dev
The bridge
I have an old college friend from Minneapolis — checked in with him and found out he crossed the I-35 bridge about 90 minutes before it collapsed. The incident has sparked a nationwide discussion of bridge safety, and my thoughts go straight to the South Street Bridge here in Philly, which is very nearby. My wife and I cross it
On Biréli Lagrène
My feature on virtuoso guitarist Biréli Lagrène, in the August/September ’07 issue of Global Rhythm magazine. PDF available here.
Sean Penn sucks up
Just a couple of weeks ago, President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela, demonstrating his contempt for the principle of free speech, “announced that foreigners who visit Venezuela and criticise his government will be escorted to the airport and expelled.” Sean Penn doesn’t have anything to worry about. Penn has visited Venezuela and been warmly received by Chavez. It’s fairly certain he
The dogs of war, part III
For background go here. TNR has rechecked everything and stands by the story: Although we place great weight on the corroborations we have received, we wished to know more. But, late last week, the Army began its own investigation, short-circuiting our efforts. Beauchamp had his cell-phone and computer taken away and is currently unable to speak to even his family.
Six Picks: August 2007
My monthly list of recommended CDs, as published in All About Jazz-New York, August 2007: Tom Harrell, Light On (HighNote) Roscoe Mitchell, Composition/Improvisation Nos. 1, 2 & 3 (ECM) Ferenc Nemeth, Night Songs (Dreamers Collective) Michel Portal, Birdwatcher (Universal France/Sunnyside) Alex Sipiagin, Prints (Criss Cross) Dayna Stephens, The Timeless Now (CTA)
Ingmar Bergman RIP
In “The Seventh Seal” (1957) there’s a scene in which the knight (Max von Sydow) sits down on a hillside with a troupe of traveling performers. They offer him strawberries and milk. The scene ends with the knight speaking these lines: “I shall remember this moment. The silence, the twilight, the bowls of strawberries and milk, your faces in the
Blogs of note
My colleague Howard Mandel recently launched a blog called Jazz Beyond Jazz. “Thinking about jazz leads beyond the jazz one is thinking of,” wrote Howard in his inaugural post. Sums up much of my life the past few years. Sometime ago I also added Larry Blumenfeld’s ListenGood to my blogroll. I’m doing the same now with Fred Kaplan’s Jazz Messenger.
Rage against the death penalty
Zach De La Rocha, lead singer of the reunited Rage Against the Machine, made waves during a recent concert by accusing the Bush administration of war crimes and saying, quite incoherently, “They should be hung and tried and shot.” Fox News pundit Sean Hannity interpreted this as an assassination threat and seemed to call for Secret Service intervention, prompting De