David Adler
Zizek’s follies
Finally saw “Children of Men,” the acclaimed 2006 film by Alfonso Cuarón, starring Clive Owen and Julianne Moore. It’s set in Britain in the year 2027, a time of global societal collapse; illegal immigrants are herded into cages and camps and the human race has fallen infertile. For the first half-hour this felt didactic and heavy-handed, but in time a
Political bits, bytes
~ Seems clear enough that the Clintonistas, not the Obamites, are playing dirty politics at this stage. BET founder Robert L. Johnson, one of the most cynical operators around, has lined up behind Clinton and touched off a firestorm with comments that seemed inteded to smear Obama. Johnson’s unsavory record as a propagandist for Social Security privatization, estate tax repeal
IAJE 2008
Just back from Toronto and an enjoyable conference of the IAJE (International Association for Jazz Education). Friday’s panel on blogging was moderated by Neil Tesser, who engaged me, Darcy James Argue, David Ryshpan and Carl Wilson in an hour of fun and productive discussion. Lots of schmoozing later with the good folks of the Jazz Journalists Association — one of
The week on disc (10)
In case you missed the last one… Jill Scott, The Real Thing: Words and Sounds, Vol. 3 (Hidden Beach): I don’t much care for “Hate on Me,” which lacks the harmonic interest of Scott’s best work, and at first I was put off by the simplified Mahavishnu sample on the title track. But the album gets under your skin and
Win, Barack, win!
From his pivotal Iowa speech: I will send, once more, a message to those yearning faces beyond our shores that says: You matter to us. Your future is our future. May it come to pass. Here for his Iowa victory speech.
On Keith Jarrett
My cover story [pdf] on Keith Jarrett appears in the January/February issue of Jazz Times, now on newsstands. Does he talk about the Umbria flap? Oh yes he does.
Paris pics
I’ve posted a few photos from my recent Paris trip here.
Six Picks: January 2008
Happy New Year! My monthly list of recommended CDs, as published in All About Jazz-New York, January 2008: Andy Bey, Ain’t Necessarily So (12th Street) Chris Gestrin, After the City Has Gone: Quiet (Songlines) Frank Kimbrough, Air (Palmetto)Moutin Reunion Quartet, Sharp Turns (Blujazz) Tyshawn Sorey, That/Not (Firehouse 12) Daniel Yvinec, The Lost Crooners (BEE Jazz)