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“Fern bar”
Chris Rich at Brilliant Corners hails the left-of-center Vision Festival and revels in the collapse of Jazz Times, JVC Jazz Festival, IAJE, lamenting “the Middle Mind mediocrity of NPR fern bar jazz.” To me, this sort of self-righteous, us-versus-them, marginalized-and-proud-of-it blather is as suffocating as any hegemonic corporate jazz I’ve come across. I mean, NPR has stepped up its jazz
Vision panel, etc.
I’m on a panel at the Vision Festival this Friday, 5 p.m. Details here. The topic is art and politics. My fellow panelists are William Parker, Roy Campbell, Marc Ribot, Jason Gross, Amir Bey and Kidd Jordan. Moderated by journalist Nathalie Mattheiem. In addition, I’m playing an acoustic duo gig with my good friend Jon Dascal on July 9. Venue:
New York @ Night: June 2009
This month in All About Jazz-New York, reviews of Brad Mehldau’s trio at the Vanguard and Ray Drummond’s duos project at Tribeca PAC. Pianist Bill Mays, one of the Drummond participants, recently shared some video of himself with the late bassist Red Mitchell in the early ’80s. Absolutely captures the feeling of the old Bradley’s, as did Drummond’s show. (More
Free Laura Ling & Euna Lee
These two brave American journalists have received a sentence of 12 years in a North Korean concentration camp, for the crime of journalism. This is not properly spoken of as a legal proceeding, as a trial and a sentencing. It is quite simply a kidnapping.
“Thank you, Brooklyn”
That’s what Youssou N’Dour said near the start of his BAM show on June 6, following a screening of Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi’s moving N’Dour documentary, I Bring What I Love. Billed as a one-hour set, it went on longer thanks to the unstoppable energy in the house. There was a brief window of time where one could hear N’Dour but not
The week on disc (44)
In case you missed the last one… Jentsch Group Large, Cycles Suite (Fleur de Son) Joel Harrison, Urban Myths (HighNote) Chris Morrisey Quartet, The Morning World (Sunnyside) Andy Milne & Benoit Delbecq, Where Is Pannonica? (Songlines) Guilherme Monteiro, Air (Brooklyn Jazz Underground) Jerry Bergonzi, Simply Put (Savant)
Get down with your Sufi self
Anastasia mentioned the Aïssawa Sufi brotherhood, so I wanted to post my video from last year’s Fes festival. (Dig the E-flat harmonic minor mode.)
Muslim Voices
In collaboration with Anastasia Tsioulcas and Hussein Rashid, I’ll be blogging as much as I’m able about the currently unfolding Muslim Voices Festival, co-organized by BAM and the Asia Society. Thank you, Anastasia, for your kind invitation and your kind words. Youssou N’Dour is at BAM tonight and tomorrow. I’ll be attending his film screening and show on Saturday and