For ongoing updates from the festival from myself, Meegan Holland and photos by C. Blumer, check out m-Live throughout the weekend.

I was in my teens and loved to listen to Beatles, CSN&Y, The Who, Santana, all the bands who played at Woodstock. When I saw a triple LP documenting the Isle of Wight festival, with a whole side of new live Jimi Hendrix, I had to have it.

The album ended with a long track by someone named Miles Davis, titled “Call It Anything”. I started to listen but couldn’t make any sense of the music. I felt ripped off. What the hell was this?

A buddy of mine in high school (Renaldo Migaldi) said, “I knew you were hooked because you’d come to school day after day complaining about Miles Davis.”

I started to read about him. Ralph Gleason published a complimentary review of “On The Corner” with Santana’s “Caravanserai” and I respected his writing and his taste. Clearly there was something here I wasn’t getting. That summer I went several times to the library (what a geek, I know) and checked out jazz records and old editions of Downbeat magazine, trying to get a handle on this music.

Finally, freshman year of college, I checked out a Smithsonian collection of classic jazz that contained a track from Miles Davis’ “Kind of Blue”. I’m pretty sure it was “So What”. It clicked. I got it. I fell in love.

I’m still in love today. I love each of Miles Davis’ periods, from his apprenticeship with Charlie Parker to his Birth of the Cool sessions; both of his great quintets from the 1950s & ’60s. The electric Miles, and even the last batch of recordings he made before his death. He was the Picasso of music in the last century.

When I went through a divorce a decade ago, part of my dealing with it was to put together a talk on Miles Davis, which I gave at the Creativity & Madness conference in Maui later that year. He has been a touchstone for my life story. My love of his music goes beyond my intellectual capacity to express. My year isn’t complete without working my way through listening to all of my Miles music, which is a mountain of listening. I just listened to Dark Magus yesterday.

And yes, today I can make sense of “Call It Anything”.

I haven’t written here in a bit; a busy spring which included getting married to Cathie Blumer (see photos of the wedding on my facebook page if interested) at the Creole Gallery in May. Work has been intensely busy and prepping for the Peninsula Writer’s summer retreat/conference in June, which I’ll be co-coordinating with Kimm X. Jayne. We’re having poet Mary Ann Samyn as our speaker this year, a native Michigander who now teaches at West Virginia University and the winner of the Emily Dickinson Prize from the Poetry Society of America. Cool.

Here are some random (really) thoughts that have been on my mind this season:

- Seeing a wave of clients who are now bona fide marijuana customers; some of these folks identify themselves as being in recovery, yet smoke pot on a daily basis. Will marijuana be to alcohol what methadone is to heroin? A less dangerous addiction? I’m not seeing much written about this (yet) but I’m betting other therapists are seeing the same thing I’m seeing in my practice. I have split feelings about this and am likely to explore this topic at more depth here in future. Maybe the very near future.

- Summer is here lining up for the festivals I love to attend: Old Town Jazz Festival; the East Lansing Summer Solstice Jazz Festival has upped the ante by including Joe Lovano in their line up! And of course the Detroit Jazz Festival, which looks amazing, again. My daughter is getting married a half a day away from Detroit, so I’m going to have to miss a good chunk of this year’s festival. But you can’t do everything and family trumps everything.

- Politics. The news about the BP oil spill, the emergence of the Tea Party and the story line of the Obama administration continues to be riveting for me and I can’t go a day without catching up on what is happening. I’m an unapologetic liberal, and I believe that change, progress and evolution are essential if we are to survive, not as a democracy even, but as a species. The corporations, which hit their high water mark under the rein of Haliburton/Cheney/Bush will not go gently into that good night.

- Mysteries. Finishing the first draft of my Murphy mystery and gaining a whole new appreciation for the craft of creating suspense, tension and release. Watching Hitchcock, reading Cormac McCarthy, and devouring lots of material along these lines. I haven’t been sleeping as well as I’d like. Is there a connection? Which brings me to….

- Spirituality. My sister Linda has inadvertently started me on a course of meditation. I’m starting small, attempting ten minutes a day of focus on my breath. Usually I get a few moments of complete stillness here, but it’s a beginning.

End of the year, end of the decade Musical Notes

As one decade tips into another it was irresistible to indulge in a favorite past-time: making lists. Here are a few relating to music:

My 10 Favorite Musical Moments of 2009

Emceeing at the Detroit Jazzfest – Meeting Jesse Palter was a pleasure, introducing Geri Allen was a thrill, but the funniest moment was bringing on a high school band at the festival. I called them “Up and comers…” only to hear a Beavis/Butthead voice somewhere behind me chuckle, “He said come…”; really, it was all I could do to keep a straight face.

Wayne Shorter Quartet wows an enormous crowd with 90 minutes of uninterrupted improv at the Detroit Jazzfest

Rodney Whitaker’s many roles at the Detroit Jazz Festival, from leading the MSU Big Band in accompanying Dee Dee Bridgewater to presenting an homage to Donald Byrd’s New Perspectives to playing with Christian McBride and John Clayton’s “Bottoms Up” bass spectacular to his own collaboration with Carl Allen and their hot CD “Work To Do”, Rodney was everywhere doing everything. Are we sure there’s only one of him?

The Roots & Parliament Funkadelic at Common Ground – probably the most jaw dropping fun I’ve ever had at a concert event. Sun Ra meets James Brown. Unbelievable.

organissimo battles Linda Dachtyl during an organ throw down at the Lansing Jazzfest.

Professors of Jazz play the Creole. Can we wish for this to continue to be an annual event? Is that possible?

Larry Cosentino on The Vinyl Side of Midnight. Going through our ‘best of’ lists. Great fun.

Hank Jones/Chick Corea opening night at the Detroit Jazzfest. Pianistic elegance and virtuosity side by side.

Pete Siers Quartet CD release party at Kerrytown Concert House – Pete brings in Pat Labarbera as a sax ringer to join the saxy front line + organ in an homage to the great Blue Note sound of the 60s.

Sophie Milman plays Wharton Center and Diego Rivera surprises as the Lester Young to her Billie Holiday. Music magic follows and the duo tour Russia.

My 5 Favorite Jazz Trends of the Aughts

The Creole Gallery – Robert Busby and Meegan Holland were the dynamic duo of the decade, making the Creole Gallery THE musical destination for jazz, folk, blues, etc. A perfect example of syngergy, they gave a gift of love to the community and presented Lansing with the coolest thing I’ve ever seen here. Wynton Marsalis, MSU Professors of Jazz, Cyrus Chestnut, organissimo, Mose Allison and many others carved out a chunk of wonder in night after night of fun and music.

Jazz Festivals Galore – Where did jazz go in the aughts? To the streets. Not just the Old Town Jazzfest but East Lansing’s Summer Solstice created a jazz bracket to the summer. Oh, and did I mention the Detroit Jazz Fest, rising from the ashes with the help of Gretchen Valades and wunderkind director Terri Pontremoli? The hottest festival in the world right now, trust me.

MSU – Rodney Whitaker sat across from me during his first appearance on The Vinyl Side of Midnight and said, “I want East Lansing to become a jazz mecca.” We may not be downtown New York, but for a midwestern city we have become a destination. Whitaker created a place that not just welcomed jazz stars like Derrick Gardner, Wycliffe Gordon and Wess “Warmdaddy” Anderson to teach and play, but also saw the development of great jazz talent ala Diego Rivera (who became a Professor himself), Kris Johnson, Lynne Grunwald, Mike Sailor, Curtis Taylor and Ben Williams (who just won this year’s prestigious Thelonious Monk award!)

The Rise of the Independents – Just as the publishing and movie companies constricted access to the magic making machinery, so did the big recording companies nearly kill the goose. But, like movies, jazz players went indie, and then with the rise of smaller labels (that are quickly becoming big labels, like Origin, AUM, Mack Avenue and OA2 for instance) the tunes are bubbling forth like never before.

