Missed It . . .

. . .  only by a month. . .


(from wikipedia.com)
The Newport Jazz Festival is a music festival held every summer in Newport, Rhode Island, USA. It was established in 1954 by socialite Elaine Lorillard, who, together with husband Louis Lorillard, financed the festival for many years. The couple hired jazz impresario George Wein to organize the event to help them bring jazz to the resort town.

Most of the early festivals were broadcast on Voice Of America radio and many performances were recorded and have been issued by various record labels.

The Newport Jazz Festival moved to New York City in 1972 and became a two-site festival in 1981 when it returned to Newport and also continued in New York. The festival was known as the JVC Jazz Festival from 1984 to 2008. During the economic downturn of 2009, JVC ceased its support of the festival and was replaced by CareFusion.As of 2012 the festival is sponsored by Natixis Global Asset Management.

The festival is hosted in Newport at Fort Adams State Park, and is often held in the same month as its sister festival, the Newport Folk

In 1954 the first Newport Jazz Festival (billed actually as the "First Annual American Jazz Festival") was held at Newport Casino in the Bellevue Avenue Historic District of Newport, Rhode Island. It incorporated academic panel discussions and featured live musical performances. The live performances were set outdoors, on a lawn. These performances were given by a number of notable jazz musicians including Billie Holiday. The festival was hailed by major magazines and newspapers. Some 13,000 attended between the two days. In general, the festival was regarded as a major success.

In 1955 organizers were planning a second year for the festival but needed to find a new venue. The Newport Casino would not again host the festival since its lawn and other facilities did not stand up well to such a large event. Festival backer Elaine Lorillard, with her husband, purchased "Belcourt", a large estate which was available locally, in hopes of hosting the festival there. The neighborhood would disallow that plan, citing concerns about potential disturbance. The festival went forward at Freebody Park, an arena for sports near the casino. The workshops and receptions would be held at Belcourt, and the music presented at Freebody Park.

Some in upper-class Newport were opposed to the festival. Jazz appreciation was not common within the established upper-class community. The festival was organized mostly by younger members of the elite group populating Newport. The festival brought crowds of commoners to Newport. Many were students who, in the absence of sufficient lodging, slept outdoors wherever they could, with or without tents. Newport was at first not accustomed to this. And, many of the musicians and their fans were African American. Racism too was a factor in Newport as it commonly was across the land during that era. Traffic gridlock and other contention near the downtown venue were legitimate concerns, and were raised.

What do you think?
Tell me at
http://www.rayjozwiak.com/guestbook.html

My latest release, Black & White Then Back,
can be downloaded digitally at:

(or you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
your browser:  http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/rayjozwiak3)

Also, be sure to visit:
http://www.rayjozwiak.com

Tweet

Let Me Count. . .

. . . the alternatives. . .

(from http://www.noneexist.com/preachingtothechoir/index.htm)
“Kicking at an open door?”
“Giving the fish swimming lessons?”
“Recruiting your own members?”
“Persuading the convinced?”
“Convincing fish to swim?”
“Cheering to the pep squad?”
“Lecturing to the faculty?”
“Singing to the band?”
“Selling tuxedos to penguins?”
“You’re trying to open an open door.”
“Lighting the lamp at noon?”
“Explaining logic to Vulcans?”
“Selling whiskey to Jack Daniels?”
“Purring with the cats?
“Carrying coals to Newcastle?”
“Selling milk to a cow?”
“Teaching dogs to bark?”
“Calling your baby cute?”
“Campaigning to the convention?”
“Teaching monkeys how to eat bananas?”
“Campaigning to the candidate?”
“You’re selling past the close.” Or “Selling past the close?”
“Selling to the sold?”
“Flashing the nudist colony?”
“Seducing the willing and eager?”
“Kicking at an open door?”
“Giving the fish swimming lessons?”
“Recruiting your own members?”
“Persuading the convinced?”
“Convincing fish to swim?”
“Cheering to the pep squad?”
“Lecturing to the faculty?”
“Singing to the band?”
“Selling tuxedos to penguins?”
“You’re trying to open an open door.”
“Lighting the lamp at noon?”
“Explaining logic to Vulcans?”
“Selling whiskey to Jack Daniels?”
“Purring with the cats?
“Carrying coals to Newcastle?”
“Selling milk to a cow?”
“Teaching dogs to bark?”
“Calling your baby cute?”
“Campaigning to the convention?”
“Teaching monkeys how to eat bananas?”
“Campaigning to the candidate?”
“You’re selling past the close.” Or “Selling past the close?”
“Selling to the sold?”
“Flashing the nudist colony?”
“Seducing the willing and eager?”

What do you think?
Tell me at
http://www.rayjozwiak.com/guestbook.html

My latest release, Black & White Then Back,
can be downloaded digitally at:

(or you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
your browser:  http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/rayjozwiak3)

Also, be sure to visit:
http://www.rayjozwiak.com

Tweet

More. . .

 

 . . . from the "IS THIS NEWS?" department. . .

(By M. Alex Johnson, Staff Writer, NBC News)
Deriding President Barack Obama as the weakest president "in my adult lifetime," former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld called on the White House on Tuesday to fish or cut bait in Syria.

Rumsfeld said there could be no middle ground in Syria: "You either ought to change the regime, or you ought to do nothing," he said during a question-and-answer session after a lecture at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum in Grand Rapids, Mich.

In his customarily colorful way, Rumsfeld, 81, picked away at Obama for declaring last week that any U.S. response to Syria's alleged use of chemical weapons against its own people wouldn't target President Bashar Assad.

"Why would you go in and fire a shot across the bow?" asked Rumsfeld, who served as Ford's defense secretary during the 1970s and again as head of President George W. Bush's Pentagon during the planning for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan in the early 2000s.

"All it does is make a splash, and ... what you've probably achieved is the embarrassment of the United States for being feckless and ineffective," he said.

Rumsfeld also accused Obama of cutting Secretary of State John Kerry off at the knees after Kerry made a "compelling and persuasive" case for strong military action in Syria last week — only for Obama to later say any U.S. response in Syria would be a "limited, narrow act."

"The president is not, in my view, providing the kind of leadership that I think almost any president in my adult lifetime would be providing," he said.

"You have to have a vision, Rumsfeld said. "You have to know what you're going to do, and you have to provide the kind of leadership the commander in chief would provide."

Despite all of his statements, when asked what guidance he would give on the Syrian situation, however, Rumsfeld did admit, "I'm glad I don't have to give advice to be honest with you."

What do you think?
Tell me at
http://www.rayjozwiak.com/guestbook.html

My latest release, Black & White Then Back,
can be downloaded digitally at:

(or you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
your browser:  http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/rayjozwiak3)

Also, be sure to visit:
http://www.rayjozwiak.com

Tweet

Does Humor. . .

. . . belong on doormats?

(from a doormat tag from High Cotton, Inc., Bluffton, SC)
"Important things you should know about your new doormat

Warning: Do not use mat as a projectile. Sudden acceleration to dangerous speeds may cause injury.  When using mat, follow directions:  Put your right foot in, put your right foot out, put your right foot in and shake it all about.  This mat is not designed to sustain gross weight exceeding 12,000 lbs.  If mat begins to smoke, immediately seek shelter and cover head.  Caution:  If coffee spills on mat, assume that it is very hot.  This mat is not intended to be used as a placemat.  Small food particles trapped in fibers may attract rodents and other vermin. Do not glue mat to porous surfaces, such as pregnant women, pets and heavy machinery.  When not in use, mat should be kept out of reach of children diagnosed with CFED (Compulsive Fiber Eating Disorder). Do not taunt mat.  Failure to comply relieves the maker of this doormat, Simply Precious Home Decor, and its parent company, High Cotton, Inc., of any and all liability."

