5/31/20 - Unfortunately very timely, over 50 years later...

Les McCann and Eddie Harris -

Compared to What?

I was planning to skip this week. With riots rolling across America just as the country tries to get the economy started again, it felt like the wrong time to send out anther "uplifting" video. I was not really aware in 1965 during the Watts Riots, but I lived through the Rodney King riots of 1992, and now, 28 years later, here we are with the same issues and lack of answers.

Then my friend Courtney Lemmon reminded me of "Compared To What", a song written in 1966 by Gene McDaniels that we recorded back in 2004

https://youtu.be/TeV4Tr6vnQ0

So I checked YouTube and, LO AND BEHOLD, there is a video from the original date in 1969 with Les McCann and Eddie Harris. McCann and Harris had performed earlier at the 1969 Montreux Jazz Festival and agreed to play together on June 21, 1969, with Benny Bailey (trumpet), Leroy Vinnegar (bass), and Donald Dean (drums). It is the title track from the amazing "Swiss Movement" album. The song has been recorded by over 270 artists.

It's time to listen and pay attention - again.

https://youtu.be/kCDMQqDUtv4

5/22/20 - LA Big Band plasy Tom Kubis

LA Virtual Big Band - Stay At Home Blues

Tom Kubis is an unsung hero of Los Angeles jazz. Born in Los Angeles in 1951, Kubis started a big band to play his arrangements. He has now written over 500 Big Band charts that have been performed at the Playboy Jazz Festival, the Montreux Jazz Festival, and the Berkeley Jazz Festival. His big band performed at the Orange County Performing Arts Center with the Pacific Symphony Orchestra.

He studied 20th century composition at Long Beach State University and worked in television with Steve Allen, Helen Reddy, Jackie Gleason, and Bob Newhart. During the 1960s, he played flute and saxophone with Louie Bellson, Pete Christlieb, Frank Rosolino, Arturo Sandoval, Jack Sheldon, and Bill Watrous.

His arrangements were featured at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C in a presentation written by Cy Coleman and Alan and Marilyn Bergman.

Just like other forms of music, you just can't keep a good Big Band down! Here is a new group, the LA Virtual Big Band playing a new chart written and arranged by Tom Kubis - it SWINGS and the performance will put a smile on your face.

https://youtu.be/VPB96vn4T80

5/15/20 - Kurt Elling - An American Tune

 Kurt Elling - An American Tune

"American Tune" is a song by Paul Simon. It was the third single from his third studio album, There Goes Rhymin' Simon (1973). The song, a meditation on the American experience, is based on the melody of the hymn "O Sacred Head, Now Wounded". In an interview with Tom Moon in 2011, Paul Simon was asked about political references in his songs, and he said: "I don’t write overtly political songs, although American Tune comes pretty close, as it was written just after Nixon was elected."

The lyrics offer a perspective on the American experience; there are references to struggle, weariness, hard work, confusion, and homesickness. The bridge conveys a dream of death and of the Statue of Liberty "sailing away to sea". The song ends with an assertion that "you can't be forever blessed" before the lyrics return to the idea of work, tiredness, and resignation.

Renowned for his singular combination of robust swing and poetic insight, GRAMMY winner Kurt Elling has secured his place among the world’s foremost jazz vocalists. The Washington Post lauded, “Since the mid-1990s, no singer in jazz has been as daring, dynamic or interesting as Kurt Elling. With his soaring vocal flights, his edgy lyrics and sense of being on a musical mission, he has come to embody the creative spirit in jazz.” He continues to release sterling jazz projects. If you don't know Kurt, it is my pleasure to introduce you to him.

I guess if there is a message for today in this song from 47 years ago it is, "We got through a lot of shit in the last 5 decades, and we WILL get through this as well."

https://youtu.be/h2_-aAx1F-w?t=1

5/8/20 Collegium 1704

Collegium 1704 (Prague Baroque Orchestra and Chorus - Sepulto Domino (Jan Zelenka)

The location of this video from Czechoslovakia is Prague Crossroads, in the de-consecrated Church of St Anne, founded by St Václav in 927 AD. The monastery with the church was acquired by the Dominicans in 1312. The entire monastery was restored in the 17th century thanks to donations of the Emperor Matthias’ wife, Queen Anna, yet in 1782, Joseph II abolished the monastery as well as all others. The church was then acquired in 1795 by a prominent printer and antiques’ collector Jan Ferdinand of Schönfeld, , who later opened a printing plant here. In the 1800’s it was used as a printing plant and a warehouse. The first stage of the modern restoration was completed in September 2004, and it now used as a cultural center for the City of Prague.

Jan Dismas Zelenka (16 October 1679 – 23 December 1745) was a Czech composer and musician of the Baroque period. His music is admired for its harmonic inventiveness and counterpoint.

More importantly, this timeless music performed in a timeless location shows one possible future of live music – musicians in masks, performing 6 feet apart, and creating a moving experience in real time.

https://youtu.be/9Ha6x7OA6QY

05/01/20 - Thank You from Paris

Corps Ballet from l'Opéra National de Paris - 

Merci - Prokofiev

We continue to be in uncharted waters, and it is effecting all levels of art, from music to theater to ballet to opera. One thing that has become clear to me is that artists will continue to be artists, and there is no way to stop the level of creativity and passion in the human spirit.

This video, a "thank-you" note from the Ballet of the Opera National de Paris, is stunning, moving and filled with the beauty of life.

I have watched it over and over again. The use of the music from Prokofiev's "Romeo and Juliette" is perfect and the montage of dancers is edited with perfection. Please enjoy, and share with others!

https://youtu.be/OIiG14Ggmu0