July 20, 2008 - Benny

My Influences:

Sgt. Benjamin T. Upton, USMC
Bagpipes, accordion, electric bass guitar, guitar, harmonica, etc.

In 1994, I was (feeling) stuck in Okinawa. Culture shock didn't treat me too well and I hid in my barracks room away from the drunks that populated Camp Hansen and elsewhere on the island.
Luckily and thankfully, Benny, The Sniper happened along. We met through another malcontent Marine who wanted to put together a punk rock band.
Ben shook me out of my culture shock funk and we started exploring the finer bits of Okinawa (far away from Camp Hansen)! He was/is a very silly man and, like me, seems to have been raised on Monty Python. Life is to be done in a random manner, backwards, upside down, tossed and turned, jumbled, odd, and as absurd as possible. We were fast friends and have been close ever since.
As it goes for me, we were both assigned to the 31st MEU (SOC) as attachments to a platoon of Combat Engineers. Benny and I trained together day and night for that year in Okinawa. If we weren't training together on or off base, we were playing music together for ourselves or in clubs in the City or taking adventures around Okinawa learning its fascinating history and its beautiful culture.

Benny and I have stayed in touch over the years. I'm very proud to call him a close friend. There are very few folks I trust in a pinch, warriors that will watch my back always; Benny is one. I also trust him to speak his mind and share his honest thoughts. And, of course, life is always interesting when Benny is near.
He is a good man, a good warrior, and a great friend!

SQWAK!


Some links:
http://www.interpunk.com/item.cfm?Item=56087&

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"When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty."
~ Thomas Jefferson

July 13, 2008 - The Big Jug Band

My Influences:

The Big Jug Band

Weird stuff seems to happen (to me) on a fairly regular basis. I'm not entirely sure whether I seek it out or I attract it (it may be both) or that's just how things are in the Universe? Most of that weird stuff has a habit of presenting me with opportunities for positive and/or constructive growth.
The Big Jug Band is definitely weird stuff.
The Big Jug Band has been nothing but positive and constructive on its own, let alone its positive and constructive influence on me.

As I mentioned before (http://ryan-gould.blogspot.com/2008/06/feb-11-2008-wags-macklin.html), in late 1999, an ad ran in the Austin Chronicle asking for interested parties to contact the poster. The poster was our good friend and famous bare-knuckle boxer, Wags Macklin, Wash-Tub Bassist.
I met with this illustrious gentlemen. He told me that two others had responded; the four of us met soon after. Brady Coleman, Craig High, Wags Macklin and I stumbled on each other and, unintentionally, struck up a beautiful relationship that grew into something amazing.

We would meet on the back porch at Craig's or in Brady's kitchen on regular basis. We'd play music, enjoy BBQ, share some tales and get hip to some cool stuff going on in town. No matter what we did, I felt closer and closer to the band and it became less and less like a band and more and more like family - brothers and sisters, that is; not cousins.

Over these last eight years, The Big Jug Band has grown, by ones, by twos, by fours, by fives ... no matter the number, it has also grown happily. Each new member has brought (brings) something wonderful and fresh making our hearts lighter and expanding our ideas, educating and energizing our souls and minds.
(I'm using that particular pronoun because it's a safe bet that most of the band members will say the same thing if you ask them).
Individuals and bands have not only joined this bunch, individuals and bands have struck up and ventured forth from this bunch to become contributing members of Austin's music scene. So, you can thank a Jug Band for, at least, some of the music around town!



The Big Jug Band has affected me and continues to do so in a notable way. I have met some of the dearest people in my life through this band. These folks have supported me and loved me unconditionally, they have watched out for me in troubled times and celebrated with me during momentous occassions. The Big Jug Band is a community of its own due its size and it is good example of what we should all be trying to do in the bigger picture: look out for each other.
Thanks Big Jug Band family; I love you!

Some links:
www.myspace.com/thebigjugband

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"In a man's mind, his face is on his arm because he wears his heart on his sleeve." ~ E. Hayes, June 2008

July 6, 2008 - Brady Coleman

My Influences:



Brady Coleman
guitar, fiddle, acting, marrying, lawyering

Today's bit rounds out the original Uncle Smithee's Big Jug Band line-up.
Brady Coleman was one of the three who responded to the ever-intrepid Wags Macklin's "BASS (Washtub)" ad in the Austin Chronicle. That was my introduction to this wonderful human being.

