Sailing on an emerald sea.
Advertisements and color photographs
Don’t mean that much to me.
Poolside cocktails;
Love in the sand.
It’s like a dream that just came true.
I just don’t know how much that I can stand.
Many temptations are swimming round my head.
So many places that you’d think I’d like to be instead but . . .
I’m always thinking of you.
I hope you think of me too.
I only want to be where you are.
Riding to the Wellington Club.
I’d have a driver and he’d take me there.
I’d just sit back and put my two feet up.
Money doesn’t measure the man.
All you can do is spend it; spend again.
It only goes so far. You can’t pretend.
Many times over I’ve seen it slip away.
I’d like to live that life sometime
But baby not today. Cause . . .
I get a feeling when I’m with you
That nothing else captures the same way.
You know it’s true.
If you see the pyramids rise
Above the desert sand into the sky,
A greater sight you just won’t realize.
River fights its way to the sea.
Worthy opponents just can’t hinder it.
It always gets to where it wants to be.
Just like the river, I see my destiny.
It’s right there in your very eyes
Each time you look at me and . . .
. . . demo of The Bitter End (of which the instrumental version appears on Chromatose) . . .
You never want to have to hear a word
From me again
Never want to have to see my face
At your door
If there's so much as the mention of
My name
You can feel an uncontrollable
Fit of pain
I'm the one
That you said
You would love
Til the bitter end
This must really be
This must really be the end
Nothing could be fitter
This must really be
This must really be the end
Make no mistake it's bitter
You never want us to be seen again
In public places
Can't explain it to another friend
How it goes
You say there's torment that you feel inside
From many things
I can tell you that I still don't know
What that means
Long ago
We were friends
Far removed
From this bitter end
There's no candy coating
To make it go down easier
Not so simple to digest
No bright colors and no
Exotic flavors sweetening
What you see is what you get
You never want to have to hear a word
From me again
Never want to have to see my face
At your door
If there's so much as the mention of
My name
You can feel an uncontrollable
Fit of pain
With one fell
Swoop you sent
Me direct to the bitter end
Parade performed on solo piano in its complete form.
Version with vocal coming soon.
It’s a parade
A satire for oppression
Provocateur
To oversee dissection
Notoriety; a craving
Never ending ’til it’s quenched
But no sooner than accomplished
Viciously starting all over again
Just what we need
More hatred for a weapon
Follow the lead
Against your own discretion
Try offending this offender
At each opportune moment
Though there’s little chance of succeeding
Save who you can but survivors are few
Sure of your place
Certain of you own infamy
Confident of the position you hold
Should you expand magnanimity to fellow man
Loss of some acolytes
Is a price you suspect
You’re simply not able to pay
Then through it all
In disrepute emerging
You took the fall
Sacramental; a purging
Now the party days are over
You don’t have to check IDs
Hubris took you out with much ease
I find that these days, I love writing. Writing just about anything, with possibly my favoriite - writing music. I don't necessarily mean transcribing, or writing down the notes (although I do enjoy that TOO), but I mean composing, working through melodies, chord progressions and many times, lyrics. Somewhere in the mid 80s, I began a creative, yet academic, exercise of writing as many songs as I could. Being inspired by much of the good pop music of the time, and much encouragement from budding singer-songwriter communities, I was averaging one new song per month. Maybe no record output, but very satisfactory to me for my own purposes. Now, in my attempt to capture some old demos (from cassette tapes) to digital, I am discovering many nice memories from the past.
This tune was written purposely to utilize the romantic, simple, trite, english of tin-pan alley plus, expanding my production chops, I decided to perform it in a doo-wop style singing multiple vocal parts acapella.
Taking in my daily sustenance down at my local Scottish restaurant
When I noticed that my entree was more than I bargained for
Look what I got
The manager said there was compensation coming my way
But not today
Don't call us
Don't call us
Don't call us
We'll call you
Aunty Lynn said it would be a sin to waste my precious vocal expertise
So I took me to audition down at the prestigious theater called the Ritz
Producer man was nice as he could be
He said I was fine
But not this time
Don't call us
Don't call us
Don't call us
We'll call you
Seems I've been hearing the same thing since I don't know when
One with a little less confidence might just give in
I'm no one's fool unless I want to be
Life can be cruel
Won't someone please just call me
At the end of just what seemed to be a perfect evening just what did I do
Could it be something I said or didn't follow through
I wish I knew
We danced and dined
I even kissed your hand
Under a twinkling sky
I said goodbye when you cried
Don't call us
Don't call us
Don't call us
We'll call you
Why is it that a young, handsome, twenty-something dude singing about how much he will love is young, cute, blond, girlfriend (in his video) moves so many more (and vocal) people than an old guy singing about how much he loves his significant other, as he has for the past forty years? . . .
