This is the point at which I'm supposed to ponder the immediate present and near future of jazz and improvised music. Not gonna do it. No matter how dire the straits of the music industry, changing distribution and presentation, etc., this music will continue to be made because it has to be made, and artists feel compelled to keep it going despite travails. It's all about the music and its amazing power for catharsis, its ability to lift us and inspire us. So without further ado, here's what inspired me most in 2011.
1. Richie Beirach: Impressions of Tokyo (Outnote)
I was going to call this a comeback, but Beirach (above) hasn't exactly been gone, certainly not as far as recordings are concerned -- he's had 18 released under his name in the past 11 years, plus collaborations (one of those appears further down this list). I guess I think of it as a...
1. Richie Beirach: Impressions of Tokyo (Outnote)
I was going to call this a comeback, but Beirach (above) hasn't exactly been gone, certainly not as far as recordings are concerned -- he's had 18 released under his name in the past 11 years, plus collaborations (one of those appears further down this list). I guess I think of it as a...
- 12/31/2011
- by SteveHoltje
- www.culturecatch.com
William Parker: Conversations (Rogueart)
“The memories that stop being memories due to constant use”- Laurie Anderson
“Beauty is a puppet that keeps dangling in front of me” -Anselm Keifer
Not since John Zorn’s Arcana project and Art Taylor’s Notes and Tones, a comparison many will make, and which Parker says in his brief intro is the book that inspired him to do this project, has there been a book of interviews so vital, so down to earth and so personal. What we have here are 34 interviews conducted by Parker over approximately the last decade, 30 of which are with so-called free jazzers/improvisers, two with new music composers, one with Patricia Nicholson Parker (his wife, a dancer and an organizer of such events as the ongoing Vision Festival), and one with photographer Jacques Bisceglia who also contributed a beautiful black and white and color centerfold (27 photos) of...
“The memories that stop being memories due to constant use”- Laurie Anderson
“Beauty is a puppet that keeps dangling in front of me” -Anselm Keifer
Not since John Zorn’s Arcana project and Art Taylor’s Notes and Tones, a comparison many will make, and which Parker says in his brief intro is the book that inspired him to do this project, has there been a book of interviews so vital, so down to earth and so personal. What we have here are 34 interviews conducted by Parker over approximately the last decade, 30 of which are with so-called free jazzers/improvisers, two with new music composers, one with Patricia Nicholson Parker (his wife, a dancer and an organizer of such events as the ongoing Vision Festival), and one with photographer Jacques Bisceglia who also contributed a beautiful black and white and color centerfold (27 photos) of...
- 10/1/2011
- by steve dalachinsky
- www.culturecatch.com
Palm's safely in Hp's hands now, but for several years it's been financially boosted by U2 frontman Bono's company Elevation Partners. With their involvement wrapped up, the rocker's financial experiment fared okay, but just okay [Ed.note: much like the quality of the last few U2 albums]. [Kit note: Blasphemy!]. Bottom line: Bono's other band seems to have taken home a meager profit. We'll explain.
First some background. Elevation Partners were Palm's most influential investors in recent years, pumping cash into the company to get it through a dark period during which its sales were plummeting as the smartphone revolution bypassed the company's products, and funding development of what was heralded as the first real "iPhone killer," the Palm Pre. Involvement in high tech is no new thing for U2 members though, as their current 360º tour is sponsored by Rim's BlackBerry (conflict of interest, much?) and Bono was once pally enough with Steve Jobs that there was a special edition U2 iPod.
Elevation bought...
First some background. Elevation Partners were Palm's most influential investors in recent years, pumping cash into the company to get it through a dark period during which its sales were plummeting as the smartphone revolution bypassed the company's products, and funding development of what was heralded as the first real "iPhone killer," the Palm Pre. Involvement in high tech is no new thing for U2 members though, as their current 360º tour is sponsored by Rim's BlackBerry (conflict of interest, much?) and Bono was once pally enough with Steve Jobs that there was a special edition U2 iPod.
Elevation bought...
- 4/29/2010
- by Kit Eaton
- Fast Company
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