What I remember about my first hangs with Brady is the incredible lightness of spirit that he brought with him. In an entirely effortless manner, he walked into the room and, somehow, made my troubles (if not everyone's troubles) weigh very much less.
There's just something about the way Brady carries himself and what he wants to give to the world. It was and is always a pleasure to be in his company, let alone hold a conversation with him or play music with him or listen to and/or watch him perform. It was and is a spiritually healing hang, too!

When Brady hosts Jug Band jams at his place, he's kind, gracious and generous. When he swings by for jams at our place or any other place, he's the very same. Wherever he goes, he's kind, gracious and generous.

Brady's also been a great sounding board. He's always given me an open ear as well as intelligent advice. He's a true friend and truly great person; so much so, that Lauryn and I asked him to be an officiant (along with brother Craig) for our wedding. (Should you ever want a two-officiant marrying team for your wedding, these are the guys to do it!)

Brady, you are incredible! Thanks for the great music, great friendship, great officiating and great inspiration in the past and in the future. You are the person more of us should be!

Some links:
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0170952/
Fancy Resume: http://www.actorsclearinghouse.com/oncam/male/bradycoleman.html
Melancholy Ramblers: http://www.melancholyramblers.com/

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"In a man's mind, his face is on his arm because he wears his heart on his sleeve."
~ E. Hayes, June 2008

June 22, 2008 - Milt Hinton

My Influences:

Milt Hinton (June 23, 1910 - Dec. 19, 2000)
"The Judge" - "The Dean of Jazz Bassists"
string bass, photography

The quick bio for those of you who aren't familiar:
Born in Vicksburg, Mississippi in 1910. Moved to Chicago in 1920.
He began studying music with his mother at home. He studied violin then moved to the bass end with cello, bass saxophone and tuba, finally discovering string bass and, obviously, sticking with it.
In the early 1930's, Hinton began working with Eddie South primarily. He also worked with numerous other jazz greats: Jabbo Smith, Erskine Tate, Freddie Keppard, Tiny Parham, Zutty Singleton, etc.
In 1936, Al Morgan left the Cab Calloway Orchestra and opened a spot of our man. He stayed in that spot until 1951 when the Orchestra disbanded.
Following his Calloway years, Hinton stayed in New York where he established himself as THE first call bassist, sometimes working three three-hour recording sessions a day. He is the most recorded bassist in history. There is little doubt that you haven't heard his playing, consciously or otherwise, at some point in your life.
He continued this work, as well as touring and playing with some heavy hitting bands (like the Louis Armstrong All-Stars) until his death in December 2000.
Throughout his career, Milt Hinton made it a habit to carry with him a camera. He documented his life's surroundings and (coincidentally) some great piece of jazz history.
There is, of course, plenty of information regarding The Judge available on the world-information-web-inter-highway-wide-net. Some links to start your research are included below, as always.

Milt Hinton was the first jazz bassist that ever caught my ear. I heard his name mentioned on a how-to video (we'll discuss that in a future piece) and immediately found my way to the local Tower Records to purchase the first recording I could find bearing his name.
That happened to be a Chronological Classics volume of Cab Calloway material. The first tune that grabbed me was "The Man With Jive." Altogether, the entire tune grabbed at pieces of my childhood and very directly, unquestionably, pointed out to me the path I was going to travel. The tune itself is a very clear representation of what moves me in jazz and the presentation of it by the band was and is something for which I constantly strive as a band member and musicianer.
The next tune that grabbed me (more like, grabbed me, punched me, kneed me in my special purpose then laughed at me, slapped me and poked out my eyeballs) was "Pluckin' The Bass." This tune - obviously - featured Milt Hinton and his mastery of slap bass. To this day, you will NOT find a better slap bass feature. Not only does this song display Hinton's incredible virtuosity with the technique, it displays the most tasteful use of this virtuosity.
I was hooked - completely!
- Incidentally, pulling that off (the tasteful virtuosity) is not very easy considering the unavoidable harshness of said technique.

