pianogonzology

Monday, July 13, 2015

Yeah!! . . .

. . . Go Andrew . . .

(from http://www.capitalbop.com/musician-profile-andrew-white-keeper-of-the-trane-is-a-living-legend-unknown-to-many/)
". . . Over the course of the twentieth century, D.C. was home to many significant jazz musicians, including such luminaries as Duke Ellington, Shirley Horn, and Jelly Roll Morton. But there’s one D.C. jazz figure who is the ultimate Renaissance man: a saxophonist and multi-instrumentalist who has been performing and recording here for 50 years; a collaborator who has played with countless jazz greats and soul artists; a scholar who is known as “Keeper of the Trane” for his meticulous transcriptions of 650 John Coltrane solos (virtually every one on record); and a producer who has released thousands of products, from recordings to transcriptions to books.

One would think that with all these accomplishments, this person would be the darling of D.C.’s music community, a poster child for jazz’s greatness in the nation’s capital. But for one reason or another, this has never happened.

Andrew White began his career as the leader of an innovative quintet on one of the world’s top jazz labels, then went on to record with McCoy Tyner and Weather Report and toured with Stevie Wonder. Nowadays, the 68-year-old seems destined to fade into obscurity.

A possible reason why White hasn’t been as celebrated as certain other D.C. musicians is his refusal to compromise with the music industry. In an age when so-called DIY music production and promotion were unheard of, he founded his own label, Andrew’s Music. From there, he recorded, produced, pressed and disseminated his own records – more than 40 in all. He also used the label as a vehicle for publishing his writing, which has ranged from essays and “treatises” on music and life to adult fiction to an 850-plus-page autobiography.

With the possible exception of Sun Ra’s El Saturn label, Andrew’s Music is the longest-lasting self-run, self-produced jazz record label in the world. . . "

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

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)

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

Sunday, July 12, 2015

Beliefs. . .

Somebody should tell this guy that no one is taking away his freedom of speech or his religion. . . I don't believe in ghosts but would happily sell my CDs to him, if he was interested. . . . (from http://www.rawstory.com/2015/07/baptist-pastor-bans-gays-from-his-tennessee-hardware-store-no-ill-never-regret-this/) ". . . Jeff Amyx, a Baptist minister who owns Amyx Hardware & Roofing Supplies in Grainger County, said he got to thinking Monday morning, after a Supreme Court ruling in favor of marriage equality, that Christians were the victim of a double standard that allowed homosexuals to stand up for their beliefs but not religious people. “They gladly stand for what they believe in — why can’t I?” Amyx told WBLR. “They believe their way is right, I believe it’s wrong — but yet I’m going to take more persecution than them because I’m standing for what I believe in.” . . . "

Saturday, July 11, 2015

Paraphrasing . . .

. . . 'Let him who is without sin among you be the first to cast a stone'. . .

Haven't we ALL done something in the past which we now thoroughly regret? . . .

(from http://www.businessinsider.com/before-dr-seuss-was-famous-he-drew-these-sad-racist-ads-2012-3)
". . .In his political cartoons (from the collection of the Springfield Library and Museums Association), (Dr.)Seuss inveighed against the Japanese during World War II; he drew them buck-toothed and squint-eyed. The images are depressing because they reveal that one of America's most original artist-authors had the same tired views of non-whites that his contemporaries did. . . He also expressed regret for his anti-Japanese views, according to filmmaker Ron Lamothe, who made The Political Dr. Seuss: "The only evidence I have comes from his biographers, who told me that years later—although still recognizing its necessity due to the war—he was regretful about some of his cartoons for PM and some of the propaganda work he did for the Army Signal Corps. I do think the fact he dedicated Horton Hears a Who—a parable about the American postwar occupation of Japan—to “My Great Friend, Mitsugi Nakamura of Kyoto, Japan,” says something of his changing attitudes toward the Japanese (this following a trip he made there in 1953). Though, as Richard Minear has pointed out, Horton Hears a Who still smacks of American chauvinism, and it makes no reference to Hiroshima and Nagasaki. . ."

(from Dr. Seuss created several offensive cartoons early in his career but began to atone for his previous views, producing several anti-racism illustrations and cartoons, notes the news site.)
". . . In a 1929 illustration for Judge magazine, he (Dr. Seuss) depicted black people for sale with a racist sign in the image's background . . According to BET, the illustration went to auction with a minimum bid of $20,000 in California . . . By the end, there hadn't been any bids, but it could receive a post-auction bid, according to Laura Yntema, the auction manager, according to the site. The drawing is one part of the four-part panel drawing Cross-Section of the World's Most Prosperous Department Store, the report notes. . ."

Friday, July 10, 2015

Garbage In . . .

. . . Garbage out . . .

