My Ego . . .

Sometimes I can get my point across
And I do it rather well
You can see
What I think
About me

It's just my ego
It gets the best of me
It's just my ego
It's just my ego
It just won't let me be
It just won't let me be alone
It's not one of my most redeeming qualities
Still though it serves me rather well sometimes
It won't be easy to just let it go
It's just my ego

I take such great pride in what I do
Everyone should take some too
Don't you think
Pride in me
Not in you

It's just my ego
It gets the best of me
It's just my ego
It's just my ego
It just won't let me be
It just won't let me be alone
It's not one of my most redeeming qualities
Still though it serves me rather well sometimes
It won't be easy to just let it go
It's just my ego

There's a fine distinction between confidence and pride
There's a fine distinction that I'll never know
Cloaked with some discretion you emerge from the inside
I emerge in all my glory
What is there to hide

Mother said that I would never make
Any friends if I don't see
What I'm like
If I don't lose some pride

It's just my ego
It gets the best of me
It's just my ego
It's just my ego
It just won't let me be
It just won't let me be alone
It's not one of my most redeeming qualities
Still though it serves me rather well sometimes
It won't be easy to just let it go
It's just my ego


My Ego
from Chromatose
©2002 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

Thelonious. . .

(from http://www.monkzone.com/monkzone.htm)
Minton’s, legend has it, was where the “bebop revolution” began. The after-hours jam sessions at Minton’s, along with similar musical gatherings at Monroe’s Uptown House, Dan Wall’s Chili Shack, among others, attracted a new generation of musicians brimming with fresh ideas about harmony and rhythm—notably Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Mary Lou Williams, Kenny Clarke, Oscar Pettiford, Max Roach, Tadd Dameron, and Monk’s close friend and fellow pianist, Bud Powell. Monk’s harmonic innovations proved fundamental to the development of modern jazz in this period. Anointed by some critics as the “High Priest of Bebop,” several of his compositions (“52nd Street Theme,” “Round Midnight,” “Epistrophy” [co-written with Kenny Clarke and originally titled “Fly Right” and then “Iambic Pentameter”], “I Mean You”) were favorites among his contemporaries.

Yet, as much as Monk helped usher in the bebop revolution, he also charted a new course for modern music few were willing to follow. Whereas most pianists of the bebop era played sparse chords in the left hand and emphasized fast, even eighth and sixteenth notes in the right hand, Monk combined an active right hand with an equally active left hand, fusing stride and angular rhythms that utilized the entire keyboard. And in an era when fast, dense, virtuosic solos were the order of the day, Monk was famous for his use of space and silence. In addition to his unique phrasing and economy of notes, Monk would “lay out” pretty regularly, enabling his sidemen to experiment free of the piano’s fixed pitches. As a composer, Monk was less interested in writing new melodic lines over popular chord progressions than in creating a whole new architecture for his music, one in which harmony and rhythm melded seamlessly with the melody. “Everything I play is different,” Monk once explained, “different melody, different harmony, different structure. Each piece is different from the other. . . . [W]hen the song tells a story, when it gets a certain sound, then it’s through . . . completed.”

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

So He Says . . .

. . . the cop let his friend off with a warning, after reviewing her license and registration, allowing 'just one swerve' before getting an actual ticket next time.  Shouldn't everyone be allowed 'just one swerve'?


I swerved to miss a turtle
As he watched the traffic hurtle
Past him from the center of the street
I saw him stick his snout out
Pulled off and played the Boy Scout
And snatched him from the jaws of defeat…

It was just a single swerve
And surely didn't deserve
A hundred-dollar fine for Careless Driving
But the Highway Patrol
Said “Think of it as toll --
Now please drive on, sir, I’m advising”

Just one swerve, that's all it took to
Get written up in that little black book
Just one swerve, what can I say?
One small turtle
Made it through another day

If you’re a Hindu or a Buddhist
You know there is a karma list
Good actions always earn you more
God, always thinking green,
Will use your soul again
In some new creature, depends on your score…

Just when you think you're
Doing the right thing
Life is a bumblebee
Administering a sharp sting

So with very little drama
I’m storing up good karma
One hundred-dollar turtle at a time!
But that Patrolman’s karma’s bad
It almost seems a little sad
That he’ll come back as a bug next time…

Just one swerve, that's all it took to
Get written up in that little black book
Just one swerve, what can I say?
One small turtle
Made it through another day


Swerve
(demo recording)
Lyrics by Rod Deacey
Music by Ray 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

Unresolved, in fact . . .

Conclusions by both the FBI and NTSB are suspicious, at best, with regard to what really happened.
Some convincing evidence does exist but to date, no one has been held accountable for what appears to be an assassination.

 (from American Assassination; The Strange Death of Senator Paul Wellstone by Four Arrows and Jim Fetzer)
 ". . . Once again, Wellstone seems to have been a nemesis for big business.  However, Wellstone posed an even more significant and costly threat to corporate profit-making interests. He tried to enable the 2002 defense appropriations bill to bar corporate tax dodgers from being eligible for defense department contracts.  Additionally, he successfully amended the Homeland Security bill to bar those companies from getting contracts with the new "Department of Homeland Security." Both amendments passed on the Senate floor by voice votes.