As if his music wasn't quite enough ...
From all reports, Milt Hinton was the nicest man as well as a very professional musicianer, and he valued both of those traits in himself and others. A local Austin bassist and friend of mine took a lesson with The Judge. He said that it was a great hang on top of being a good lesson. He said that Mr. Hinton treated him with kindness and compliments. I've spoken to a handful of bassists and musicianers around town who have had the fortune to spend some time with the man and they have all reported the same thing: professionalism and warm-hearted kindness - a genuine love for life and the life music gave him.
I feel that in his music; I see that in videos of him playing; I sense that in his interviews and stories I read.
The man's great spirit comes through in everything he does and I consider myself very lucky to count him as one my biggest influences and inspirations, musically and otherwise.

Thanks for the music and thanks for the great contributions to this world and the people in it! You are amazing, Milt Hinton!

Some links:

http://www.milthinton.com/
http://www.amazon.com/Bass-Line-Stories-Photographs-Hinton/dp/0877226814
http://www.amazon.com/Playing-Changes-Hintons-Stories-Photographs/dp/0826515746
http://www.baruch.cuny.edu/mishkin/hinton/hinton.html
http://www.riverwalkjazz.org/site/PageServer?pagename=profiles_hinton

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"In a man's mind, his face is on his arm because he wears his heart on his sleeve."

~ E. Hayes, June 2008

June 8, 2008 - Double Bass

My Influences:

Double Bass
double bass, contrabass, string bass, upright bass, bass, doghouse bass, el tololoche, stand-up bass, bull fiddle, bass fiddle, bass violin

This week's featured influence/inspiration may seem quite obvious. (So did air!) But, that's no reason to skip it.

The interested party can easily turn up plenty of historical information on the string bass by following the links included below.

First off, I choose to call it a "string bass" because of the genre and era of music that appeals to me most: early jazz. During that time, bassists were doubling on both double bass and tuba/sousaphone. To distinguish between the two, the terms string bass for double bass and brass bass for tuba/sousaphone were used.

Next up, how did I become interested in string bass?
I'm not entirely sure, really. The instrument always appealed to me, more or less, in the average American, dumbed-down way: it was big and made a low-pitched sound! I wanted to play it but it was always a passing fancy; never anything serious.
In 1997, my cousin (and first guitar teacher) formed a bluegrass band in Pennsylvania. The band lacked a string bass (I guess if we're sticking to the established standard, the band was missing a bull fiddle or bass fiddle). My cousin played for me a demo of the band (sans bass), and I was quite interested in the music.
The conversation that followed (paraphrased):
Cousin John said, "We need a bass player!"
"I've always wanted to play the bass. It doesn't seem like it's too much of a stretch from guitar," replied cousin Ryan.
"Really?! If I get you a bass, will you learn how to play it and be our band's bassist?"
"You bet I will!"
Cousin John wasted no time ... within a week, he brought a bass to my apartment. Unfortunately, he brought me an electric bass guitar! I remember leaving him with some rather colorful words regarding the instrument that he brought having nothing to do with what we had discussed that previous week. Nevertheless, I decided to fool around with it. That didn't last.
Within a week (and thanks to a well-paying warehouse job that was offering me over sixty hour work weeks), I went to the onliest store around that boasted a double bass for sale and snatched it up. The merchant and I smooshed my new instrument into me sweet ride - a 1987 Beretta GT.
Folks, that's how it started. If you feel moved, you can thank my cousin, John and Confab, Inc. for the impetus and wherewithal (with respect) to get me to where I'm at today.

Moving on - how does this giant piece of wood influence me?
For starters, getting that bass in and out of the old Beretta was really not that fun. When that slick sporty car ran out of juice, I found something a bit more conducive to the instrument's size, a 1972 Ford Club Wagon! (Named "The Green Lantern" due to the incredible paint job, shag carpeting, etc. the previous owner applied to the inside and outside of the behemoth)
Since then, I haven't purchased a new (to me) vehicle without heavily considering how it would accommodate my instrument.

