observing negativity closely held is a powerful argument to forgive, let go, move on.

Where someone is deliberately nasty, what registers is the intent. This is often, for me, like being pierced. It is an attack, and an attack does not take place by accident. The attack is not my responsibility. How I respond to that attack is my responsibility. In some situations, sometimes no response is a response, especially when past responses to the antagonist have been seized upon as an opportunity to engage in the dumping of more nastiness, or locking me into negative conversational knots.

Quietly sending goodwill, even when difficult, mysteriously changes something and sets up a series of unexpected & unanticipated repercussions. - RF - Friday 4th May, 2001.

That's some of his serious side, and this bit resonates with me somehow. The Quiet One. Hmm.

Previously, in the same post he queries: "Ian's English humour shines through throughout. The question is: why has he not written material before now?" My question is, why doesn't a literate, clever, insightful and intelligent (not to mention small and mobile) unit like the Fripp write any lyrics for King Crimson? I guess the short answer is that the singer must write his own words if he is to believe them and deliver them believably. With certain historical exceptions. Playing guitar is hard enough. What Belew does within the band is demonstrably miraculous. Still, a more overt reflection/incarnation of the Head Crim's remarkable outlook within their recorded output would be a cool addition to the KC fabric...

Recommended Download

The Master Plan - "Find Something Beautiful" from their new album, Colossus Of Destiny. The band is Andy Shernoff from the Dictators, Keith Streng and the drummer from the Fleshtones and another guitarist from the Waxing Poetics, who I haven't heard of previously. Yes, it rocks; intelligently, with good spirit and emphatically. Excellent quality complete song, 192kbps mp3, and the CD is available directly for $12 postpaid. Paypal accepted. Recommended.

Where To Find People

Langenberg.com has Zip code lookups, White Pages, Yellow Pages, etc. It's a meta-lookup thingie, if I'm using that technical jargon correctly, as it will submit your search info to a number of sites and link you to the results. Anyway, it works pretty good, and at home the other day I couldn't remember it and Google just seemed to point me to a bunch of frickin' pay sites...

Twyford Vitromant

That's a two word phrase that's been stuck in my head for some time. I have no idea what it means, other than it's Bonzo Dog Band related. A bit of Googling suggests it's a Neil Innes song, and uncovers an excellent Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band page. Educate yourself, and if you don't have a mess of recordings by these guys, you've only yourself to blame. Or maybe you had to be there. I never was, quite, myself, but your mileage may vary. Still, classic immortal British insanity in abundance, if that sort of thing appeals to you.