The originator. . .

. . . of the tune, IMPRESSIONS.

Had to post the violin version of IMPRESSIONS on yesterday's blog based upon the last quote from John Coltrane that I listed on the page. But if you're a Coltrane fan, once you hear the tune played by anyone anywhere, you like to go back and hear it done by its creator. At least I do.



download your
very own copy of
ANOTHER SHOT
by Ray Jozwiak

Please Visit
http://www.rayjozwiak.com


Tweet

Quotes from Trane. . .

. . . John Coltrane, that is. Forty fours years gone, last week. . .

“I never even thought about whether or not they understand what I'm doing . . . the emotional reaction is all that matters as long as there's some feeling of communication, it isn't necessary that it be understood.”

“All a musician can do is to get closer to the sources of nature, and so feel that he is in communion with the natural laws.”

“Over all, I think the main thing a musician would like to do is give a picture to the listener of the many wonderful things that he knows of and senses in the universe. . . That’s what I would like to do. I think that’s one of the greatest things you can do in life and we all try to do it in some way. The musician’s is through his music.”

“You can play a shoestring if you're sincere”

“I’ve found you’ve got to look back at the old things and see them in a new light.”

“Sometimes I wish I could walk up to my music for the first time, as if I had never heard it before. Being so inescapably a part of it, I’ll never know what the listener gets, what the listener feels, and that’s too bad.”

"My music is the spiritual expression of what I am — my faith, my knowledge, my being...When you begin to see the possibilities of music, you desire to do something really good for people, to help humanity free itself from its hangups...I want to speak to their souls."

"I start in the middle of a sentence and move both directions at once."

“The first violins have the most interesting part.”



download your
very own copy of
ANOTHER SHOT
by Ray Jozwiak

Please Visit
http://www.rayjozwiak.com


Tweet

Two things. . .

. . . First: who, in their right mind, ever thought that lip-synching was a good idea??? (See my entry of July 22) I'm sure Don Cornelius saved a WHOLE lotta money by having artists do that on Soul Train though.

Second: What did I mean by "(HA!)" in my entry of July 22? (See my entry of July 22)

". . .Sometimes, I'm not sure I know what I'm doing. Sometimes it all seems futile. These results were somewhat gratifying though. I think maybe I'll try it a little longer. (HA!). . . "

((as a matter of fact, please see ALL my entries. . . PLEASE!!!)) Well, what I meant was to mock the prior remark about continuing to do what it is that I am doing musically. The "HA!" simply means that it would be absolutely outrageous to even consider NOT doing what I am doing musically. It's no longer something that I choose to do. It now has a life of its own and I don't think I could stop it EVEN IF I WANTED TO.



download your
very own copy of
ANOTHER SHOT
by Ray Jozwiak

Please Visit
http://www.rayjozwiak.com


Tweet

The blatant truth. . .

. . . Make no bones about it, I am here mainly to try to get you to listen to, and purchase, my music in some form, or fashion. Don't take that the wrong way. I like you. If you're reading this, as a matter of fact, I like you quite a bit. So I do try to be somewhat entertaining and/or informative. Although I write something here everyday, I still toil constantly at, first: creating music, and second: trying to place my name and music in front of as many people as I can, and in keeping with my generally lazy nature, as simply and easily as I can.

One of the tactics, for lack of a better word, of getting one's name in the public eye, is to be listed at the top of the list when searched for on Google. So I did some 'research'. Using various search words, I logged where my site appears on the Google list that is returned.

Searching Ray
My site appears at position #10

Gonzo
#12

Jozwiak
#1 (no surprise)

Creative
#12

Original
#11

Eclectic
#15

Sometimes, I'm not sure I know what I'm doing. Sometimes it all seems futile. These results were somewhat gratifying though. I think maybe I'll try it a little longer. (HA!) Why am I doing this anyway?



download your
very own copy of
ANOTHER SHOT
by Ray Jozwiak

Please Visit
http://www.rayjozwiak.com


Tweet

Incongruous. . .

. . . In the midst of responding to a FaceBook posting, I had the occasion to research the spelling of the word 'incongruous'. And it got me to thinking about just how many things we must encounter, juggle, balance and reconcile during the course of a day; so many of which, although seemingly related, are quite INCONGRUOUS. Zappa always had a 'word of the day' at his concerts, generally related to something on his mind or a theme tying the songs in the setlist together, but always a word of the day. Kind of like Sesame Street. Zappa. . . Sesame Street. . . both educational to be sure.