What else? Every instrument offers its fair share of medical tribulations if proper technique isn't learned and applied. The string bass has a habit of magnifying these issues. I know more bassists than other instrumentalists who have needed surgery or, at least, some medical care due to the rigors of the instrument. I have suffered a few myself!

I love the string bass! It's a beautiful instrument. It's a powerful instrument. I've heard talented musicianers use the instrument to produce incredible art and share deep, personal thoughts and emotions. There have even been a few times that I've actually managed to use the bass to convey what was going on inside of me in a pleasing manner.
To me, the bass seems a natural extension of my body. It feels right in my hands. As I mentioned in the piece about Pops Foster, I usually play what I feel when I'm playing string bass - that feeling is both an instinctual feeling produced internally as well as a learned habit delivered to me through the kind and warm vibrations of the instrument. The bass and I work together (most of the time!) as one.
The bass is who I am. Hopefully, I am putting a good face on the bass, as well!

Thank you string bass! I look forward to playing you!

Some links:
http://www.earlybass.com/
http://www.gollihurmusic.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/String_bass
http://www.lemur-music.com/
http://www.doublebassguide.com/?page_id=3
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"Allow the president to invade a neighboring nation, whenever he shall deem it necessary to repel an invasion, and you allow him to do so whenever he may choose to say he deems it necessary for such a purpose—and you allow him to make war at pleasure."

~Abraham Lincoln

June 2, 2008 - Dave Biller

My Influences:

Dave Biller
guitar

Dave is, hands down, one of the very best guitarists in Austin and, according to my tastes, one of the very best guitarists in this country. His musicianship is off the charts; he has an ability to tap into just about any style of music and stick it into any song during a solo while comping or right over top of another lead and do it in a way that seems as if it were written that way. And, he does all that in the most unassuming way, without flinching a bit or hinting that he had to think about it or reach deep inside himself to find the idea or wherewithal to pull it off!
He plays in plenty of bands and in all manner of genres; all kinds of country and western swing, all kinds of jazz and swing and even some rock. I've heard him play electric bass in a surf band and he has been playing pedal steel around town lately.
If you aren't extremely familiar with this Austin legend, PLEASE, make yourself that way!

I met Dave ten years ago. He was touring with the Asylum Street Spankers. It only took one solo before we had all perked up and realized that there was something big coming out of his instrument.
When I moved to town, he seemed thrilled that I was here. He warmly welcomed me into this wonderful family of musicianers like I had been a part of it since birth. I certainly didn't feel worthy as I had not developed a lot of the music that I play these days. As a great mentor, though, Dave just threw me into the fire and helped me along when I needed it.
He got me a few gigs here and there and even chose me as the bassist in his gypsy-jazz band, Les Niglos. Soon enough, I found myself playing with him in The Jazz Pharaohs and then in a band called Cheapo Trio (which slowly morphed into Paris 49.)
I have learned so much music from Dave. I have learned so much about how to enjoy gigs, enjoy other musicianers, and so much about how to just do your own thing and, somehow, make it work with whatever else is happening on and off the stage. He has been one of the very best music teachers I could have ever hoped to have.
Dave has also been and continues to be one very great friend!

It's also worth noting that Mr. Biller has taught many of us some of the finer points to playing the "private party;" most notably, where to find and how to obtain cake! If there is sugary-sweet goodness offered to guests (and whether it is offered to the musicianers or not), follow Dave on the break. He will sniff out and plan the proper scheme to procure as much cake as he can for himself and the band.

Thanks for all the music and everything else!

Some links:
http://www.actionpackedevents.com/Billerbio.htm
http://www.gypsyjazz.net/products/cds-leroy-s-swing.php
http://www.vintageguitar.com/features/music/details.asp?AID=1839
www.myspace.com/thejazzpharaohs
www.myspace.com/billerandhorton
www.myspace.com/lucashudginsandthefirstcousins

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"Allow the president to invade a neighboring nation, whenever he shall deem it necessary to repel an invasion, and you allow him to do so whenever he may choose to say he deems it necessary for such a purpose—and you allow him to make war at pleasure."