The Vinyl Side of Midnight – How could I not pick my own show as one of my favorite trends of the decade? I don’t know how long this show can last as WLNZ has switched to LCC Radio and a triple A format, but what a great decade this has been for jazz on the radio in Lansing!

My 10 Favorite CDs of the Aughts (not jazz!)

Amy Winehouse – Back to Black; Retro yet modern, Winehouse shakes out the ghosts of the Shirelles and Motown while crafting her own tragically sultry style. Let’s hope she pulls herself together for a long career, but it’s doubtful she’ll ever top this masterpiece.

Robert Plant & Alison Krause – Raising Sand; A little bit country, a little bit rock, mostly subdued and haunting. Who’d have guessed this pairing would work so well? T-Bone Burnett, for one.

M.I.A. – Arular – Imagine a cheerleader who leans towards revolution and is a beat maestro. Weird and very catchy.

LCD Soundsystem – LCD Soudsystem; Daft Punk IS playing at my house.

Justin Timberlake – Future/Sex/Lovesounds; Ready for the funk, mouseketeers?

Bjork – Medulla – All vocals. All sweet ear candy.

Toumani Diabate – Boulevard De L’Independance – The Sergeant Pepper’s of African music.

Hamsa Lila – Eh Mustapha; A nostalgic nugget for a very special night at the Creole Gallery.

Tribalistas – Tribalistas; The CS&N of Brazillian music. Heavy rotation in the car.

Wilco – Yankee Foxtrot Hotel; The country-alt band crafts The Great American Album.

(Honorable mentions: No Doubt – Rock Steady; Sufjan Stevens – Illinoise; The Neptunes – Present…Clones; Nelly – Nellyville; Missy Elliott – So Addictive; Outkast – Speakerboxxx)

One of the most fun and interesting things I’ve been involved with this past year was producing 9 radio shows for the Vinyl Side of Midnight called DECADES; exploring, in depth, the history of jazz through recordings has been an enlightening experience. Below I’ve included the set lists for each of the shows, in case anyone wants to check out some of the music I played.

After putting these shows together, here is my BIG INSIGHT:

Jazz is all about collision. One musical stream from one culture smashing into another. Then a dedicated small army of musicians and composers set about to perfect the form. Then, another BIG BANG! Check it out:

We first get recorded jazz in the late teens and early twenties. By and large it’s the musical gumbo arising from New Orleans, the sound of rags, cakewalks, marching bands, second line, Congo Square, flat out blues and breaking through in an exuberant noise called jass, or jazz. Louis Armstrong. Jelly Roll Morton, emphasizing “It has to have that Latin tinge…” foreshadowing Duke Ellington’s exhortation that “It don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that swing…” Satchmo and Duke embody the importance of spontaneous improvisation and composing, a tension that will stay with the music throughout her history.

In the 1930s jazz collides with the Great American Songbook; Gershwin, Berlin, Porter, and many others give musicians the musical jumping off point for jams and dance. See Billie Holiday, Count Basie, Lester Young.

The 1940s discovers be-bop through Bird, Monk and Dizzy, and a new vocabulary launches the music into a more cerebral and esoteric direction. Jazz becomes counter culture. The velocity of bop forecasts the changes ahead in wider society over the next three decades.

Bebop is solidified in the 1950s, and branches out into cool and hard streams. Ornette and Cecil launch the avant garde at the end of the decade. Bop hits it’s “Sistene Chapel” with Coltrane’s Giant Steps while Miles cools us out with Kind of Blue.

In the 1960s the wheels come off. Jazz collides head on with rock, with politics, with a movement and a war and civil rights and assassination. Never before (nor since) has the music been furiously propelled to discover the limits of improv. Coltrane spawns a generation of devotees, while Miles conducts an apprenticeship for a dozen young geniuses who will define the following decade.

The 1970s brought people back to dance, hence the funk. Put on a dashiki and plug in. Fusion music and smooth jazz is born. ECM launches a European version of jazz. Even Ornette goes electric. Anthony Braxton makes a strong case for the use of jazz mixing with the avant garde classical music of the 20th century. We’re just now catching up to that.

Wynton Marsalis started a school of neo-traditional jazz. Let’s not just remember Coltrane, he seemed to urge, but how about Duke and Louis? The country takes a hard turn to the right as the young lions bring the music back to mainstream. A strong counter culture continues to thrive with the AACM. The 1980s also begin to spawn tribute albums and projects. Jazz becomes nostalgic.

In the 1990s new threads emerge. Everybody’s everything. World music is influenced by, and influences jazz. Jazz begins to move into the universities while keeping a foot in the clubs and another on the festival scene.

This past decade has seen another collision or two: the Indo-Pak movement unites Coltrane with traditional eastern sounds via Rudresh Mahanthappa and Vijay Iyer, while John Hollenbeck combines Steve Reich with Mingus. The music continues to evolve, always sounding amazingly vital, both reflecting and forecasting the zeitgeist of the times. Jazz, a term disowned by both Ellington and Miles, is the state of constant change, of influences and colors merging and changing, a flow of sound and intellect and culture. I have never tired following her shifting moods and textures.

DECADES: 2000s

What a long, strange trip it’s been. The Vinyl Side of Midnight wraps up the series of DECADES shows with a review of the past ten years. The line up is strong and some tough choices made. What, no Keith Jarrett? New influences are felt from world to hip hop to classical spheres. The Lansing area experiences a renaissance of jazz with the twin influences of a top notch jazz department at MSU (under the guidance of Rodney Whitaker) and the jewel of Old Town, the Creole Gallery, through the efforts of Robert Busby and Meegan Holland. An amazing decade indeed. Musical ‘beds’ are made up from popular and significant records of the last few years. Check it all out on Sunday night.

Dave Douglas – Blue Heaven; SOUL ON SOUL (RCA Victor)
Joe Lovano – Don’t Ever Leave Me; JOYOUS ENCOUNTERS (Blue Note)
Jason Moran – Planet Rock; MODERNISTIC (Blue Note)
Justin Timberlake – Sexyback; FUTURE/SEX/LOVESOUNDS (Jive)

Dianna Krall – The Look of Love (title track); (Verve)
Maria Schneider Orchestra – Sky Blue (title track); (artist share)
Amy Winehouse – Back to Black (title track); (Universal Republic)

Herbie Hancock w/Tina Turner – Edith and the Kingpin; RIVER (Verve)
Wayne Shorter Quartet – Masquelero; FOOTPRINTS LIVE! (Verve)
No Doubt – Hella Good; ROCK STEADY (Interscope Records)

Kenny Garrett – Realization; BEYOND THE WALL (Nonesuch)
Dave Holland Big Band – Blues For C.M.; WHAT GOES AROUND (ECM)
Snoop Dogg – It Blows My Mind; THE NEPTUNES PRESENT…CLONES (Arista Records)

Greg Osby – Ashes; THE INVISIBLE HAND (Blue Note)
Andrew Hill – Tough Love; DUSK (Palmetto Records)
LCD Soundsystem – North American; SOUND OF SILVER (Capitol)

John Hollenbeck Large Ensemble – Folkmoot; A BLESSING (Omnitone)
Chris Potter 10 – Closer to the Sun; SONG FOR ANYONE (Sunnyside)
Bjork – The Pleasure is All Mine; MEDULLA (Elektra)

David Murray Octet – Giant Steps; OCTET PLAYS TRANE (Justin Time Records)
Ornette Coleman – Turnaround; SOUND GRAMMAR (Phrase Text)
William Parker Quartet – Wood Flute Song; SOUND UNITY (AUM Fidelity)
Toumani Diabate – Mali Sadio; BOULEVARD DE L’INDEPENDANCE (Nonesuch)

Vijay Iyer – Infogee’s Cakewalk; REIMAGINING (Savoy Jazz)
Rudresh Mahanthappa – Ganesha; KINSMEN (Pi Recordings)
M.I.A. – Pull Up The People; ARULAR (Interscope Records)

Tomasz Stanko Quartet – I; SOUL OF THINGS (ECM)
Charles Lloyd – Tales of Rumi; SANGAM (ECM)
Hamsa Lila – Eh Mustapha; GATHERING ONE (BRG)

Karrin Allyson – Never Say Yes; FOOTPRINTS (Concord)
Kurt Elling – I Like The Sunrise; NIGHTMOVES (Concord)

DECADES: 1990s

This can’t possibly be an oldies show, can it? Well, tonight we climb back into the time machine and travel back to the era of the Clintons, O.J., tribute albums, hip hop, world and some surprisingly excellent jazz.

