The feeling's oh so strong. . .

. . . because you've got to have friends. . .

(from wikipedia.com)
". . . Buzzy Linhart (born March 3, 1943) is an American rock music performer and musician.
Born William Linhart in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he began honing his craft playing percussion for symphony at the age of seven, switching to vibraphone at ten. (It is not known specifically when he actually acquired his nickname of "Buzzy.") At fourteen he entered the Cleveland Music School Settlement which was a world renowned conservatory of music. Because of this training he led bands all through school and at the age of 18 entered the U.S. Navy School of Music as a percussionist. In 1963, he moved to New York City and became friends and roommates with John Sebastian. He also became a protege to the senior guitarist and folk singer Fred Neil. One of his first bands, with fellow musicians Steve DeNaut, Serge Katzen and Max Ochs was the Seventh Sons who released one influential raga-rock LP for ESP Records. Buzzy eventually released a series of solo albums from the late 1960s to the mid-1970s starting with his Philips "buzzy" in 1969.

His prowess on the vibraphone found him performing as a session musician on recordings by Buffy  Sainte-Marie, Richie Havens, Carly Simon, Cat Mother; the All Night Newsboys and even Jimi Hendrix(on the Cry of Love).

Perhaps Linhart's biggest claim to fame was his joint authorship and composition of (You Got To Have) Friends, a collaboration with Mark "Moogy" Klingman, which became singer Bette Midler's de facto theme song. This was the end of his major label career, but although he never achieved commercial success, Linhart has continued to write, record, sing and compose music to this day. He also achieved some notoriety from his appearance in the opening sequence of the cult movie The Groove Tube, as a hippie hitchhiker. He was also a regular on the 1976 television show Bill Cosby. . . "

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AMBIENCE & WINE
Hear A LITTLE AMBIENCE & WINE
©2011 Raymond M. Jozwiak
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On very special. . .

. . . occasions. . .

When celebrating felt right
This place we'd go
With AMBIENCE AND WINE
On a Saturday night
Caricatures hung on the wall
Eavesdropping on our most intimate moments
I love you

It was essential to go there
To mark the passage of time
Between the dates
We used to signify
The bond we shared and to dine
Only served Angus A-1 prime
To patrons of each and every persuasion
I loved you

But now that place is all gone
Where did our love go
Where is the ambience and
McCafferty's piano

While you eat you're serenaded by some local musician
Playing bad renditions of the popular songs
You sing along

And so it ended
Our passion somehow just faded away
And likewise too
That place we held divine
Became a dance club today
The memories come flooding in
Sweet talk and all the romancing we did there
It's gone now

But now that place is all gone
Where did our love go
Where is the ambience and
McCafferty's piano

McCafferty's Piano (from the forthcoming AMBIENCE & WINE [stay tuned])
©2010 Raymond M. Jozwiak


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That takes a lot of brass. . .

. . . and ALSO in October (11th, 1941), Joe's brother Lester was born in the historic village of Bartonsville in Frederick, Maryland, Bowie grew up in St Louis, Missouri. At the age of five he started studying the trumpet with his father, a professional musician. He played with blues musicians such as Little Milton and Albert King, and rhythm and blues stars such as Solomon Burke, Joe Tex, and Rufus Thomas. In 1965, he became Fontella Bass's musical director and husband. He was a co-founder of Black Artists Group (BAG) in St Louis.

In 1966, he moved to Chicago, where he worked as a studio musician, and met Muhal Richard Abrams and Roscoe Mitchell and became a member of the AACM. In 1968, he founded the Art Ensemble of Chicago with Mitchell, Joseph Jarman, and Malachi Favors. He remained a member of this group for the rest of his life, and was also a member of Jack DeJohnette's New Directions quartet. He lived and worked in Jamaica and Africa, and played and recorded with Fela Kuti. Bowie's onstage appearance, in a white lab coat, with his goatee waxed into two points, was an important part of the Art Ensemble's stage show.

