School . . .

 . . . of jazz


Jazz originated in the late nineteenth century in the Southern United States combining some European harmony and forms with African musical elements such as blue notes, improvisation, polyrhythms and syncopation.

As it spread many distinctive styles evolved such as  New Orleans jazz dating from the early 1910s, big band swing, Kansas City jazz and Gypsy jazz from the 1930s and 1940s, bebop from the mid-1940s, Afro-Cuban jazz, West Coast jazz, ska jazz, cool jazz, Indo jazz, avant-garde jazz, soul jazz, modal jazz, chamber jazz, free jazz, Latin jazz, smooth jazz, jazz fusion and jazz rock, jazz funk, loft jazz, punk jazz, acid jazz, ethno jazz, jazz rap, cyber jazz, M-Base and nu jazz.

Louis Armstrong said to Bing Crosby on the latter's radio show, "Ah, swing, well, we used to call it syncopation, then they called it ragtime, then blues, then jazz. Now, it's swing.  Armstrong also said, "If you have to ask what jazz is, you'll never know. In a 1988 interview, jazz musician J. J. Johnson said, "Jazz is restless. It won't stay put and it never will".  Ellington said, "By and large, jazz has always been like the kind of a man you wouldn’t want your daughter to associate with."

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Tell me at
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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', can be downloaded digitally at:

(or you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
your browser:  http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/rayjozwiak4)

Also, be sure to visit:
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We Complain . . .

 . . . the floor's uneven . . .

. . . When we simply don't know how to dance

In a sentimental treason

Each word is charged as every glance



My foes approach and I start singing

How do I defend against my friends?

The treasure buried where I fumbled

The ball into the tiger's den



Maddened fingers spar

With the laughing strings

I was very close but no cigar



We were on the corner with our cup

The lad with light feet made the girl light up

Putting the pep back into the step

Where you would leap is now where I have leapt



I'm an easy victim of nostalgia

I was making friends among the blind

The filament was bright at high noon

Radiating from the signs



Maddened fingers spar

With the laughing strings

It was very close but no cigar



Find the low denominator

With a hundred pairs of eyes

Leaning on an arm that failed us

Against the grain it's common life



I was choking on imagination

Still I know I get the gist

Sifting through a tired memory

In Paris turning with the twist


Close But No Cigar
by John P. Graboski
(Oho [Jay Graboski, David Reeve, Ray Jozwiak]
recorded at Band Bash 2014 - “You’re With the Band!” -May 24, 2014)





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

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', can be downloaded digitally at:

(or you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
your browser:  http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/rayjozwiak4)

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

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Elections . . .

. . . in Syria??

 “Force is all conquering, but it's victories are short lived.”
― Abraham Lincoln 

“Peace cannot be kept by force; it can only be achieved by understanding.”
― Albert Einstein

"Non-violence is the greatest force at the disposal of mankind. It is mightier than the mightiest weapon of destruction devised by the ingenuity of man."
Mahatma Gandhi

“I was not designed to be forced. I will breathe after my own fashion. Let us see who is the strongest.”
― Henry David Thoreau

“In the present case it is a little inaccurate to say I hate everything. I am strongly in favor of common sense, common honesty and common decency. This makes me forever ineligible to any public office of trust or profit in the Republic. But I do not repine, for I am a subject of it only by force of arms.”
― H.L. Mencken

“. . . the paradox of tolerance: Unlimited tolerance must lead to the disappearance of tolerance. If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them.
― Karl Popper

“I find I am much prouder of the victory I obtain over myself, when, in the very ardor of dispute, I make myself submit to my adversary’s force of reason, than I am pleased with the victory I obtain over him through his weakness.”
― Michel de Montaigne

“Without knowing the force of words, it is impossible to know more.”
― Confucius

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

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', can be downloaded digitally at:

(or you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
your browser:  http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/rayjozwiak4)

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

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A Horse Is A . . .

. . . Horse. . .


Are YOU at a loss for a clever name for your horse?  Are you tired of acey-deucy names for your horses? Do words fail you when the situation calls for a snappy equine moniker?  Are the only horse names that come to YOUR mind Fury, Flicka or Wildfire?

Well YOU need worry no more!  Call US- ACME Horse Handles and your horse naming troubles will be over!

We will provide you with a hard-boot, added-weight, head of the stretch horse name of your choosing. . . and we also give you a 30day guarantee where we will replace your horse name absolutely free if you're not satisfied with the first one.

Sweat (horse-sweat?) no long over what you will call YOUR future triple-crown winner.  Suffer embarrassment no longer over your horse's lackluster name.  We come up with odds on horse names across the board.

Call us today at 123-WENAMIT.  That's 123-WENAMIT today.

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

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', can be downloaded digitally at:

(or you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
your browser:  http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/rayjozwiak4)

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

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A Real Winer . . .