Medeski, Martin & Wood – Sugar Craft; COMBUSTICATION (Blue Note)
John Scofield – Chank; A GO GO (Verve)
John Scofield – Away With Words; QUIET (Verve)
Common – The Light; HIP HOP GOLD (Hip-O)

Carmen McRae – Dear Ruby; CARMEN SINGS MONK (Novus)
Cassandra Wilson – You Don’t Know What Love Is: BLUE LIGHT ‘TIL DAWN (Blue Note)
BLACKstreet w/Dr.Dre – No Diggity; 90s SOUL NUMBER 1s (Hip-O)

Jimmy Cobb’s Mob – Gingerbread Boy; ONLY FOR THE PURE AT HEART (Fable)
Joe Chambers – Caravanserai; MIRRORS (Blue Note)
Ali Farka Toure w/Ry Cooder – Bonde; TALKING TIMBUKTU (World Circuit)

Herbie Hancock – The Man I Love; GERSHWIN’S WORLD (Verve)
Joe Henderson – Isfahan; LUSH LIFE (Verve)
Macy Gray – I Try; ON HOW LIFE IS (Epic)

Diana Krall – I Don’t Know Enough About You; LOVE SCENES (Impulse)
Charlie Haden Quartet West – Haunted Heart; HAUNTED HEART (Verve)
Tom Ze – Ogodo, Ano 2000; THE HIPS OF TRADITION (Warner Brothers)

Don Grolnick – Nothing Personal; WEAVER OF DREAMS (Blue Note)
Bob Moses – Trevor; WHEN ELEPHANTS DREAM OF MUSIC (Gramavision)
Paul Simon – Spirit Voices; THE RHYTHM OF THE SAINTS (Warner Brothers)

Wynton Marsalis – The Majesty of the Blues; LIVE AT THE VILLAGE VANGUARD; (Columbia)
Los Lobos – Kiko and the Lavender Moon; KIKO (Warner Brothers)

Joshua Redman – Turnaround; WISH (Warner Brothers)
Marcus Roberts – Nebuchadnezzar; DEEP IN THE SHED (Novus)
Snoop Doggy Dog – What’s My Name? HIP HOP PARTY (Rhino)

Joe Lovano – Birds of Springtimes Gone By; QUARTETS (Blue Note)
Dave Douglas – Everyman; MAGIC TRIANGLE (Arabesque Recordings)
Nirvana – Smells Like Teen Spirit; NEVERMIND (sub pop)

Kenny Barron – Take The Coltrane; WANTON SPIRIT (Verve)
Brad Mehldau – Moon River; LIVE AT THE VILLAGE VANGUARD (Warner Brothers)
D’’Angelo – Feel Like Makin’ Love; VOODOO (Virgin)

Henry Threadgill – Too Much Sugar for a Dime (Title Track); (Axiom)
Steve Coleman – Day Three; GENESIS (RCA Victor)
Tom Waits – I Don’t Wanna Grow Up; BONE MACHINE (Island Records)

Charlie Haden/Hank Jones – Steal Away (Title Track); (Verve)
Frank Morgan – You Must Believe In Spring (Title Track); (Antilles)

DECADES: 1980s

The most schizophrenic of decades, with a plethora of adventurous trailblazers and the advent of the young lions, led by Wynton Marsalis. Dance music, MTV, and rap lead popular music further away from jazz than it has ever been before. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Tune in Sunday night and we’ll have a great time.

Miles Davis – Jean Pierre; WE WANT MILES (Sony)
Miles Davis – Full Nelson; TUTU (Warner Brothers)
Miles Davis – The Doo Bop Song; DOO-BOP (Warner Brothers)
Rick James – Super Freak; 80s SOUL GOLD (Universal Music)

Wynton Marsalis – Father Time; WYNTON MARSALIS (CBS)
Marcus Roberts – In A Mellow Tone; THE TRUTH IS SPOKEN HERE (Novus)
Michael Jackson – Billie Jean; NUMBER ONES (Epic)

Wayne Shorter – Joy Rider; JOY RIDER (Sony)
John Scofield – Rule of Thumb; STILL WARM (Rykodisc)
Herbie Hancock – Rockit; FUTURE SHOCK (Columbia)
Michael Sembello – Maniac; 80s DANCE GOLD (Universal Music)

Eberhard Weber – Maurizius; RARUM; (ECM)
Dave Holland – You I Love; RARUM; (ECM)
Prince – 1999; THE HITS (Warner Brothers)

Sun Ra – Quest; THE SINGLES (Evidence)
Sun Ra – Outer Space Plateau; THE SINGLES (Evidence)
Max Roach – Ghost Dance (Pt. II); TO THE MAX (Blue Moon)
Bobby Brown – My Perogative; 80s SOUL NUMBER ONES (UNIVERSAL MUSIC)

David Murray Octet – Ming; MING (Black Saint)
World Saxophone Quartet – Hattie Wall; DANCES AND BALLADS (Nonesuch)
Sugarhill Gang – Rapper’s Delight; HIP HOP GOLD (Universal Music)

Don Pullen – Jana’s Delight; NEW BEGINNINGS (Blue Note)
Charlie Haden – The Ballad of the Fallen; THE BALLAD OF THE FALLEN (ECM)
Muhal Richards Abrams Orchestra – Bermix; THE HEARINGA SUITE (Black Saint)
Arrested Development – Tennessee; MILLENNIUM HIP HOP PARTY (Rhino)

John Zorn – The Big Gundown; THE BIG GUNDOWN (Nonesuch)
Sonny Clark – Voodoo; VOODOO (Black Saint)
Public Enemy – Bring The Noise; IT TAKES A NATION OF MILLIONS TO HOLD US BACK (Def Jam Records)

The Art Ensemble of Chicago – The Sun Precondition; URBAN BUSHMEN (ECM)
Erik B. & Rakim – Paid In Full; COLORS (Warner Brothers)

The Art Farmer Quintet – Blame It On My Youth; BLAME IT ON MY YOUTH (Contemporary)
Archie Shepp/Horace Parlan – Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out; TROUBLE IN MIND (Steeplechase)

DECADES: 1970s

Time to plug in and turn out the funk. A bunch of alums from the University of Miles Davis, from Zawinul to Corea, a lion in winter (Mingus) and a big dollop of avant garde in the shank of the evening will explode the decade of Have A Nice Day. This was one of the most fun shows I’ve ever put together. Enjoy listening!