~Abraham Lincoln

May 25, 2008 - Thomas Waller

My Influences:

Thomas "Fats" Waller (May 21, 1904 - Dec. 14, 1943)
piano, voice, song writing machine


So, we should all know by now that I very much enjoy the lighter side of life. We should also know that I enjoy and respect finely tuned skills and refined talent.
Logically, it follows that if these characteristics are fashioned together and presented with great ease and clarity that I would be quite moved.
I am.
Fats Waller is just plain awesome! His ability on the piano (and/or organ) is stellar. His musical sensibilities match my tastes (light-hearted and silly but charming and, even meaningful.) His performances, live and recorded, are done with ease and grace as well as great levity and happiness. He wrote great songs, seemingly (and, even according to some accounts), without effort. (He wrote what I would guess to be one of the very most popular tunes in the last 100 years of American history, "Ain't Misbehavin'." Every now and again, when I find myself forced in front of one of those television machines, I'll spy a commercial featuring that tune and stand in awe - it was written in 1929 and it's STILL being used as popular music!)

Fats Waller was music. Fats Waller was music delivered in a dearly heart-felt manner; he gave his gifts with a smile on his face and in his heart ... and, I'm not exactly sure you could say which smile was bigger. I do know that you can feel that smile in his heart on the recordings he left us.

Friends, I hope you'll take at least a few minutes to review your study notes on Fats Waller this week. His birthday was last week (May 21) but that's no reason not to spend just a few minutes enjoying the fruits of his labor and, it certainly won't be a strain on your ears or your heart.
I'm not including biographical info on the man because there is TONS of it out here on the world-wide-inter-web-information-net-highway. I'll throw some links below to get you started. (Plus, I went overboard on bio info last week on the coolest of bassists.)

Thanks for the music, Mr. Waller! Thanks for the great spirit with which you gave it to us, as well!

Your links:
http://www.redhotjazz.com/fats.html
http://www.fatswaller.org/
http://newarkwww.rutgers.edu/ijs/fw/fatsmain.htm
YouTube search:
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=fats+waller&search_type=

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"Allow the president to invade a neighboring nation, whenever he shall deem it necessary to repel an invasion, and you allow him to do so whenever he may choose to say he deems it necessary for such a purpose—and you allow him to make war at pleasure."

~Abraham Lincoln

May 18, 2008 - Pops Foster

My Influences:



George "Pops" Foster (May 18, 1892 - Oct 30, 1969)
string bass, brass bass

As promised last week, today I present you with one of the two biggest musical influences in my present course of study in music and in life.

The quick bio:
George "Pops" Foster was born on McCall Plantation in McCall, Louisiana. He moved to New Orleans at the age of nine where his brother, Willie, taught him to play on a homemade bass with three strings (contrary to popular belief, he did not learn to play on a cello - he played cello later in his uncle's band taking Willie's place.)
The first regular gig Pops had began in 1906 with his brother's band, The Rozelle Band. From there, he went on to play with the Magnolia, Tuxedo, Robichaux. Dusen's Eagle, Armand Piron, Keppard and Kid Ory bands in New Orleans.
In 1917, he got on the riverboat with Fate Marable's band.
Pops began playing brass bass in 1921 as bands got bigger and the string bass wasn't enough to hold it down.

1924 led to the first recordings of Pops Foster with Charlie Creath's Jazz-O-Maniacs. (Phonograph recordings for Okeh).
Foster headed back in New Orleans and then to LA and St. Louis for a while then moved to New York in 1929 where he joined the Luis Russell Orchestra. With the Luis Russell Orchestra and his strong, rhythmic drive, Pops cemented (some say popularized - I say reestablished) the string bass's role in jazz bands.
From New York in 1929 and forward, Pops Foster became one of the most prominent, in-demand jazz bassists and found himself working with many of the greatest jazz musicianers - most notably: Sidney Bechet! Of course, the Luis Russell Orchestra eventually became Louis Armstrong's backing band from 1935 through 1940 when Joe Glaser.

... so much for the quick bio ... my apologies, this has gotten out of hand --- even quicker:

Foster's prominence allowed him to play all over the place with just everyone of note in the early jazz and swing music worlds. He landed in San Francisco in the mid-1950's where he was based until his death in 1969.
He later went on (posthumously) to greatly inspire and influence one string bassist from Norristown, Pennsylvania who happens to be the author of this ridiculous gibberish.

