Two Points . . .

1.  Major newspapers are enjoying the business of publishing non-sense in the name of sparking sales
2.  Justin Moyer is not a musician (not a 'true' musician by my estimation)

If you read Justin Moyer's August 8(http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/opinions/wp/2014/08/08/all-that-jazz-isnt-all-that-great/) piece you will understand.  I will briefly touch upon some of his statements below.

"Jazz is boring." - baseless conjecture

"Jazz is overrated."  - baseless conjecture

"Jazz is washed up."  - baseless conjecture

"Unlike a poorly received New Yorker piece purportedly written by jazz great Sonny Rollins, this is not satire."   - could've fooled me.

"Jazz has run out of ideas, and yet it’s still getting applause."  - baseless conjecture

"Like cirrus clouds or cotton candy, I found jazz generically pleasing, but insubstantial and hard to grasp. "  - no shit Sherlock!

"Some of my problems:"  - you said it man.  You got problems!

"1. Jazz takes great songs — and abandons the lyrics that help make them great"  - sweeping generalization
 "2. Improvisation isn’t all it’s cracked up to be."  - baseless, sweeping, generalization, conjecture
 "3. Jazz stopped evolving." - false
 "4. Jazz is mushy."  - ?????
 "5. Jazz let itself be co-opted." - huh??




Fortunately, Justin admits he doesn't get it.  Unfortunately, someone thought what he had to say was worth publishing in a major newspaper for others to read.

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' 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)

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

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As Far . . .

. . . as we know, beginning shortly after 9:30 or maybe 10:00 PM, OHO performs Friday August 15th at Johnny's Pizza & pub, 5601 Coastal Hwy, Ocean City, MD 21842 (410.723.5600). Decent selection of brews, excellent pizza and the ONLY establishment in town displaying a Connellized (i.e., painted by artist Connell P. Byrne) electric guitar, centrally located behind the main bar. If you happen to be in OC this Friday, please join the band & our friends for an evening of fun, friends & food as we stuff some musical muscle down your piping.

OHO is Jay Graboski, David Reeve and Ray Jozwiak



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' 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)

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

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Perseverance . . .

20 Top Ten singles, 12 Top Ten albums (five of which were #1), and sales of more than 120 million records . . . stylistic changes, I must admire the work ethic and perseverance of these musicians, the early work of which had [and still has] a tremendous influence on my music. . .


(from http://www.classicbands.com/chicago.html)
". . . "Baby, What A Big Surprise" sailed into the Top 5, and Chicago XI was certified platinum the month after its release. But only a few months later, the band would be devastated by a terrible loss. On January 23, l978, Chicago guitarist and singer Terry Kath died from an accidental gunshot wound. "Terry Kath was a great talent" says Jim Guercio, who worked with him on a solo album that was never completed. "Hendrix idolized him. He was just totally committed to this band, and he could have been a monster (as a solo artist)." Kath's death devastated Chicago, and the band considered breaking up. A short time after Terry's death, "Take Me Back To Chicago," was released as a single.

If the band was going to continue, it would need a new guitarist, and auditions began in earnest in the spring of 1978. "We felt that we were being left behind by the new music," says Cetera, "and we thought we needed a young guitar player with long hair. We sat through I don't know how many guitar players, but I'm sure it was 30, 40, or 50 guitar players. Toward the end, Donnie Dacus showed up. He played a couple of songs right and with fire, and that's how he was in the group."


Fast forward to 2014 - their new album . . .
(from http://chicagotheband.us/profiles/blogs/james-pankow-interview-chicago-trombonist-and-horn-arranger-leads)
" . . . includes 11 brand new songs, recorded on the road.

"We have some very exploratory stuff and music that is traditionally Chicago," Pankow said. "We have the signature horns and the identity that the music has always had, but we also have the fun of taking it places that was not possible before. The music is very daring in some ways. It is where we are now."

For this record, Chicago built a new "recording rig" that travels with the band.

"This new technology has allowed us to be extremely mobile," Pankow said. "The music is reported by us as we travel, as we get inspired. We can record in hotel rooms, on the bus, in the venue. We don't have to, like the old days, assemble in a traditional recording studio and track new songs and go through the protocol. We are now free to do whatever we want. We can push the limits."

They have even created an online collaboration portal that allows even more performances to be worked on around the clock from remote locations.

"For the first time since the beginning of the band, we are looking at not only a new way of making records, but a new way of manifesting those records," Pankow said. "We do business now essentially direct to fans through the Internet."

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' 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)

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

Tweet

Life . . .

. . . and death . . .


Walter Ray Briggs
LEXINGTON — Walter Ray Briggs, 73, of Lake Shore Avenue died Saturday, August 9, 2014

Cora Hilton
HIGH POINT — Mrs. Cora Elizabeth Cecil Hilton, 95

Bobbie Waller Blalock
DURHAM — Bobbie Waller Blalock, 64, passed away Friday, August 8, 2014 at Duke Regional Hospital

Aldridge, John
Aug. 9, 2014 John Aldridge, June 16, 1926 – August 9, 2014, age 88 passed away Saturday

Maedine Foletti Turner
August 3, 2014 passed away  at her home in Oakland, Calif. on Sunday, Aug. 3, 2014. She was 93 years old

Robin Williams
August 11, 2014, Marin County, dies at 63 of an apparent suicide, the Marin County Sheriff's Office says

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' 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)

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

Tweet

The Narrow . . .

 - minded idealogue-as-victim ruse . . .

. . . developed by short-sighted narrow-minded conservatives and adapted by, among others, Marco Rubio . . . 


(from http://www.politico.com/story/2014/07/marco-rubio-gay-marriage-debate-109300.html)
" . . . Marco Rubio jumped head first into the culture wars on Wednesday to blast what he sees as “growing intolerance” against those who oppose same-sex marriage.  In a speech on family values at the Catholic University of America in Washington, Rubio lamented the backlash that companies like Chick fil A and Mozilla often face when their executives express public support for keeping marriage between a man and woman. He said that supporting that definition doesn’t make someone “anti-gay” but rather “pro-traditional marriage.”

“There is a growing intolerance on this issue, intolerance of those who continue to support traditional marriage,” the Florida Republican senator and potential 2016 presidential contender told a standing-room only crowd. “Even before this speech is over, I’ll be attacked as a hater or bigot. Or someone who’s anti-gay. This intolerance in the name of tolerance is hypocrisy. Supporting the definition of marriage as one man and one woman, is not anti-gay. It is pro-traditional marriage.” . . ."


Monkey See
©1995 Raymond M. Jozwiak




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' 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)

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

Tweet

Facebook . . .

 . . . politics

 

Thecla . . . When I worked for a Lobbyist in DC, I saw how the system really works. At the time, I thought...if people really knew how the political machine works, they would be sick.
36 mins · Like

Ray Jozwiak . . . Tell me more, Thecla.  Tell ALL OF US MORE!  We need to be sick. . . sick and tired enough to ACT.  Vote appropriately.  Don't be buffalo-ed into thinking you 'wasted' your vote.  You MUST vote your heart and your conscience or nothing will ever change!  It won't happen in this election.  Or the next.  Or for a LONG time.  BUT it has to start SOMEWHERE!!  Let it start with us.
6 hrs · Like · 1

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' 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)

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

Tweet

OHO . . .

 . . . pizza and the ocean . . .

 What MORE to you need????

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' 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)

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

Tweet