Billy Cobham – Some Skunk Funk; Anthology; Rhino
Stanley Clarke – Silly Putty; JOURNEY TO LOVE; Epic
Parliament – Tear The Roof Off The Sucker; FUNK PARTY; Rhino

Ronnie Laws – Always There; PRESSURE SENSITIVE; Blue Note
Freddie Hubbard – Red Clay; RED CLAY; CTI
Al Green – Call Me; GREATEST HITS; Hi Tone

Mahavishnu Orchestra – One Word; BIRDS OF FIRE; Columbia
Return To Forever – Duel Of The Jester And The Tyrant; ROMANTIC WARRIOR; Legacy
The O’Jays – For The Love Of Money; THE PHILLY SOUND; Epic

Weather Report – Boogie Woogie Waltz; SWEETNIGHTER; Columbia
Steely Dan – Aja; AJA; MCA

George Benson – Masquerade; BREEZIN’; Warner Brothers
Chick Corea/Gary Burton – What Games Shall We Play Today?; CRYSTAL SILENCE; ECM
John Klemmer – Touch; TOUCH; MCA
The Trammps – Disco Inferno; DISCO GOLD; HIP-O Records

Herbie Hancock – Chameleon; HEADHUNTERS; Columbia
Stevie Wonder – You Haven’t Done Nothin’; ORIGINAL MUSIQUARIUM; Tamla

Rahsaan Roland Kirk – Bye Bye Blackbird; DOES YOUR HOUSE HAVE LIONS; Rhino
Charles Mingus – Sue’s Changes; PASSION OF A MAN; Columbia
Marvin Gaye – What’s Going On?; WHAT’S GOING ON? Motown

Dexter Gordon – Fenja; HOMECOMING, LIVE AT THE VILLAGE VANGUARD; Columbia
Curtis Mayfield – Pusherman; THE ANTHOLOGY; MCA

Anthony Braxton – Piece One; CREATIVE ORCHESTRA MUSIC; RCA
Ornette Coleman – Theme From A Symphony, Variation One; DANCIN’ IN YOUR HEAD; Polygram
James Brown – There It Is; STAR TIME; Polydor

Miles Davis – On The Corner; ON THE CORNER; Columbia

DECADES: 1960s

A tumultuous decade and it was both a trick and a treat to try and line up the most iconic tracks of the 1960s. Enjoy.

Ramsey Lewis – The “In” Crowd; FINEST HOUR; Verve
Cannonball Adderly – Mercy, Mercy, Mercy; CANNONBALL PLAYS ZAWINUL; Capitol
Hugh Masekela – Grazin’ In The Grass; 60s SOUL; Universal Music

Bill Evans Trio – Gloria’s Step; SUNDAY AT THE VILLAGE VANGUARD; Riverside
Wayne Shorter – Witch Hunt; SPEAK NO EVIL; Blue Note
Temptations – Ain’t Too Proud To Beg; HITSVILLE U.S.A.; Motown

Grant Green – I Wish You Love; STREET OF DREAMS; Blue Note
The Drifters – On Broadway; Atlantic Rhythm & Blues; Atlantic

Miles Davis Quintet – E.S.P.; 1965-68 Box; Columbia
Miles Davis Quintet – Nefertiti; 1965-68 Box; Columbia
Percy Sledge – When A Man Loves A Woman; Atlantic Rhythm & Blues; Atlantic

John Coltrane Quartet – Chasin’ The Trane; THE COMPLETE 1961 VILLAGE VANGUARD RECORDINGS; Impulse
Marvin Gaye – I Heard It Through The Grapevine; HITTSVILLE, U.S.A.; Motown

Eric Dolphy – Out To Lunch; OUT TO LUNCH; Blue Note
The Bar-Kays – Soul Finger; ATLANTIC RHYTHM & BLUES; Atlantic

Herbie Hancock – Maiden Voyage; MAIDEN VOYAGE; Blue Note
John Coltrane Quartet – Acknowledgement; A LOVE SUPREME; Impulse
James Brown – Cold Sweat; THE HARDEST WORKING MAN IN SHOW BUSINESS; Polydor

Ornette Coleman Double Quartet – Free Jazz; BEAUTY IS A RARE THING; Rhino
Sly & The Family Stone – I Want To Take You Higher; THE ESSENTIAL…; Epic

Miles Davis – Pharoah’s Dance; BITCHES BREW; Columbia
Jimi Hendrix – Third Stone From The Sun; ARE YOU EXPERIENCED; Reprise

DECADES: 1950s

A great decade or the GREATEST decade? Check out this ridiculous playlist! Mingus, Monk, Trane, Miles, Lady Day and Bird. A time when giants walked the earth and were at the heights of their powers. Bebop becomes hard bop, the vocabulary of new jazz becomes fully integrated into the mainstream. But wait… who’s that on the horizon? Ornette? Join me Sunday night. Destination radio.

Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers – Moanin’; MOANIN’; Blue Note
Charles Mingus – Better Git It In Your Soul; MINGUS AH UM; Columbia
Howlin’ Wolf – Smokestack Lightnin’; CHESS BLUES; Chess

Charlie Parker – Kim; CONFIRMATION; Verve
Charlie Parker – In The Still Of The Night; CONFIRMATION; Verve
Miles Davis Nonet – Rocker; BIRTH OF THE COOL; Capitol
Miles Davis Nonet – Darn That Dream; BIRTH OF THE COOL; Capitol
Muddy Waters – Got My Mojo Workin’; CHESS BLUES; Chess

Clifford Brown – Quicksilver; THE COMPLETE BLUE NOTE…; Blue Note
Jimmy Smith – The Champ; A NEW SOUND, A NEW STAR; Blue Note
Elvis Presley – Good Rockin’ Tonight; THE SUN STORY; Rhino

Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong – Autumn In New York; BEST OF…; Verve
Dave Brubeck Quartet – Take Five; TIME OUT (Legacy); Columbia
Anita O’Day – A Nightingale Sang In Berkeley Square; Verve
Carl Perkins – Honey Don’t; THE SUN STORY; Rhino

Thelonious Monk/Sonny Rollins – I Want To Be Happy; THELONIOUS MONK/SONNY ROLLINS; Prestige
John Coltrane – Theme For Ernie; SOULTRANE; Prestige
T-Bone Walker – You Don’t Love Me; COMPLETE IMPERIAL RECORDINGS; Imperial

THELONIOUS MONK/JOHN COLTRANE – Evidence; …AT CARNEGIE HALL; Blue Note
Sonny Rollins – St. Thomas; SAXOPHONE COLOSSUS; Prestige
T-Bone Walker – Blues Is A Woman; COMPLETE IMPERIAL RECORDINGS; Imperial

Miles Davis Quintet – Bye Bye Blackbird; ROUND ABOUT MIDNIGHT; Columbia
John Coltrane – Giant Steps; GIANT STEPS; Atlantic
The Diamonds – A Beggar For Your Kisses; ATLANTIC RHYTHM & BLUES (‘52-’54)

Roy Eldridge & Dizzy Gillespie – Trumpet Blues; ROY AND DIZ; Verve
Billie Holiday – Body And Soul; THE ULTIMATE COLLECTION; Hip-O
Herbie Nichols – The Third World; THE COMPLETE BLUE NOTE…; Blue Note
Ray Charles – I Got A Woman; ATLANTIC RHYTHM & BLUES (‘52-’54)

Art Pepper – Yardbird Suite; THE RETURN OF…; Blue Note
Sarah Vaughan/Clifford Brown – I’m Glad There Is You; SARAH VAUGHAN; Verve
Ray Charles – Drown In My Own Tears; ATLANTIC RHYTHM & BLUES (‘55-’57)

Ornette Coleman – Lonely Woman; BEAUTY IS A RARE THING; Atlantic
Miles Davis – All Blues; KIND OF BLUE; Columbia (Legacy)
John Coltrane – Naima; GIANT STEPS; Atlantic

DECADES: 1940s

We continue our review of jazz through the century as we countdown to the ‘00s by year’s end.

We wrapped up the ‘30s at the height of the swing era. And the 1940s picks up where we left off. Due to the war there is a big hole in the center of the decade. The need for petroleum based products precluded the need for jazz recordings. When recording resumed, we find many of the big bands broken up, replaced by jump bands, smaller r&b combos, a music that will morph into rock and roll within a few years; and a new form of jazz, invented by a group of brilliant innovators: bebop. Check out this set list and join us for an amazing evening of music.