Incongruous. . .



download your
very own copy of
ANOTHER SHOT
by Ray Jozwiak

Please Visit
http://www.rayjozwiak.com


Tweet

Just wait until. . .

. . . I always hated when people said such things. I didn't hate the people who said them. They were mostly well-intentioned, though a little outspoken, friends, relatives or acquaintances who were only speaking from their experience for the 'proverbial' betterment of my life.

. . . your kids grow up. . .
. . . you're my age. . .
. . . you have a house. . .
. . . you realize. . .
. . . THAT happens. . .

. . . well, you get the picture. It always seemed, good intentions notwithstanding, a certain bias resulting from each of these well-wishers' individual experiences, was clearly evident. And in many of these cases, the result of which they spoke, which colored their entire perception of the incident, came about through some influence, or lack of influence on their very own part. Sometimes, though I was biting my tongue out of respect for the advice-giver of the moment, I thought to myself, that will never happen to me, because I will . . . (insert the thing that you do, did or will do differently from them).

Which reminds me also of how so many of us, hopefully YOU will not have many occasions to say this, wish that they 'knew then what they know now.' One of our 'shop' teachers in high school would stand in the hallway outside his classroom door between classes and mumble to whomever he was casually conversing, as some particularly attractive 16 or 17-year old coed strolled down the corridor, 'Ah, to be sixteen again and know what I know now!'

Well here's a situation where such reflections actually DID matter. . .

On the last day of Pompeii
Thought I heard some poor boy say
Oh wow man if I knew then what I know now
I would've done more been more than I been
Had fun more sinned more mortal sin
Oh wow
If I knew then what I know now
I would've sent back that steak that was so overdone
Grabbed that big break while there was time time time
Made my life into a fantasy
Hot stuff for me to remember remember
And now that I'm a goner
All that lava rushin' 'round the corner
Oh wow I ain't complainin' only thinkin out loud
You know that my life would be different my love would be different
If I knew then what I know now
My life would be different my love would be different
If I knew then what I know now

On the last day of Pompeii
Thought I heard some poor girl say
Oh wow man if I knew then what I know now
I could've taken up the slide trombone
Had a garden and grew my own
Oh wow man
If I knew then what I know now
I knew I should've taken that Mediterranean cruise
Filled up on chocolate cigarettes and booze
Given some perfect stranger the blues
Hot stuff for me, all that stuff, speakin of hot stuff
And when Vesuvio came to call
Arrivaderci I'd've had a ball [I'd've had it all]
Oh wow man
I ain't complainin' only thinkin' out loud
You know that my life would be different my love would be different
If I knew then what I know now
My life would be different my love would be different
If I knew then what I know now

My life would be -- man, my wife would be --
If I knew then what I know now
Ciao

THE LAST DAY OF POMPEII
by Michael Peter Smith




download your
very own copy of
ANOTHER SHOT
by Ray Jozwiak

Please Visit
http://www.rayjozwiak.com


Tweet

This is where. . .

. . . the Brewer's Alley Monday Night Songwriters Showcase takes place. . .

". . . It was in 1725 that Benjamin Tasker patented "Tasker's Chance" - the first of many land speculators in the area. Daniel Dulany laid out the new town hoping to develop a center of trade and a market for goods imported from England. It was not difficult to recruit families in Europe willing to try their luck in a new land.

John Thomas Schley arrived in Frederick Town in 1745 with a group of 100 settlers and built the first house here. Others quickly followed and the town prospered. From the beginning religion played a large part in the life of the town, and three churches, the Lutheran, Anglican, and Reformed (founded by Schley) were firmly established. It was not long before temporary housing gave way to more permanent buildings, and businesses serving the citizens were established. The County of Frederick was founded in 1748."

". . . The building (at 124 North Market Street) was raised in 1769 to accommodate Frederick’s first Town Hall and Market House. It served its purpose for more than 100 years and was witness not only to the birth of the city of Frederick, but also the Civil War, including the ransoming of the city by Confederate General Jubal Early. As Frederick grew and prospered into the 20th century, the location functioned as government offices, then an opera house and theatre. Here, such diverse events as a memorial service for President McKinley in 1901, and the Frederick debut of D.W. Griffith’s film, "The Birth of a Nation," were hosted."

As a matter of fact, the very room where the showcase takes place is the mayor's office where the ransom money actually changed hands.


(Thanks to http://www.cityoffrederick.com and Wikipedia)


download your
very own copy of
ANOTHER SHOT
by Ray Jozwiak

Please Visit
http://www.rayjozwiak.com


Tweet