(Thanks to Elizabeth Chuck http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/phony-wine-seller-waits-find-out-how-much-prison-time-n117391)
Hear about Rudy Kurniawan who went from being one of the world's most respected collectors of aged and premier wines to being found guilty last year of fraud for selling counterfeit wines and defrauding a finance company?

Lawyers on both sides are unable to say exactly how much fake wine Kurniawan sold, in part because only one of his victims, billionaire William Koch, has come forward and documented how much he believes was schemed out of.  Kurniawan's attorney said. But, he added, Kurniawan has $3.4 million worth of wine left in his warehouse, leaving about $36 million worth of wine unaccounted for. In a letter to the judge, prosecuters argued there is "reliable evidence" that Kurniawan earned millions more from his scheme, "above and beyond the $20,730,000 that the government seeks in forfeiture."

Kurniawan was once one of the top five wine collectors in the elite world of world of fine vintage wine, according to AFP. Through sales at auctions and directly to collectors, he sold more than 1,000 fake bottles that he blended in his kitchen on the outskirts of Los Angeles. In her 2006 Los Angeles Times article, Brown profiled Kurniawan, his expensive dinner parties, and his collection of cars — a Bentley and a Ferrari were among them — along with his aspirations for continued success in the wine business.

Kurniawan had become "almost compulsive" by 2003 and said he was drawn to selling counterfeit wine because expectations had risen so high about the wine he had, and he wanted to keep the friends he had made through his wine business. "Bringing extraordinary wines brought acceptance and recognition," the filing said. "Rudy liked the feeling of being the center of attention. It gave him a feeling of achievement and belonging that he had never before experienced."

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

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', can be downloaded digitally at:

(or you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
your browser:  http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/rayjozwiak4)

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

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Limousine. . .

She comes out of the night she wrote every book you've read
Fingering her pearls every bead a lover dead
She wears that feathered hat ends up burning on the bed
Her freedom ring's not cheap the beast the till both must be fed

We twins sit on this leather seat this woman this man
One lives the level of her heart the other's gland's in hand
She serves that wicked brew opens minds opens eyes
Holds up the looking glass cracks to cut the shame that binds

What is is what is not is too
This emptiness inside includes
The mystery awaiting moving you
To be released and not removed

And she runs me down in my limousine
And she picks me up in my limousine
And we drive it home give our breath away
Though I'm left alone no way am I the same

The hand extends the fingers eyed they fondle urging every word
You only have what you give up fluxing in the flow
Holding on to what you want will only keep it out of reach
And lock you up inside yourself and block epiphany

Read the beat the rhythm takes and gives
The bodies dance in primal play
Forever steps alive into today
Here each word points but does not say

And she runs me down in my limousine
And she picks me up in my limousine
And we drive it home give our breath away
Though I'm left alone no way am I the same



Limousine
by John P. Graboski
(Oho [Jay Graboski, David Reeve, Ray Jozwiak]
recorded at Band Bash 2014 - “You’re With the Band!” -May 24, 2014)





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

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', can be downloaded digitally at:

(or you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
your browser:  http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/rayjozwiak4)

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

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Generally . . .

 . . . I hesitate . . .

 . . . to post serious, heart-wrenching items. . . but . . .THIS is relevant . . .


(from http://www.thewrap.com/ucsb-victims-father-denounces-nra-guns-politicians-after-latest-shooting-rampage/)
". . . The father of a UCSB shooting victim denounced the National Rifle Association and politicians in a heartfelt plea to “stop this madness” . . . after a shooting rampage left seven dead.

A visibly distraught Richard Martinez publicly mourned the loss of his son Christopher, 20, in a heartbreaking speech at a press conference on Saturday in Santa Barbara.

“Why did Chris die?” he asked. “Chris died because of craven, irresponsible politicians and the NRA. They talk about gun rights. What about Chris's right to live?” he pleaded.

Twenty-two-year-old Elliot Rodger, the son of “Hunger Games” assistant director Peter Rodger, is believed to have gone on a shooting rampage in the upscale, college neighborhood of Isla Vista, near University of California, Santa Barbara on Friday night, leaving six dead in addition to himself, and many others injured.

His full statement was: “Our son Chris Martinez and six others are dead,” Martinez said. “Our family has a message for every parent out there: You don't think it will happen to your child until it does.”

“Chris was a really great kid. Ask anyone who knew him. His death has left our family lost and broken.

“Why did Chris die? Chris died because of craven, irresponsible politicians and the NRA. They talk about gun rights. What about Chris's right to live?

“When will this insanity stop? When will enough people say, “Stop this madness!” Too many have died. We should say to ourselves, “Not one more!” . . . "

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

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', can be downloaded digitally at:

(or you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
your browser:  http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/rayjozwiak4)

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

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