What do you think?
Tell me at
http://www.rayjozwiak.com/guestbook.html

My latest release, Black & White Then Back,
can be downloaded digitally at:

(or you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
your browser:  http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/rayjozwiak3)

Also, be sure to visit:
http://www.rayjozwiak.com

Tweet

Juvenal . . .

. . . kind-of. . . 

OHO - SEPTEMBER 6, 2013

(Paraphrasing Roman satirist and poet Juvenal )… The population has become complacent and easily satisfied with the mundane — everything, now restrains itself and anxiously hopes for just THREE things:

BREAD and CIRCUSES and . . . OHO
                                                                                                                             
Music begins at 8:00 (on the patio)
or, in the case of less-than-desirable weather, at 9:00 (in the restaurant)

Bread & Circuses Bistro
27 E. Chesapeake Avenue
Towson, MD  21286
410-337-5282
http://bandcbistro.com/

Jay Graboski, David Reeve and Ray Jozwiak are OHO
Also visit http://www.ohomusic.com

What do you think?
Tell me at
http://www.rayjozwiak.com/guestbook.html

My latest release, Black & White Then Back,
can be downloaded digitally at:

(or you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
your browser:  http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/rayjozwiak3)

Also, be sure to visit:
http://www.rayjozwiak.com

Tweet

Thinking. . .

It makes me think of all the beautiful music I've heard
And brings to mind a kind of paradise
It just may be some kind of wonderland magically
Still don't know how this fortune came to me
All the things I see

When I hear the sound of your voice
When I hear the sound of your voice

If feels to me like warmth from sitting in front of a fire
Light of my life you always show the way
Gleam in your eye a spark igniting the fire inside
Burning so bright the way I feel for you
It's like a dream come true

When I hear the sound of your voice
When I hear the sound of your voice

All of my being depends upon you
That's for sure
You're my refuge in a stormy sea
The sun above that shines on me
I thought that love such as this could be found
Only in movies
Just like searching for a pot of gold
Follow the rainbow and do what you're told

Just when you think it's all been said and it's been done before
Should I explain how you're affecting me
It's not control it's more an influence over my soul
Covering all like colors brilliantly
Canvas brush palette three

When I hear the sound of your voice
When I hear the sound of your voice


YOUR VOICE
©1998 Raymond M. Jozwiak





What do you think?
Tell me at
http://www.rayjozwiak.com/guestbook.html

My latest release, Black & White Then Back,
can be downloaded digitally at:

(or you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
your browser:  http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/rayjozwiak3)

Also, be sure to visit:
http://www.rayjozwiak.com

Tweet

If I Were. . .

. . . the Pope . . .

Yeah. I said the Pope.  Don't know why, but I dreamed the other night that I was elected Pope (and I don't recall that I was even running).  Well, actually I do know why I dreamed I was elected Pope.
I recently read "In God's Name: An Investigation Into the Murder of Pope John Paul I" by David Yallop and am in the midst of "Illustrissimi: The Letters of Pope John Paul I" by Albino Luciani.
Not that by any stretch of the imagination do these things qualify me for the office of Pope.  Obviously tuna salad with extra onion and two boiler-makers do indeed qualify me to DREAM that I have attained the office of Pope.

The first action that I took in my new position, if I recall the dream correctly, was RUN.  I'm not sure why I ran nor why I was being chased.  But run I did.  And all the while I was pondering the great changes that I will make as the new Pope.  I almost made sense that I was being chased in light of the radical nature of those changes.  

Not sure if I would have been a good Pope. . . or a BAD one. . .

. . . but then we'll never really know.  Will we?

What do you think?
Tell me at
http://www.rayjozwiak.com/guestbook.html

My latest release, Black & White Then Back,
can be downloaded digitally at:

(or you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
your browser:  http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/rayjozwiak3)

Also, be sure to visit:
http://www.rayjozwiak.com

Tweet