If you have any interest in the longer version of the above biographical information, please begin your research with Pops Foster's autobiography:
The Autobiography of Pops Foster: New Orleans Jazzman
http://www.amazon.com/Autobiography-Pops-Foster-Orleans-Jazz/dp/0879308311
This biography not only contains Foster's own account of his life, told with a poetic, working class, "it is what it is" beauty, but a very important look into the beginnings and the early evolutions of jazz in America.
This book, as well as Sidney Bechet's autobiography, (which we talked about last week!) are truly great starts to a fundamental understanding of jazz and its formative years.
Just like Bechet's autobiography, when I finished this book, I knew that I'd been traveling on the right path. I've read the book a number of times since and, each time, I feel the same.

Pops Foster's playing speaks (has always spoken) to me in a majestic and regal way. I'm not sure if it's because I am a bassist (either by birth or by choice) or because he is just that impressive but Foster's playing is usually the first thing I hear on recordings that feature his talents. (Unless it's a Bechet recording, then my brain convulses until it decides on which of the two most important current musical influences and inspirations to focus.)
His great ability to clearly state the exact location of beats one, two, three and four (if I may paraphrase the great words of a great human and great friend, JD Pendley) is surpassed by NONE.
His solos are also mighty examples of what a bassist should be doing - laying it down and holding it together; quarter solos just because that's what the bass does - nothing fancy, no frills; just solid power and skill.
His bass-lines are melodic! It seems to me that Pops Foster was more interested in ensemble playing then just illustrating or arpeggiating the chord structure. He would pedal across four or six bars if he felt it was appropriate, he didn't always hit the root on the strong beat; he was improvising and participating in the polyphonic aspects of early jazz just as much as the front line players.

“Hell, I just play any old go-to-hell note, as long as it swings!" ~ Pops Foster, circa 1946 - 47

And, that's what I've learned from Pops - I don't put too much book-reading into my bass playing. Before the song starts (whether it's in a rehearsal, private practice and study or some crazy band leader throwing a brand new tune at me thirty seconds before I'm supposed to play it in front of an audience), I make some attempt to learn the chord structure of the song. I can tell you how to build chords just as well as any other educated musicianer. When the tune gets going, though, thinking about it sure isn't playing it - feeling it is playing it, and sometimes, roots just don't feel like they're the best note choices! Sometimes, pedaling a common tone for four bars is where the music wants to be so that's where Pops Foster tells me to put it!
My humble apologies for repeating myself but ... Pops Foster WAS music. Hell, he IS music!

Thank you for everything and Happy Birthday, Pops Foster!

some links:
http://www.redhotjazz.com/foster
http://www.answers.com/topic/pops-foster?cat=entertainment
There is a documentary titled "Alma's Jazz Marriage" that presents early jazz history through Alma Foster's (Pops Foster's wife) experience. I have not yet seen it as our local PBS channel only plays it when I can't get to a TV that receives their signal.
If you happen to have a copy of this video, I'd love to see it!
http://www.aptonline.org/catalog.nsf/LengthLookup/39643E6B20F8AD9B85256F3C00706CEA

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"Allow the president to invade a neighboring nation, whenever he shall deem it necessary to repel an invasion, and you allow him to do so whenever he may choose to say he deems it necessary for such a purpose—and you allow him to make war at pleasure."
~Abraham Lincoln

May 11, 2008 - Sidney Bechet

My Influences:

Sidney Bechet (May 14, 1897 - May 14, 1959)
clarinet, saxophone

This section, as you know, deals with my influences. It began because a few of you mentioned to me that it would be a nice bit to add to this silly announcement. I have taken a couple notable liberties to illustrate my influences -- all of my subjects have certainly been inspirations and influences to my music and my musical career (if I can be so bold as to describe it as such.) Today I present you with one of the two biggest musical influences in my present course. (Coincidentally, the second of these two will come next week.)

There is plenty of biographical information out here on the inter-web-net highway as well as at your local library and/or your favorite record store (if your local record store doesn't have at least ten different servings of Bechet recordings, you might consider choosing a new favorite record store)!