After the November election - and after Paul Wellstone's tragic death - the final version of the homeland security bill gutted the Wellstone amendment. His bills were obliterated by enough waivers to assure that corporate lobby groups would indeed land the billion-dollar defense contracts we have now seen, especially in Iraq.  Similarly, a mental health reform Wellstone had championed, which would have required insurance companies to provide mental health coverage on a par with physical health coverage if their policies cover both, has been successfully blocked, one more indication that the loss of "the conscience of the Senate" continues to make a difference. . ."

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

Next . . .

. . . year. . .

. . .  is . . .

. . .  2014 . . .


2014 is my new, digital-download only, solo, instrumental piano music release which brings you up to date with my musical mind. A lot has happened in the past year since the release of Black & White Then Back. Devotion to the iconic Baltimore prog/folk/jazz/pop/rock band OHO has exerted a significantly positive effect upon me and my music in addition to adding perspective and richness to my life. The reconnecting with these and other good folks from my past, both musicians and non-musicians,  has brought additional spice to my thoughts, reflections and philosophies and contributes to my continuing growth and evolution.

What more appropriate name for such a musical collection than 2014?

2014 will be available through digital distribution only at http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/RayJozwiak April 8, 2014

What's being and what's been said . . .
". . . From the first note we are swept off our feet by a sultry sound of tantalizing notes and dashing fingers. The album’s mood is kept consistent throughout all tracks. The music engulfs you and the notes just relax your body. . . " (Kyzer Davis of http://www.bracketandbracket.com)

". . . One can hear little snippets of this and that running throughout his work, just enough to put you in the mind of a long forgotten favorite before he turns it inside out or upside down . . ." (Joe Hartlaub, http://www.music-reviewer.com/)

". . . He tries to play every note on the keyboard a few times, but puts special emphasis on the ones in the middle, as they wear out fastest… While running his tests, he channels Erroll Garner and sometimes Thelonious Monk, and plays himself into corners that you just don't think he’s going to get out of – but, wait – a quick wriggle and there he is gliding across the open floor… " (Rod Deacey, Board Member of the Frederick Acoustic Musicians Enterprise (FAME), Musician, Performer, Writer, Poet, Organizer, Emcee, Bluesman)
                                                                   
For a Promotional Copy, Please Contact:
Ray Jozwiak
Website:  http://www.rayjozwiak.com
Email:  pjozwiak@verizon.net
Phone:  410-369-8463
Snail:  1049 Winsford Road
Towson, MD 21204
USA


Highs & Lows
©2013 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

Tweaking. . .

. . . the ditty. . .
another mix of OHO's Ocean City Ditty.  Crisper sound; several instrumental modifications;  Jay's 'McGuinn'-style lead to the fore. . . 



O - C - E - A - N   C - I - T-Y
On your mark get set
Disconnect that internet
Every girl and boy
Breathing in the joy
Not a care at last
Sit outside and bask
In rays of summer's bliss 

Crabs and fish and shells
Feel your tensions melt
Fries and pizza pie
Smiles won't be denied
Everything is cool
in 2 1 8 4 2
Feel the sparkle in your eyes

Catch a wave and ride
Cars and motorbikes
Bikini babes in the sand
Vibin' to rockin' bands
Ocean City

From Memorial to Labor Day
We beckon you to play
To a boardwalk beat
Miles and miles of beach
Your memories to take
Currents dance and sway
leave your footprints in the sand

Fireworks at night
Give your love a kiss
Sail and fish the sea
Here life is a beach
in Ocean City

Now is the time that's right
For you only live once
Time does drag when it's all work and no fun
The ocean gateway calls you
Sport your shorts and shades
It's so divine to dine at life's buffet
It's almost heaven and
There's so much more we can say

Catch a wave and ride
Cool cars and motorbikes
Bikinis on the sand
Dance to rockin' bands
Ocean City


Ocean City Ditty
written by John P. Graboski






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

Words . . .

Representation is the use of signs that stand in for and take the place of something else. It is through representation that people organize the world and reality through the act of naming its elements. Signs are arranged in order to form semantic constructions and express relations. For many philosophers, both ancient and modern, man is regarded as the "representational animal" or homo symbolicum, the creature whose distinct character is the creation and the manipulation of signs – things that "stand for" or "take the place of" something else.

"God” is a human word but does point to something that is real; a presence, something into which we are able to live, not just an idol constructed in our own image. The word “God” points to something that human language can never encompass. We should strive to bear witness to our beliefs by the way we live. Part of loving another person is to give them the freedom to process truth and reality in their own personal way and time. The journey into the mystery of God is a life’s work. The only thing that is ultimately destructive is when we begin to believe that we have arrived and that now we possess the ultimate and final truth.
(thanks to http://johnshelbyspong.com and http://www.wikipedia.com and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Representation_%28arts%29)

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