Coleman Hawkins – Bouncin’ With Bean; BODY & SOUL; Victor Jazz
Coleman Hawkins – April In Paris; BODY & SOUL; Victor Jazz
Ella Fitzgerald – Perdido; SOMETHING TO LIVE FOR; Verve

Duke Ellington – Sepia Panorama; CENTENNIAL EDITION; RCA Victor
Duke Ellington – Sophisticated Lady; CENTENNIAL EDITION; RCA Victor
Duke Ellington – Day Dream; CENTENNIAL EDITION; RCA Victor
Duke Ellington – A Lull At Dawn; CENTENNIAL EDITION; RCA Victor
Duke Ellington – Take The “A” Train; CENTENNIAL EDITION; RCA Victor

Billie Holiday – Good Morning Heartache; THE ULTIMATE COLLECTION; Hip-O
Billie Holiday – No Good Man; THE ULTIMATE COLLECTION; Hip-O Records
Billie Holiday – The Blues Are Brewin’; THE ULTIMATE COLLECTION; Hip-O
Billie Holiday – Solitude; THE ULTIMATE COLLECTION; Hip-O Records
Billie Holiday – Easy Livin’; THE ULTIMATE COLLECTION; Hip-O Records

Illinois Jacquet – Flying Home; THE BIG HORN; Proper Records
Cab Calloway – Everybody Eats When They Come To My House; ARE YOU HEP TO THE JIVE? Columbia
Cab Calloway – Are You Hep To The Jive?; Title Track; Columbia Records
Roy Brown – Good Rockin’ Tonight; GETTIN’ FUNKY; Proper Records
Clarence Samuels – Lollypop Mama; CHESS BLUES; Chess
Joe Morris – Lowe Groovin’; ATLANTIC RHYTHM & BLUES; Atlantic

Sarah Vaughan – Black Coffee; THE DIVINE…; Columbia
Billy Eckstine – Everything I Have Is Yours; BEST OF THE M-G-M YEARS; Verve
Lester Young – I’ve Found A New Baby; JAZZMASTERS 30; Verve
Lester Young – Polka Dots And Moonbeams; JAZZMASTERS 30; Verve

Benny Goodman & His Orchestra – Solo Flight; CHARLIE CHRISTIAN; Columbia
Various – Blues In B; CHARLIE CHRISTIAN; Columbia
Various – Waitin’ For Benny; CHARLIE CHRISTIAN; Columbia
Various – Air Mail Special; CHARLIE CHRISTIAN; Columbia

Charlie Parker’s Reboppers – Now’s The Time; ORNITHOLOGY; Proper Records
Charlie Parker’s Reboppers – Thrivin’ On A Riff; ORNITHOLOGY; Proper Records
Charlie Parker’s Reboppers – Ko-Ko; ORNITHOLOGY; Proper Records
Charlie Parker’s Reboppers – Moose The Mooche; ORNITHOLOGY; Proper Records
Charlie Parker’s Reboppers – Yardbird Suite; ORNITHOLOGY; Proper Records
Charlie Parker’’s Reboppers – A Night In Tunisia; ORNITHOLOGY; Proper Records

Dexter Gordon – Dexter’s Mood; SETTIN’ THE PACE; Savoy Jazz
Dexter Gordon – Dextrose; SETTIN’ THE PACE; Savoy Jazz
Dexter Gordon – Index; SETTIN’ THE PACE; Savoy Jazz
Dexter Gordon – Dextivity; SETTIN’ THE PACE; Savoy Jazz

Thelonious Monk – Round Midnight; THE BLUE NOTE YEARS; Blue Note
Thelonious Monk – Evidence; THE BLUE NOTE YEARS; Blue Note
Thelonious Monk – Misterioso; THE BLUE NOTE YEARS; Blue Note
Thelonious Monk – Epistrophy; THE BLUE NOTE YEARS; Blue Note
Thelonious Monk – I Mean You; THE BLUE NOTE YEARS; Blue Note

Miles Davis – Move; BIRTH OF THE COOL; Capitol Jazz
Miles Davis – Jeru; BIRTH OF THE COOL; Capitol Jazz
Miles Davis – Moon Dreams; BIRTH OF THE COOL; Capitol Jazz
Miles Davis – Venus De Milo; BIRTH OF THE COOL; Capitol Jazz
Miles Davis – Budo; BIRTH OF THE COOL; Capitol Jazz

DECADES: 1930s

Wrapping up the first decade of this new century, we’re periodically reviewing the history of jazz through a retrospective romp of each decade up to (and including) now. This week, our focus is on the 1930s. The riotous group improvisations of New Orleans morphs into the discipline of swing. The arrangements get tighter and more complex. A new generation of soloists emerge from the shadow of Satch. The great American Songbook gives jazz a new way of organizing the beats and expression of the times. This is dance music. Kick back and enjoy some of the greatest artists of the 1930s.

Program list:

Louis Armstrong – Sweethearts On Parade; THE ARTIST AS A YOUNG MAN; Legacy
Louis Armstrong – When It’s Sleepy Time Down South; (as above)
Louis Armstrong – Lazy River (as above)
Louis Armstrong – Chinatown, My Chinatown (as above)
Louis Armstrong – Stardust (as above)

Fletcher Henderson – Christopher Columbus; KEN BURNS JAZZ; Columbia
Fletcher Henderson – Grand Terrace Swing; (as above)
Fletcher Henderson – Stealin’ Apples; (as above)
Fletcher Henderson – Jim Town Blues; (as above)
Fletcher Henderson – Stampede; (as above)

Fats Waller – Honeysuckle Rose; A PORTRAIT OF FATS WALLER; Gallerie
Fats Waller – Whose Honey Are You?; (as above)
Fats Waller – Twelfth Street Rag; (as above)
Fats Waller – Tea For Two; (as above)
Fats Waller – Dinah; (as above)

Duke Ellington – It Don’t Mean A Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing); THE DUKE; Columbia
Duke Ellington – In A Jam; (as above)
Duke Ellington – Caravan; (as above)
Duke Ellington – Battle of Swing; (as above)
Duke Ellington – Prelude To A Kiss; (as above)

Benny Goodman Quartet – Moonglow; THE VERY BEST OF…; RCA Victor
Benny Goodman and His Orchestra – King Porter Stomp (as above)
Benny Goodman and His Orchestra – Sing, Sing, Sing (with a Swing) (as above)

Django Reinhardt & Stephane Grappelly w/ The Quintet of the Hot Club of France:
Honeysuckle Rose
Night And Day
Sweet Georgia Brown
Souvenirs
My Sweet
SOUVENIRS; Decca Records

Benny Goodman Sextet – Stomping At The Savoy; CHARLIE CHRISTIAN; JSP Records
Benny Goodman Sextet – Honeysuckle Rose; (as above)
Kansas City Six – Paging The Devil; (as above)
Kansas City Six – Way Down In New Orleans; (as above)
Kansas City Six – Good Morning Blues; (as above)

Coleman Hawkins – Meet Doctor Foo; BODY & SOUL; Victor Jazz
Coleman Hawkins – Fine Dinner; (as above)
Coleman Hawkins – She’s Funny That Way; (as above)
Coleman Hawkins – Body and Soul; (as above)
Coleman Hawkins – When Day Is Done; (as above)

Count Basie – Boo Hoo; THE COMPLETE DECCA RECORDINGS; Decca
Count Basie -The Glory of Love; (as above)
Count Basie – Boogie Woogie; (as above)
Count Basie – Smarty (You Know It All); (as above)
Count Basie – One O’Clock Jump; (as above)

Lester Young – Shoe Shine Boy; THE LESTER YOUNG STORY; Proper Records
Lester Young – Oh Lady Be Good (as above)
Lester Young/Billie Holiday – This Year’s Kisses (as above)
Lester Young/Billie Holiday – Easy Living; (as above)
Lester Young/Billie Holiday – Me, Myself & I; (as above)

Billie Holiday – Miss Brown To You; THE ULTIMATE COLLECTION; Hip-O Records
Billie Holiday – What A Little Moonlight Will Do; (as above)
Billie Holiday – I Cried For You; (as above)
Billie Holiday – Mean To Me; (as above)
Billie Holiday – Strange Fruit; (as above)
Billie Holiday – Fine And Mellow; (as above)

Tonight we begin a series that will run every other week through the rest of the year. You’ll be hearing some of the best jazz ever recorded. From New Orleans to Kansas City to Washington D.C., from rags to blues to stomps, we’ll listen to some of the essential icons of the music.