. . . YOUTH. (A stretch of the literal, imaginative and credible, to be sure, but an observation not totally invalid.)
(Reproduced praise for a talented, young artist on YouTube-NOT undeserved, mind you)
. . . You never cease to amaze me with your pure talent. I really hope this was written for someone special in your life; you truly deserve love and happiness.
I love this song
This channel is so underrated. It really deserves more attention.
Not only do I adore your amazing talent and personality, I admire this song. Been on repeat for days ever since I heard it for the first time.
I am a huge fan of your music. I love that you do love songs. Not many singer/songwriters do. I have been a fan for a while now. and LOVE your collaborations . . . I hope you guys will make another sometime. but, this song. is fantastic! I feel like i can really relate to your music and hope you never stop writing music.
OHO's "Ocean City Ditty," the CD single is now available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/oho4
(and, if you're in town, at Trax On Wax on Frederick Rd. in Catonsville, MD) OHO is Jay Graboski, David Reeve & Ray Jozwiak. Please Visit http://www.ohomusic.com
My latest solo offering, Just More Music by Ray Jozwiak, featuring original, instrumental piano music is now available at - Just More Music by Ray Jozwiak
(To Access all Ray Jozwiak - Gonzo Piano music you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
your browser: http://http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/RayJozwiak)
(from The Joker by Thomas Mann)
". . . The action had been roughly thought out in advance, but the details had to be improvised. The vocal strains, accompanied by the warbling of the clarinets and the drone of my cardboard drum, were sweet and passionate, and the text was strange and sonorous: verses full of bold and grandiose words, which occasionally rhymed but seldom made sense. The opera nevertheless took its course: with my left hand I drummed, with my mouth I sang and played , and with my right hand I conducted not only the performers on the stage but everyone else, with such diligent care that as each act ended enthusiastic applause broke out, the curtain had to rise again and again and the conductor was often obliged to turn round on his rostrum and express his thanks with a dignified but fortified bow to the auditorium.
And indeed, as I packed up my theater after such a performance, flushed by my exertions, I would feel both exhausted and happy, as a great artist must feel at the triumphant completion of a work in which he has given of his best. . . "
OHO's
"Ocean City Ditty," the
CD single is now available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/oho4
(and, if
you're in town, at Trax On Wax on Frederick Rd. in Catonsville, MD)
My latest solo release, '2014' of original, instrumental piano music, can be downloaded digitally at:
(or you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
your browser: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/rayjozwiak4)
. . . from the past (circa 1997 and featuring Spencer Jozwiak, formerly of Angel Fallen and Left Stronger)
Taking in my daily sustenance
Down at my local Scottish restaurant
When I
noticed that my entree was
More than I bargained for
Look what I got
The manager said there was compensation
Coming my way
But not today
Don't call us
Don't call us
Don't call us
We'll call you
Auntie
Lynn said it would be a sin
To waste my precious vocal expertise
So I
took me to audition down
At the prestigious theater called the Ritz
Producer man was nice as he could be
He said I was fine
But not this
time
Don't call us
Don't call us
Don't call us
We'll call you
Seems
I've been hearing
The same thing since
I don't know when
Some with a
little less
Confidence might just give in
I'm no one's fool
Unless I
want to be
Life can be cruel
Won't someone please
Just call me
At
the end of what had seemed to be
A perfect evening
Just what did I do
Could it be something I said
Or didn't follow-through
I wish I
knew
We danced and dined
I even kissed your hand
Under a twinkling
sky
I said goodbye
When you cried
Don't call us
Don't call us
Don't call us
We'll call you
(from Wikipedia.com)
". . .Even at a young age, Carter was able to bring a new vocal style to jazz. The breathiness of her voice was a characteristic seldom seen before her appearance on the music scene. She also was well known for her passion for scat singing and her strong belief that the throwaway attitude that most jazz musicians approached it with was inappropriate and wasteful due to its spontaneity and basic inventiveness, seldom seen elsewhere.In 1977, (BETTY)Carter reached a new high in fame for herself, being lauded by critics, media, and fans for her talent, and even teaching a master class with her past mentor, Dizzy Gillespie, at Harvard. In the last decade of her life, Carter began to receive even wider acclaim and recognition. In 1987 she signed with Verve Records, who reissued most of her Bet-Car albums on CD for the first time and made them available to wider audiences. In 1988 she won a Grammy for her album Look What I Got! and sang in a guest appearance on The Cosby Show (episode "How Do You Get to Carnegie Hall?"). In 1994 she performed at the White House and was a headliner at Verve's 50th anniversary celebration in Carnegie Hall. She was the subject of a 1994 short film by Dick Fontaine, Betty Carter: New All the Time. . .