In 1984, he formed Lester Bowie's Brass Fantasy, a brass nonet in which Bowie demonstrated jazz's links to other forms of popular music, a decidedly more populist approach than that of the Art Ensemble. With this group he recorded songs made popular by Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, Marilyn Manson, and the Spice Girls, along with more "serious" material. His New York Organ Ensemble featured James Carter and Amina Claudine Myers. (from Wikipedia.com)




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Leaves also fall in October. . .

. . . but musically speaking, Joseph Bowie, the youngest member of the Bowie musician family, began is career in St. Louis, Missouri where he was born October 17, 1953 and raised by his father William Lester Bowie, Sr. & mother Earxie L. Bowie. Joseph’s father was a music teacher and he was greatly influenced by his older brothers Byron (saxophonist & arranger) and older brother Lester, internationally acclaimed jazz trumpeter.

Joe made his first international tour with B.A.G, in 1971 with Oliver Lake, Baikida Carroll, Bobo Shaw, Floyd Leflore & Julius Hemphill moved to Paris to begin his his first major tour with a jazz ensemble. During this time in Paris, Joe worked with other jazz notables; Alan Silva, Frank Wright, Bobby Few and others. He also worked with Dr. John in Montreaux in 1973.

In 1973, Joseph with drummer Charles Bobo Shaw moved to New York City and with the help of Ellen Stuart of La Mama Experimental Theater Group extablished the La Mama children’s theater on the lower east side of NYC. During this period 1973-76 Joe collaborated and performed with Cecil Taylor, Human Arts Ensemble,Leroy Jenkins, Stanley Cowell, Sam Rivers, Ornette Coleman & many more jazz personalities in New York at that time. Joseph became a notable member of the new jazz community in NY. In 1976 he moved briefly to Chicago where he became a Rhythm & Blues specialist, leading bands for Tyrone Davis and other R& B artists. Returning to NYC in 1978 Joseph began working with Punk/funk artist James Chance and soon became a fixture on the new wave scene in NY. Defunkt was born during that time. During the next 25 years, Defunkt has recorded 15 CD’s and Joseph has become a funk officianado throughout the world collaborating with funk entities such as Dave Doran, Sigi finkel, Wolf Wolf, Jean -Paul Bourelly. (from http://www.allaboutjazz.com)




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There was. . .

. . . an interesting post on Facebook by a wonderfully gifted musician to the effect that some people say jazz should update itself and that the classic jazz is old and tired. The only problem is that such people are in effect, telling a substantial percentage of the jazz audience to go to hell. . .

Which sparked quite a rash of comments; rightly and understandably. Most of the responders seemed to agree that new and innovative are good, but old, classic is good also. I've often reflected on such sentiments after hearing an either particularly articulate opponent (or proponent) or just a particularly boisterous opponent (or proponent) of one form or genre of music or another.

Some of the comments, exceprted or paraphrased:

They say if it sounds good, it is good. Music knows no genre, culture, or era.

I dont play jazz, I play music.

Some people only want to hear memories, not music.

Just do what you do and be happy.

Jazz is a timeless art form.

If no one kept an open mind to new things, we wouldn't even have Dixieland, Swing, Bebop or Post-Bop, would we?

Just play what you love . . .

Everyone has an opinion

If you try to please everyone you get stagnation.

Ornette says, ". . . I would like for you guys to follow the idea."



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Then There Was. . .

I've always been curious about blogging and wary of tweeting. I mean, who really wants to know every fleeting thought that crosses my warped little mind? And I base this curiosity and wariness on my own tastes. In all honesty, I have little to no interest in the fleeting thoughts of too many people. If I think about it hard enough, I may be able to conjure up two or three names. But pop 'icons', actors/actresses (or other 'entertainers'), media 'celebrities', 'news' commentators, talk show hosts and politicians for the most part, have difficulty enough formulating a coherent sentence let alone expressing any thought, sentiment or observation about a topic that would be of even the most remote interest to ME.

So having said THAT, I begin my first blog. Yes, the thoughts, sentiments, observations, incoherent (and hopefully a few coherent) sentences and fleeting thoughts of MINE for all to see!

What the $*&#k was I thinking????

(Hear my music at http://www.rayjozwiak.com)