(from http://www.salon.com/2015/06/29/ann_coulter_has_fallen_from_grace_ %E2%80%94%C2%A0and_the_reason_why_is_actually_terrifying/)
". . . It’s not as if Coulter is the only right-wing political pundit who is making this case. Talk-radio hosts such as Laura Ingraham are pushing nativism hard as well. But Coulter’s style is much uglier even than theirs. For example, she spends a lot of time in the book trying to prove that Mexicans are prone to child rape.

Lowrey thinks Coulter is pretty much an act that’s gone sour in the age of polarization and she may be right. She compares her to Donald Trump (who Coulter extols for his “immigrants are rapists” comments, which she believes he got from her) and there is a certain kind of scary-clown aspect to both of them. But I think it’s something else — she just isn’t all that shocking anymore. And the reason is that, after all these years — through which she and her fellow right-wing bomb throwers have been poisoning the discourse and polluting our politics with the most egregious dehumanization of just about everyone on the planet who doesn’t look and sound like them — nobody is listening anymore.

Today, Ann Coulter is just political white noise. Sure, she’ll sell her books to the small group of people who can’t get enough of her bilious humor and hatred but her days of being a mainstream pop culture phenomenon are over. Everybody’s heard it all before. There’s almost a whiff of noxious nostalgia about it now. . . "

Thursday, July 9, 2015

Power . . .

It seems that every human being harbors to some extent, though not without exception and not all act on it, a desire to control, or shall we say hold power over others. This holds true whether in the confines of a professional office setting or in groups such as clubs and organized religious sects. My first eye-opening experience with this came with my first, full-time job. Some people there eventually were eventually promoted to supervisory positions. Upon attaining that lofty (in their eyes) status, they became just like some others higher in the authority chain who did not necessarily practice ideal organizational management skills. Some even adopted behaviors towards subordinates about which they formerly and vociferously complained. "How can this be?" I thought. . . and still do.

"Those who have been intoxicated with power... Can never willingly abandon it."
– Edmund Burke

"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power."
-Abraham Lincoln

"Washing one's hands of the conflict between the powerful and the powerless means to side with the powerful, not to be neutral."
-Paulo Freire

"The measure of a man is what he does with power."
-Plato

"It is said that power corrupts, but actually it's more true that power attracts the corruptible. The sane are usually attracted by other things than power."
-David Brin

"Ultimately, the only power to which man should aspire is that which he exercises over himself."
-Elie Weisel

"For the powerful, crimes are those that others commit."
-Noam Chomsky

Wednesday, July 8, 2015

Wild . . .

. . . Woman

Traveling down to the Congo
Flying 'round Amazon way
Natives are playing the bongos
Listen to what they have to say
You know I'm ready for love
And I thank my lucky stars above

She's all dressed up and there's not place to go
But she's a Wild Woman
She's got a secret so nobody knows
That she's a Wild Woman
She won't pretend to be something she's not
And I don't have to need her 'cause she's something I've got

Swinging from cocoanut branches
Swim with the crocodiles too
But late at night she romances
What is a helpless boy to do
I've seen it a thousand times before
You get hit in the back with the slamming door

She's all dressed up and there's not place to go
But she's a Wild Woman
She's got a secret so nobody knows
That she's a Wild Woman
She won't pretend to be something she's not
And I don't have to need her 'cause she's something I've got

She's just a lady
And you can count on that
A little shady
But she'll get up to bat
You think she's crazy
But she can smell a rat

I've seen it before let me tell you
Maybe I'll see it again
Maybe I'll learn something from this
About how to lose and how to win
It's not a good thing to lose your cool
And be forced to say something out of school

Wild Woman
©1998 Raymond M. Jozwiak

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

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

Tuesday, July 7, 2015

Always . . .

Everything really is negotiable
Though your initial look may betray
So big and frightening they may appear
Your dedication and intellect take the day

There's one thing you have to remember
You mean so much to me
That's one certainty
When concerns become burdens
Please know I'm the one you need to see
I will always be available
No matter how far life removes you from me

There's no necessity for extreme bravery
All your good qualities I admire
There's no embarrassment and there's no shame
If you accept someone's helping hand when you're tired

There's one thing you have to remember
You mean so much to me
That's one certainty
When concerns become burdens
Please know I'm the one you need to see
I will always be available
No matter how far life removes you from me

Any other time
Any other place
Nothing between us will be any different
You don't have to hide
Feelings deep inside
I'm here to help you so please let me try

You may not understand
You may not care
I know you'll realize what's to bear
I always felt that my responsibility
Is to make sure you find happiness everywhere

There's one thing you have to remember
You mean so much to me
That's one certainty
When concerns become burdens
Please know I'm the one you need to see
I will always be available
No matter how far life removes you from me

Available
from Just More Music by Ray Jozwiak
©2007 & 2014 Raymond M. Jozwiak
Available April 7, 2015

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

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