Decades: 1920s

Sam Moore – Laughing Rag
Dixieland Jug Blowers – House Rent Rag
South Street Trio – South Street Stomp
Savoy Bearcats – Hot Notes
Bennie Moten’s Kansas City Club – 12th Street Rag
(from CLASSIC RAGTIME, ROOTS AND OFFSHOOTS, RCA/VICTOR)

The Original Dixieland Five – Tiger Rag
King Oliver’s Creole Jazz – Sugar Foot Stomp
New Orleans Rhythm Kings – Tin Roof Blues
Frankie Trumbauer & His Orchestra w/Bix & Lang – Singin’ The Blues
Joe Venuti & Eddie Lang – Goin’ Places
(from MASTERS OF JAZZ VOL.I; TRADITIONAL JAZZ CLASSICS; RHINO)

Kiing Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band – Chime Blues
King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band – Snake Rag
Clarence William’s Blue Five – Texas Moaner Blues
Clarence William’s Blue Five – Everybody Loves My Baby
(from LOUIS ARMSTRONG, THE ARTIST AS A YOUNG MAN; COLUMBIA)

Bessie Smith – St. Louis Blues
Bessie Smith – Sobbin’ Hearted Blues
Fletcher Henderson & His Orchestra – Sugar Foot Stomp
Fletcher Henderson & His Orchestra – T.N.T.
(from LOUIS ARMSTRONG, THE ARTIST AS A YOUNG MAN; COLUMBIA)

Duke Ellington & His Kentucky Club Orchestra – East St. Louis Toodle-o
Duke Ellington & His Kentucky Club Orchestra – Birmingham Breakdown
Duke Ellington & The Washingtonians – Black & Tan Fantasy
Duke Ellington & His Cotton Club Orchestra – Take It Easy
Duke Ellington & His Cotton Club Orchestra – Jubilee Stomp
(from THE BEST OF EARLY ELLINGTON; DECCA)

Louis Armstrong & His Hot Five – Heebie Jeebies
Louis Armstrong & His Hot Five – Cornet Chop Suey
Louis Armstrong & His Hot Five – Skit-Dat-De-Dat
Louis Armstrong & His Hot Five – Big Butter and Egg Man
(from LOUIS ARMSTRONG, THE ARTIST AS A YOUNG MAN, COLUMBIA)

Louis Armstrong Stompers – Chicago Breakdown
Louis Armstrong & His Hot Seven – Potato Head Blues
Louis Armstrong & His Hot Five – Struttin’ With Some Barbecue
Louis Armstrong & His Hot Five – Hotter Than That
(From Louis Armstrong, THE ARTIST AS A YOUNG MAN, COLUMBIA)

Bessie Smith – Any Woman’s Blues
Bessie Smith – Chicago Bound Blues
Bessie Smith – Mistreating Daddy
Bessie Smith – Frosty Morning Blue
(from BESSIE SMITH: THE COMPLETE RECORDINGS; COLUMBIA)

Jelly Roll Morton – Doctor Jazz
Jelly Roll Morton – Cannonball Blues
Jelly Roll Morton – The Pearls
Jelly Roll Morton – Wolverine Blues
(from THE PEARLS; BLUEBIRD)

Duke Ellington & His Orchestra – Black Beauty
Duke Ellington & His Orchestra – Yellow Dog Blues
Duke Ellington & His Orchestra – Toshimingo Blues
Duke Ellington & His Orchestra – The Mooche
(from THE BEST OF EARLY ELLINGTON, DECCA)

Louis Armstrong & His Hot Five – West End Blues
Louis Armstrong & Earl Hines – Weather Bird
Louis Armstrong & His Hot Five – Muggles
Louis Armstrong & His Orchestra – Ain’t Misbehavin’
(from LOUIS ARMSTRONG AS A YOUNG MAN; COLUMBIA)

Louis Armstrong & His Orchestra – Black and Blue
Louis Armstrong & His Orchestra – That Rhythm Man
Louis Armstrong & His Orchestra – When You’re Smiling
Louis Armstrong & His Orchestra – St. Louis Blues

Book Review

THELONIOUS MONK; THE LIFE & TIMES OF AN AMERICAN ORIGINAL
by Robin D.G. Kelley

To give you a clue about how fastidiously researched Professor Kelley’s tome on Monk is, there are 101 pages of annotated notes at the end of the book. In small font.
This book is an amazing resource for Monk-a-philes and jazz scholars and geeks alike. (I fit all of the above.) Beginning with a look into the Monk family tree during the Civil War era, and ending with a gig by gig account of Thelonious’ professional life, there is no question left unanswered.
Kelley’s thesis is that Monk, often portrayed as an eccentric genius, has been misunderstood as to the degree to which he had to work hard for his art, was a deeply committed family man, suffered from a mis-diagnosed bipolar disorder, and was often under-employed or under-appreciated during his lifetime.
Monk, who first comes to notice as Coleman Hawkin’s pianist, emerges as a player at the Harlem hot spot for jam sessions, Mintons, proved to be one of the giants of jazz in the 20th century. He was one of the father’s of bebop, and Kelley’s description of those early times in the 1940s are some of the highlights of the book. They stand right up next to Laurence Bergreen’s description of the origin of jazz in New Orleans in his book on Louis Armstrong as as close to a definitive version of the genesis of a music that we’re likely to find. Discovering the etiology and the evolution of bop has been difficult on record, due to the ban on recorded work because the vinyl was necessary for the war in the early 1940s.
Kelley quotes Monk as claiming that Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie were influenced by him, not the other way around; he goes so far as to document how Dizzy mimicked Monk’s fashionable look of shades and a beret.
Monk did work hard to earn his eventual due, first with a string of brilliant recordings for Blue Note, then his famous stand with Coltrane at the 5 Spot, his feuds with Miles Davis, his “Lion in Winter” decade with Columbia Records. All carefully documented here and you never know when a new pearl of an anecdote will appear in the details.
However well Kelley proves the points of his thesis, he also amply illustrates the character of Monk he was hoping to downplay. Monk is shown to be a bit of a diva, stubborn, unreliable, taciturn and sometimes bizarre in behavior. He (almost undoubtedly) suffered from a bipolar condition, but also spent much of his life as a substance abuser, under the influence of a heady cocktail of whisky, thorazine, reefer and other drugs and meds.
In spite of it all, Monk remains one of jazz music’s main luminaries. As a player, unique and influential, a link between the Harlem stride stylings of Willie “The Lion” Smith or James P. Johnson and the sounds of bebop exploded by Bud Powell. As a composer, Monk ranks just below Duke Ellington in importance and sway.
Finally, this book returns us and encourages us to listen again to the recordings of Thelonious Monk. This is a trip that is always worth the while.

Everybody Dreams

There will be a reading and a book signing at Schuler Books in Okemos on Wednesday, October 28, 2009 at 7:00p.m. Hope to see you there.

I’ll also be starting a NEW Dream Group. Some of the fans of the book have discussed when I’m starting a new dream group and this one will start in mid November. We’ll meet week on Thursday nights, 6-7:15p.m. for a total of 16 sessions (just like the novel!). The cost is $45 per group. Space is limited to six attendees. So call me at #336-7721 to sign up.