. . .In 1997 she was awarded a National Medal of Arts by President Bill Clinton. This award was one of thousands, but Carter considered this medal to be her most important that she received in her lifetime. . .
Carter continued to perform, tour, and record, as well as search for new talent until she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in the summer of 1998. Betty Carter died on September 26, 1998, at the age of 69, and was later cremated.
Legacy
Carter often recruited young accompanists for performances and recordings, insisting that she "learned a lot from these young players, because they're raw and they come up with things that I would never think about doing."
1993 was Carter's biggest year of innovation, creating a program called Jazz Ahead, which took 20 students who were given the opportunity to spend an entire week training and composing with Carter, a program that still exists to this day and is hosted in The Kennedy Center.
Betty Carter is considered responsible for discovering great jazz talent, her list including such names as John Hicks, Curtis Lundy, Mulgrew Miller, Cyrus Chestnut, Dave Holland, Stephen Scott, Kenny Washington, Benny Green and more. . .
"One cannot embrace true vocal jazz without embracing Betty Carter. I think most singers develop along the lines of imitation, assimilation and hopefully innovation. Not many can boast having achieved the latter. None would argue that Betty did, and that she held the doors open for anyone who would enter." -Vanessa Rubin
"She was a great inspiration, and she always had her own individual approach to things. Betty wasn't interested in getting a hit record; she was more faithful to the tradition of the music for the sake of the best that you could possibly be. A lot of people would comment about how tough she was, but what I got out of that was her demand for excellence." -John Hicks (played piano with Carter 1966–1968, 1974–1980)
"She was like a big sister to me. I learned more about how to play the drums from Betty Carter than I have from some drummers! She was the epitome of a serious, strong jazz artist – strong woman. When you came off her bandstand, you'd be wringing your shirt out! You ain't gonna sit up there and look cute – she'd kick your ass more than a horn player. Betty was phenomenal!" -Greg Bandy (drums: 1973; 1980-'82). . ."
(from wikipedia.com)
". . . Between 1992 and 1995, (Van Dyke) Parks teamed up again with a then-reclusive Brian Wilson to create the album Orange Crate Art. Parks wrote all of the songs on the album, except "This Town Goes Down At Sunset" and George Gershwin instrumental "Lullaby", with vocals by Wilson. Orange Crate Art is a tribute to the Southern California of the early 1900s, and a lyrical tribute to the beauty of Northern California. It was recorded during a stressful period for Wilson, after being involved in court orders relating to years of psychiatric misconduct he had been subject to. According to Parks, "When I found him, he was alone in a room staring at a television. It was off." The album was met with poor commercial reception, much to the disappointment of Parks. . . "
First line-up
The first manifestation of the group was established in 1969 in New York City by Tim Hauser, Erin Dickins, Marty Nelson, and Pat Rosalia. Gene Pistilli, a good friend, soon became an integral component and composed for, and recorded with, the group. They contracted with Capitol Records, recorded several tracks, and issued their first album, Jukin' (1971).The album listed the original group in the order of billing determined by sequence to this first group's formation as was customary to the industry. Accordingly, Erin Dickins, Pat Rosalia, Tim Hauser, and Marty Nelson were listed out of alphabetical order. The album was later reissued in the UK by EMI's Music for Pleasure under the title The Manhattan Transfer and Gene Pistilli. Pistilli had been best known for his performing and songwriting collaborations with Terry Cashman and Tommy West. This team endured until 1973. According to Hauser, "Gene and I were in two different places. He was more into R&B, and the Memphis sound, and by then I'd become more interested in jazz and swing..."
They also gained a following in Europe, where their next two albums, Coming Out and Pastiche, brought a string of hits. One was a revival of Wayne Shanklin's "Chanson D'Amour", which became a number one hit in the UK and Australia in 1977, though it failed to chart in the U.S. These were followed by a live album, The Manhattan Transfer Live, which was recorded in the UK and reached the UK Top 5.
small.jpg)