The quick summary of Bechet biography goes like this:
He was born on May 14, 1897 in New Orleans, LA. (I have also seen the day listed as Apr. 14, 1897 and the year listed as 1893. Presently, the most accepted date is May 14, 1897.)
Bechet was born into a Creole family with a good connection to music. He nabbed his brother's clarinet and taught himself to play. He began playing with local bands at the age of nine (as the tale goes, when George Brunies showed up late for a gig.) From all accounts, at that age, he was already something to behold.
Fast forward ...
Bechet made significant contributions to early jazz. He is often credited as the first recorded jazz soloist. bla ... bla ... bla ...
(You can read all the biographical bits on him that you like elsewhere.)

What I hear in Bechet is expert musicianship and fantastic conveyance of raw emotion. Bechet's musicianship is obviously evident in his masterful and powerful soloing. His solos can be superb illustrations of artfully crafted, brilliantly executed, arpeggiated runs or effortlessly thoughtful and elegant melodies. No matter how fast or slow the piece, with one note or sixty-seven, Bechet left no doubt that those notes were the exact feelings that had traveled from the experience of his youth, his early adult years, his thoughts on tomorrow or the breakfast he had eaten earlier that day through his deep and soulful heart and out, to his fingers and through the instrument presented in a raw and unadulterated way.
He WAS music.

On top of that (rather abbreviated explanation of my true feelings on Mr. Bechet's extreme talent and mastery of his art), our man wrote a fine autobiography. "Treat It Gentle." Please read this book if you have any real interest in jazz and music in general. In his book, he pretty much sums up why musicianers play music and, to some degree, how. It is an vital and beautiful summary.
Oddly enough, there is quite a lot of history mentioned in this account, as well. Added to the accounts of other early jazz greats (we will be discussing one of these guys next week) and the knowledge of my own experience in traveling a similar path (with an open mind and heart) I've learned a rather interesting and truthful (more realistic) version of the beginnings of American jazz.
When I finished this book I felt (and still feel) like I'm walking the path in the most honorable manner a musicianer can walk.
a link to the book:
http://www.amazon.com/Treat-Gentle-Autobiography-Sidney-Bechet/dp/0306811081

Happy Birthday, Sidney Bechet!!
Thanks for the great music!

some links:
http://www.redhotjazz.com/Bechet.html
http://www.nps.gov/archive/jazz/Jazz%20History_sydney_bechet.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sidney_Bechet
http://www.pbs.org/jazz/biography/artist_id_bechet_sidney.htm
http://www.npr.org/programs/jazzprofiles/archive/bechet.html

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"Government is not reason, it is not eloquence, it is force ... Never for a moment should it be left to irresponsible action."
~George Washington

May 4, 2008 - Air

My Influences:

Air
78.08% nitrogen, 20.95% oxygen, .93% argon, .038% carbon dioxide, trace amounts of other gases and a variable amount (1% average) of water vapor

I can' think of something that has influenced me much more than our Earth's humble, hardworking atmosphere. I like to call it air. I know it's a bit personal but air and I go back all the way to my birth. And, it's been a great relationship!
There has never been a time I have wanted to spend time away from air. The very few instances I can remember when air and I were parted felt painful and constricting; it's a safe bet that prolonged separation from this best of friends would result in death.
Air has helped me through thick and thin and has never let me down.
As a way of thanking air for the constant companionship and steadfast assistance, I exercise very regularly - sometimes two or three times a day. In this way, air and I get to spend some very quality time together.

What's more? Air is not only here for me, air is there for every single one of us human types on the planet. Hell, air is there for every plant and animal as well as so many other biological functions on this planet! Air is just about the hardest worker and best friend to everything there could be!
To think there is no national holiday to celebrate such a wonderful gift! What's wrong with us? We celebrate all manner of silliness in our holidays but not this one thing that gives us life and fills us up? (Shame on us!)

Friends, please join me in thanking air for being there!
Air, you are truly awesome!

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"Government is not reason, it is not eloquence, it is force ... Never for a moment should it be left to irresponsible action."
~George Washington