How I Spent My Summer

This has been a very full season for me and I’m grateful for all the opportunities I’ve had this summer. There were speaking engagements in Traverse City (Motivational Enhancement & Cognitive Behavioral Treatment for the M.S.U. Summer Institute with Monkey Business Consulting), Montreal (The Solution Focused Process for the International Policy Governance group that services boards of directors around the world with Sue Stratton), and Detroit Ren Cen (MET/CBT again for the State of Michigan Substance Abuse Conference). Deborah Johnson Wood and I served as coordinators for this year’s annual Peninsula Writers Summer retreat at Glen Lake, with Guggenheim winning poet and novelist Laura Kasischke as our keynote speaker. I emceed at both the Lansing and Detroit Jazz Festivals. Cathie Blumer and I traveled to New York for a week of research on my new novel in August. In between it all I had book signings in Traverse City, Montreal and Grand Rapids. Again, I am eternally grateful for all of these wonderful chances to connect with such diverse groups of people over ideas and creativity.

Book Reviews
THE ALCOHOLISM AND ADDICTION CURE (A Holistic Approach to Total Recovery) by Chris Prentiss; Power Press

This past year I started to hear clients talking about this book, then saw it advertised on television, so I knew that I had to read it myself. The book asks the question: Is There A Cure For Alcoholism? and answers an emphatic YES! So, first as a clinician and secondly as a practitioner of a different approach to recovery, I was very interested in checking this out.
Chris Prentiss is the author of a dozen self help books. I haven’t read any of these but it is interesting, first of all, that this is his background. He isn’t a doctor or a therapist. He goes at great lengths to describe his upbringing by a sociopathic mother and his own problems that he experienced early in life. One of the best features of the book is a very extended chapter written by Chris’ son, Pax, who describes his own story of addiction and recovery.
I had a mixed reaction to the book. I felt that Mr. Prentiss makes some good points and I would like to expound a little of the positives and negatives about this book:

POSITIVES:

Mr. Prentiss stresses the need for an individualized treatment approach, something you don’t always find in the treatment of addictions. And I agree with this.
Mr. Prentiss takes some well deserved swipes at the field of addiction treatment, though he also offers a disclaimer in support of Alcoholics Anonymous. Much like Herb Trimpe does in his work with Rational Recovery. I DO think that there needs to be alternatives to A.A. Because A.A., in spite of having the best recovery rate of available programs, doesn’t work for everybody. And maybe nothing will work for everybody. But if there are several viable options for recovery, all the better. And they don’t need to be at war with one another.
I also liked the very strong focus on both the physical and psychological health of the client. Chris and Pax are founders of a treatment center in Malibu. He encourages everyone who can to attend his treatment center, naturally. However, if you can’t, he descibes how one can design their own treatment.
You see, Mr. Prentiss doesn’t believe that people use drugs or drink too much because they are alcoholics or addicts. He doesn’t like those terms. He believes that there is one or a variety of several reasons WHY people use. Here are those reasons:

Cause 1: Chemical imbalance
Cause 2: Unresolved events from the past
Cause 3: Beliefs you hold that are inconsistent with what is true
Cause 4: Inability to cope with current conditions

(It is interesting to contrast these causes with what research is telling us about who is likely to become addicted: a blend of genetic predetermination with either depression, anxiety, trauma, delinquency or truancy as key variables.)

So Mr. Prentiss believes that one must address the underlying cause to cure the addiction.
And then, and this is important, the individual can NEVER use drugs or alcohol again. I’m betting this is disappointing to most alcoholics and addicts, who usually go through an extensive search to find a way to continue to have drugs or alcohol in their lives successfully before surrendering to abstinence.
Mr. Prentiss encourages the use of a holistic team of healers to address the underlying issues: integrative medicine, traditional Chinese medicine, clinical psychology, marriage and/or family therapy, hypnotherapy, personal fitness, visualization and meditation and spiritual therapy. He also encourages the creation of a healing circle of friends that will support your new self.

NEGATIVES:

As I mentioned above, Mr. Prentiss is not a physician, nor a PhD nor a therapist. But he does believe in change as a reality which is a positive. At the end of the day, the addict still has to remain abstinent, so where’s the cure? And the swipes he takes at A.A. are, I think, unnecessary.

Bottom line: in the A.A. literature they relate that “We know but a little…” and I’m glad people are out there researching and finding new avenues to recovery. A.A. says that those who complete the program are ‘recovered’ or cured from their alcoholism. But in the end, they say that the most an alcoholic can hope for is a ‘daily reprieve’ from their condition. It doesn’t sound like Mr. Prentiss offers much more than that.

OLIVE KITTERIDGE by Elizabeth Strout; Random House

This book won the pulitzer prize in literature last year and it’s sure easy to see why. What wonderful writing and what a great character we have in Olive Kitteridge.
The book is actually less a novel than it is a collection of short stories, all set in the small town of Crosby, Maine. But all of the stories feature Olive. Sometimes her appearance seems more like a cameo. Few of the baker’s dozen focus squarely on her. This really doesn’t seem like a device, but a fascinating way to reveal aspects of a character through the eyes of a spouse, a son, a neighbor, an acquaintance. Such triangulation brings out aspects of personality that are often overlooked in fiction.
There is an old adage in psychology. There is the person we know ourselves to be, then the person we reveal to those closest to us. And yet another person who we are known by in public. Few stories delve into each of these facets of character, but Elizabeth Strout just nails it in this book.
We are treated first to a loving and bittersweet portrait of Henry, Olive’s faithful but wistful husband in the very first chapter. Subsequent chapters take us to a piano bar, a wedding reception, a donut shop, the reception following a funeral. I don’t want to reveal any thing else of consequence, because the reader will be delighted and in despair by the discovery of the events of Olive’s life. This is a book I spent hours reading aloud to my girl friend, and I don’t know which of us had a better time at it. This is a book that will make you laugh out loud (which is what began to reading out loud) and it will make you cry. And for all the vinegar that runs in Olive’s veins, you will come to love her. Do yourself a favor and get this book. And if you can, read it out loud to someone you love.

Detroit JazzFest 2009

Speaking of the Detroit Jazz Festival, Meegan Holland and I posted daily blog entries for MLIVE and Cathie Blumer contributed photos for this year’s event. I wanted to post my diary for the festival. I understand now that 700,000 people attended this festival, which has got to be the largest FREE jazz festival in the U.S.A., maybe the world. It is the best thing Detroit has to offer.
The Festival is always held on the weekend of Labor Day, but this event felt like it started for me the Sunday before, when I interviewed Festival & Artistic Director Terri Pontremoli. Terri is such a great interview, so bubbly and effervescent, a great ball of kinetic energy and a smile you can see over the phone. When it looked like the Detroit Jazz Festival was about to fold, Gretchen Valade (the owner of Carhartt clothing, Mack Avenue Records and the Dirty Dog restaurant) stepped in as a benefactor. One of the best things she did was to bring on board Terri Pontremoli, who has done such an amazing job of booking great talent and keeping a blend of new and old, local and international. But also keeping the emphasis on jazz. So many jazz festivals these days put jazz off to the side while their headliners are pop musicians.
On Friday, we (Holland, Blumer & Stratton) checked into the Ren Cen and headed towards that evening’s event: two headliners to open the festival, Hank Jones and Chick Corea/Stanley Clarke/Lenny White. After proclamations and awards had been deservedly doled out, Hank Jones took the stage. He was dapperly dressed in an elegant dark pin striped suit. He was joined on stage by bass stalwart George Mraz and drummer Carl Allen.
The trio opened with an easy stride performing at first Horace Silver’s Nica’s Dream, then a Wes Montgomery tune. I noticed that the 92 year old Jones would at times vocalize along with his piano solos, something I remember his brother Elvin doing when I saw him perform years ago. Hank’s playing was the epitome of grace and taste.
At one point Jones’ music blew off the stage, just as the band had kicked into J.J. Johnson’s Lament, which lead to an extended bass solo by George Mraz (what a beautiful tone he has!). They did a Charlie Parker tune (Jones is one of the last surviving musicians to have actually played with Bird), a tune by Hank’s other brother Thad (A Child Is Born) and some other classics. The trio encored by performed Thelonious Monk’s Round About Midnight.
The second piano trio of the evening also stuck to the acoustic format. Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke and Lenny White began by playing the Return To Forever tune 500 Miles High. Their playing was dynamic and blazingly fast but always tasteful. They next played a Monk tune, I Mean You and I thought about the evening being a Tale of Two Pianos, contrasting styles and generations. Lenny White’s drumming was more propulsive than swinging, a reflection of the rock influence on jazz in the 1970s. Stanley Clarke is such a virtuoso! I’d forgotten how much I liked his playing.
This trio then performed I Love You Porgy, followed by a dissonant interlude the morphed from a passage that sounded influenced by Bartok to Monk’s Straight No Chaser, before Clarke started a walking bass line and Lenny White started swinging underneath. The band’s encore was a medley of the Concerto de Aranjuez (via Miles Davis’ Sketches of Spain) and the Chick Corea original Spain. Chick lead a kind of a sing along with the Detroit audience, which was clearly enraptured with the music. Everyone went home happy.
Meegan and I stayed up too late blogging at the Ren Cen lounge, while listening to a jam session that got progressively more interesting as the night progressed. Orrin Evans, Sean Jones, etc. etc. One table away a woman was holding forth with her pet dog, every musician in the place coming by to visit and chat. Turns out it was Dee Dee Bridgewater.
The next morning I wrote this poem while sitting in the Starbucks at the Ren Cen:

DETROIT
sitting in the coffee shop
Saturday, Detroit
a cylinder of glass, concrete & steel,
motown gives ‘the finger’
to the midwest
just as Joe Louis’ fist
is in your face
so is Detroit
attitude, swagger
not a sneer, but hip,
hipper than you, and tough
and music

from where i sit there
is music, a big band
practicing in a ballroom
the sound bleeding
into the core of the ren cen

detroit bleeds music
marvin & stevie & smokey
diana & gordy & aretha
iggy & eminem & grand funk

and jazz….
this weekend is about jazz
the players are the painters
the city is the canvas
the canvas Joe Louis
danced on to kick ass
the canvas Diego Rivera
used to sketch his great mural
the canvas of pollsters who
found out what’s happening
the canvas of a city
the music is the
paint of culture
and people, pain and laughter
work, effort, blood funk & attitude
swagger
“Hey Baby!”
that’s Detroit

I reflected on that very specific swagger that is so uniquely Detroit, a vibe that is so different than the New York vibe I was still feeling from a week before.
Ate a king’s breakfast at the Coney Island on Woodward (eggs, grits, sausage and pancakes) with Meegan and Cathie and slipped down to the ‘Talk Tent’ and heard a group of drummer (including Carl Allen, Karriem Riggins, Gayelynn McKinney and Michael Nastos) discuss Elvin Jones. This is such an interesting aspect of the festival, the chance to hear musicians meet and talk music. The consensus seemed that it was a journey to ‘get’ Elvin. The most entertaining story and insights were provided by Carl Allen, who talked about Elvin playing the drum kit at Bradley’s in New York on a tiny stand (“I like these drums but they won’t stay still.”) Carl also pointed out, and vocally displayed, how when most drummers play triplets they accent the first beat, but Elvin accented the second. Interesting.
Checked out a ripping set by Dee Dee Bridgewater and the MSU Big Band, conducted by Rodney Whitaker. Then slipped down to the Pyramid Stage to catch Jose James in his skinny grey suit. I heard two concert goers behind me describe him as a cross between Big Joe Williams and Al Jarreau. I am always impressed by how hip and knowledgeable the audience is at the Detroit Jazz Fest. I agreed with the guys in the audience, though I would add the ingredient of Gil Scott Heron. How is it that Jose James isn’t signed by a major record label? Somebody should snatch this guy up. He treated the audience to versions of Equinox and Stolen Moments, using a technique I’ve heard practiced by Eddie Jefferson and Kurt Elling to sing a solo using poetry instead of scatting. The keyboard player (who?) was great.
The big problem with the Detroit Jazz Festival is that there is NO WAY to catch everything. I left Jose James before his set was over in order to catch part of Sean Jones’ set at the Water Stage. I heard him play a soulful version of Mama with some gospel overtones.
We withdrew to try and blog midday and ended up missing too much music. So all of our blogs were entered very late p.m. or early a.m. after that. Live and learn.
In the early evening I caught part of Louis Hayes hard bop unit, featuring a great front line of Jeremy Pelt and Vincent Herring.
One of the highlights of the festival was Benny Maupin’s Dolphyana. Maupin was on sax but also clarinet and (my favorite) bass clarinet. Nestor Torres was filling in for James Newton on flute, with Jay Hoggard on vibes and Billy Hart on drums. The band performed Dolphy tunes, The Panther, Something Sweet Something Tender and Out To Lunch. They also performed a Maupin original, Message to Prez, which Benny dedicated to Lester Young. This was performed as a trio, with a series of existential queries, many phrases sounding like questions to the open skies of Detroit. No answers. The most avant garde event I caught all weekend.
Meanwhile, on the Main Stage Christian McBride’s Inside Straight was swinging away like crazy. They used a combination of originals and standards of the mainstream. A mix of muscle and finesse. I thought of Lionel Hampton while I listened to relative new comer Warren Wolf on the vibraphone. The band performed Brother Mister, which somehow seemed that the title track for the festival this year.
On Sunday, after blogging and another Coney Island breakfast with Meegan and Cathie, I picked up my emcee credentials and headed to the Pyramid Stage to introduce Jesse Palter. She is a great young singer via Detroit and Chicago and we will hear more of her. Jesse played several originals and made it clear that she’s a good developing writer as well as a song bird.
I introduced the Waterford Kettering high school band at the Meijer Education stage in the afternoon. These young kids were set up behind me and I was reminded of Beevis and Butthead when I said “Here is a group of up and comers…” only to hear a voice a few feet behind me snicker “He said ‘come’…” It was really all I could do not to laugh.
I caught up with my nephew, now Detroiter Ron Stratton for awhile in the afternoon and ate too much Greek food. Then headed to the Water Stage to introduce Geri Allen and quartet. Allen was having a dispute with the sound man, who was doing everything to address her concerns. Interesting to have a back stage perspective on how things get set up.
Geri Allen’s quartet featured a tap dancer on several of the tunes, whom she used as an instrumentalist. One of the highlights of the set was a ‘duet’ between the drummer and the dancer, which brought the huge audience to a standing ovation, just 20 minutes into the music. Geri continued to be highly creative by using a poet (Sandra Turner Barnes) and playing a great mix of originals and standards (McCoy Tyner’s Blues By 5).
Finished the day by listening to the Wayne Shorter Quartet play an uninterrupted 80 minute set of improv based music that was Herculean. I recognized Sanctuary and Myrrh in the mix, but I think most of the music wasn’t just the first time I’d heard it, it was the first time the band had heard it. I blogged at length about this show and if you want more, hunt down the MLIVE blog from the Detroit Jazz Fest. As impressed as I was with the music, I was JUST as impressed with the Detroit audience, who gave a roaring standing ovation at the end of the show.
Monday was short. We were exhausted and needed to return home to get ready for another busy week of work, but not before catching Rodney Whitaker’s salute to Donald Byrd’s A New Perspective. His wife, Cookie, was leading a gospel choir that offset the terrific line up of Mack Avenue talent. A wonderful way to end a perfect weekend of music.

Here is the line up for the end of the 2009’s Vinyl Side of Midnight

10/18/09 = DECADES: 1960s
1025/09 = New Stuff
11/01/09 = DECADES: 1970s
11/08/09 = New Stuff
11/15/09 = DECADES: 1980s
11/22/09 = DECADES: 1990s
11/29/09 = New Stuff
12/06/09 = Best of 2009 Pt. 1
12/13/09 = DECADES: 2000s
12/20/09 = Holiday Show
12/27/09 = Best of 2009