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Teachout redux
Lord knows I had my problems with Terry Teachout’s much-discussed “Can Jazz Be Saved” editorial, but I can’t get with this account of Teachout’s motivations, as posited by Ron “Slim” Washington. Teachout, you see, wrote his piece for The Wall Street Journal, which is owned by Rupert Murdoch, which means that there’s an attack on jazz “coming from the highest
Philadelphia haps, cont’d.
In the current Philadelphia Weekly: George Burton QuartetFri., Oct. 30, 8pm. $10. Ortlieb’s Jazzhaus, 847 N. 3rd St. 215.922.1035 www.ortliebsjazzhaus.com If you stopped into Tritone last year for one of Matt Davis’ enchanting gigs with Aerial Photograph, you may have seen George Burton playing viola and playing it well. But Burton is in fact a hot contender on piano, and
The week on disc (56)
In case you missed the last one… Mike Reed’s People, Places & Things, About Us (482 Music) Old Dog (Louis Belogenis/Karl Berger/Michael Bisio/Warren Smith), By Any Other Name (Porter) Eddie Harris & Ellis Marsalis, Homecoming (Elm Classics) Father Figures, Father Finger Food (ind.) Kurt Rosenwinkel Standards Trio, Reflections (Wommusic) Stefano Bollani Trio, Stone in the Water (ECM)
For NYC mayor
Next Tuesday we go to the polls to elect New York’s next mayor. Although Mike Bloomberg is not nearly as odious a figure as torture advocate and police brutality enabler Rudy Giuliani, I’ll be voting for Bill Thompson. I’m posting because I, along with all my fellow registered voters, have received a fairly comprehensive voter guide in the mail from
New York vs. Philadelphia
For the first time since 1950, the Yankees and the Phillies — New York and Philadelphia — will face off in the World Series. My two cities. For that reason, I’m declaring some version of neutrality and just planning to take in the intensity of it all. I’m pretty far from a sports guy, but postseason baseball brings me back
Racists on parade
Pat Buchanan in the U.S., Nick Griffin in the UK. Partly in response to Buchanan’s infamous tripe, Andrew Sullivan quotes a reader on the black string-band tradition and a truly awesome group, the Carolina Chocolate Drops, whose Dona Got a Ramblin’ Mind I’ve spun quite a lot.
Rohde cont’d.
From part three of David Rohde’s harrowing account, “Held By the Taliban”: It was a universe filled with contradictions. My captors assailed the West for killing civilians, but they celebrated suicide attacks orchestrated by the Taliban that killed scores of Muslim bystanders. Thank you, someone’s finally saying it, and who better than Rohde. Once again: According to the Human Rights
“As a Jew”
Three words that have come to make my hair stand on end. Here is Mary-Kay Wilmers, editor of the London Review of Books (via Norm): “I’m unambiguously hostile to Israel because it’s a mendacious state. They do things that are just so immoral and counterproductive and, as a Jew, especially as a Jew, you can’t justify that.” And then, this: