Tuesday, December 29, 2015

Brubeck the Genius

DAVE BRUBECK was such a terrific man of jazz.  His 'Take Five; was so vivid....indeed, magnificent.

Thursday, December 10, 2015

Georges Braque

THE FAUVIST ('WILD BEAST') AND CUBIST Georges Braque enchants with his flourishing vibrancy of shimmering modernism.  It remains profound indeed the work of the Parisian Braque.  He along with Pablo Picasso came up with some overwhelming dramatic art between roughly 1908 and 1912.  Picasso soared on past his decorative "blue period" into the robust, Rabelaisian mode of virile cubism   Georges Braque was allegedly a bit more quiet than Picasso and yet his potent artistic contribution to historic modernism in art seems even now so very legendary.  Like the authoritarian jazz of John Coltrane, Braque sends a message of sinuous and resilient art modes and injects them into our rather Joycean streams of 21st Century consciousness.

Liszt: Piano Concerto No.1 - Sophiko Simsive - Finale YPF Piano Competit...

Tuesday, December 8, 2015

Benedetto Marcello 12 Concerti Grossi OP I

Joan Miro

VIVID AND BRASH...that is the emotional, strong art of the Catalan artist, Joan Miro.  This man of Spain (the Catalan region) was a fine persona indeed from the grand city of Barcelona.  Love his incredible art.

Wednesday, November 11, 2015

Veterans Day 2015 Ideas

AGAIN, it is Veterans Day.  This is the 2015 event.  I feel it is very hard to put into words this meaning of being a veteran.  Unless you have been there in a far country it is hard to explain the dynamics of the situation.  I am a veteran, but I was not in combat.  When I was in service I was in Okinawa, Japan.  But many of my best friends were in Nam.  Some of them had brutal times.  It is difficult to get the pseudo-intellectuals to grasp some of the bizarre aspects of the experiences of veterans.  The Americans who have been in the tough times of the Middle East had just as many harsh deals to undergo as those souls who dealt with Vietnam, Korea and WWII.  Let us listen to all our men and women of the U.S. Military.  Let us learn from the warriors who are here with us even now.

Oscar Peterson Bossa Nova

Monday, November 9, 2015

Stan Getz Quintet Live 1951 ~ Parker 51

Metro Atlanta So Different Now

THE ATLANTA AREA has changed so much.  It hums as a pluralistic, powerful society now.  A few decades ago it was so lean and odd.  It was the apotheosis of Mencken's 'Sahara of the Bozart' in many ways.  I remember the first time I saw a Datsun vehicle on these streets. Yet, now it has folks from so many different cultures that it is a "melting pot" as the arcane pundits say.  It is a much more interesting subculture of the U.S. this big thing called Atlanta.  However in many ways the rugged old culture blood veins are still there.  This is the literary land of Caldwell and Mitchell and to some degree a little bit of the noted Alabaman, Harper Lee, also.  It appears difficult to understand this essence defined as Atlanta.  But perhaps it is best to simply not think too much....just let Atlanta be itself.

I Understand Thoreau Now....Another Short Story By Me

THOREAU AND PHILOSOPHY OF NATURE:  The crusty old man with pain in his tortured legs stared out the bus window at the beautiful Italian countryside.  He found himself drowning in memories.  The writer, Henry David Thoreau, had always been a baffling mystery to him.  But now seeing the looping, sleek beauty of the high mountains of Italy he felt more truthful realizations about life than he had in a long time.  He heard the rapid fire Italian voice of the female tour guide and he knew he was being blessed.  It was like listening to the jovial strains of Puccini.  Thoreau and Nature now made sense. He felt wild happiness running through his bloodstream.

Short Story I Wrote....Title Is 'Innocence'

NERVOUS AND SO INNOCENT, the young man walked into the tiny music cafe with plenty of moronic inabilities cascading inside of him.  He did not realize the fine attributes he had like his patrician good looks. He was submerged in all the blatant rejection crap that had been foisted on to him for a long time.  He had been rejected so many times.  His social skills had been crushed horribly.  He read books because the damn reading was all he had.  There in the cafe over on the far left there was an odd, melancholy looking girl...He stared like the absurd idiot he felt he was.  He got up guts and walked toward her.  The brittle female saw the mark that was him coming.  She readied her scam routine.  Gonna get him, good.  In moments he was done for again.  After three months it was over and the curse of heinous rejection had smashed him again. He felt like Barnes in 'Sun Also Rises.'

Jazz-Bud Powell - Paris 1959 (With Kenny Clarke, Clark Terry, Etc).

"Lover Man"Sonny Stitt,Walter Bishop,Tommy Potter,Kenny Clarke.

Tuesday, November 3, 2015

More of My Thoughts on Europe

ITALY WAS SO BEAUTIFUL.  We had a joyous bus ride climbing higher and higher in The Italian Mountains.  The people of Italy build their houses on the so very high mountains and it takes your breath away..The magical wonders of nature come blazingly to life as the travelers ease through the Italian countryside.  Also, another vigorous and sensational experience that became a powerhouse part of us was our wild and fun boat ride on the strong waters of The Mediterranean Sea.  The boat men were such super seamen.  Like all the charming men and women of the superb country of Italy they were so friendly and warm to us the visitors.  I feel that the Italians and their kind words and deeds helped my wife and I to enjoy even more of the terrific dramatic emotionalism that is modern Italy. Yes, Italy has so many positive vibes. This world of Dante Alighieri and friends is so creatively stimulating and a super totally strong  life experience.

A Very Meaningful Trip to Europe

WE ARE BACK from Europe.  It was a terrific trip, indeed.  We visited the deliciously fascinating countries of Spain, France and Italy.  In Spain we saw the ancient city of Barcelona.  This place in Catalonia proves charming in so many ways.  The people have such a sophisticated flair and the sights and sounds mesmerize us so much.  The Catholic culture is rich and unique in Barcelona. When we got into France we especially loved the superb city of Nice on the French Riviera.  It had views that really take your breath away.  In Italy, we found the old city of Rapallo on the Italian Riviera so charming.  The shops were delightful and the panoramic view of The Mediterranean was tremendous. Perhaps the crowning moments of our sojourn took place in Florence Italy.  The Italians call Florence..."Firenze."  This is a fantastic genius of a city.  We delighted tremendously in the incredible artistic creativity that is Florence.  And the cuisine was genius personified.  I feel and my wife feels that our lives have been changed dramatically by those October days in the mighty world of Europe. Because of Europe, life certainly is now a marvelous joy.

Saturday, October 31, 2015

The Italians

I LOVED ITALY when I visited there, recently.  The Italians are truly so very kind and so intellectual and so passionate.  The land of Dante and Fellini proved massively invigorating for me.  Indeed, the memories of the beautiful Italian Mountains and the Gorgeous Cities (Especially Florence) will stay with me forever.

The Best of Paganini

Saturday, September 26, 2015

Traditional Catholic Latin Mass of the Angels

The Pope in America and His Impact

WONDERFUL WEEK!  The visit of Pope Francis to our United States has been truly marvelous.  These special September days have been great for our American culture.  I believe the best things are the beautiful concepts of Forgiveness and Love that The Pope has brought all of us.

Thursday, September 17, 2015

Reminder.....JapanFest Is Saturday and Sunday

BIG FUN times will be happening Saturday and Sunday at the 2015 JapanFest, Gwinnett Center, 6400 Sugarloaf Parkway, Duluth.

Sunday, September 13, 2015

沖縄民謡 メドレー / OKINAWA Folk Songs

"Kinkakuji Kyoto"Japan Relaxing Music,japanese traditional, Background ...

Johnny Cash - Folsom Prison Blues (Live)

Learn about Japan...JapanFest Happens 9-19 and 9-20

JAPANFEST 2015 is coming again on Saturday, 9-19 and Sunday, 9-20.  This is a super opportunity to re-discover Japan.  The event (at 6400 Sugarloaf Parkway, Duluth) will feature so many examples of the remarkably unusual aspects of Japanese culture and also fine performances and delicious foods from many Atlanta area restaurants.  Also, there will be a large number of booths with vendors offering unique goods for everyone.  This two-day event will be so much fun for all ages.  Come to JAPANFEST 2015  on 9-19 and 9-20 and have a truly marvelous time.

Monday, September 7, 2015

Lucky Thompson Quartet - No More

Norman Mailer and 'The Deer Park'

PROVOCATIVE....That is the idea of the turgid and menacing Norman Mailer book, 'The Deer Park.'  This Mailer tome careens along telling us the slimey aspects of Hollywood-style life in the 1950s.  Mailer's depiction of the somewhat sordid life in a rather extreme desert community is so engaging.  Mailer's emotionalism is profound and seduces us,bringing us into his coterie of satisfied readers.  I have been a fan of the works of Norman Mailer for a long time.  I am a veteran of modernist reading...witness my venerable face.





Zen Garden - Cherry Blossoms, Relaxation & Meditation - 50 minutes

James M. Cain

JAMES M. CAIN  knocks us readers down.  His books like 'Postman Always Rings Twice' and 'Double Indemnity' are really hard-boiled and tough-guy in tone.  His Latino influences are shrewd.  This guy from Maryland is an incredible wordsmith as the intellectuals say.

I feel there is a reverberating tone of somewhat Asian realism in the fiery prose works of men like Cain.  His works remind one of latter-day Asian film men like Takashi Kitano.  James Cain develops fascinating female characterizations.  His works exemplify the rugged life, beautifully.




Like Hammett and Chandler, Cain has a stream of consciousness that is intellectually mature and literally smoking with gigantic amounts of visceral passion.

Jasper Johns and his Poignant Art

VIVID ART using regular material amounts to the essence of the art of Jasper Johns.The man took rather common regular items like cans and voila turned his paintings into vital and thought imaginative things.  The Postmodernism of Johns overwhelms with its depiction of the wild dimensions of modern lives.  Like Marcel Duchamp he compels us to think heavily.

Sunday, September 6, 2015

Mozart - Piano Concerto No. 21, K.467 / Yeol Eum Son

Traditional Dance from Okinawa with Live Music

The Dizzy Gillespie All Star Big Band - 'I'm BeBoppin Too'

JapanFest Coming Again 9-19 and 9-20

JAPANFEST 2015 is coming once again to the Gwinnett Center at 6400 SugarLoaf Parkway, Duluth Ga.  This truly marvelous event will be from 10 to 6 p.m. on Saturday September 19 and from 10 to 5 p.m. on Sunday, September 20.  The Fest will feature a large number of exciting exhibits and happenings celebrating the unique cultural aspects of Japan.  The dance and music performances will be great and also there will be many great things designed for lots of fun for the whole family.  Also many, many booths will be there showcasing beautiful items from the many communities of Japan.  Come and enjoy the delights of the new 2015 JapanFest at 6400 Sugarloaf Oarkway, Duluth.

Thursday, September 3, 2015

Tuesday, August 25, 2015

The Best of Satie

The Stock Crisis

PRAY HARD FOR OUR ECONOMY!...Let us get on our knees and pray our leaders can develop meaningful plans to ease the horror of the current stock insanity.  All of us need a tremendous amount of help. Bring us Truly Great Leadership!...We need it RIGHT NOW!

Friday, August 21, 2015

Fantastic Birthday

WOW...Birthdays are incredibly great in our culture.  Today, August 21 is my birthday and it's been marvelous.  The kindness of others is a fabulous thing.

Thursday, August 20, 2015

Americanistic Oddities, In Other Words...CULTURE

GREETINGS:   Ironic and rather insane, weird cultural tidbits are poppin' now in so-called American culture.  It is tricky for humans who enjoy thinking.  So many variables make little sense,  in politics, the arts and business.  The quality of life is berserk.  One ingests all this and it is like reading too much Kafka.  Perhaps the best modal concept is sly and quite modern hedonism.  We need more Elmore Leonard and Charles Bukowski in our shook-up quite provincial lives.

Tadd Dameron Quartet 1956 ~ Romas

Monday, August 17, 2015

MJQ Blues in C minor

'Earth Stood Still'

WILY SLICK.  That's the amusing film, 'The Day The Earth Stood Still.'  I found this rather devilish film nice and bizarre when I watched it on TCM last night.  M. Rennie did fine work in this crusty, old classic.

Wednesday, August 12, 2015

R. Chandler...clever man

RAYMOND CHANDLER is a sly, strong writer.  His prose is sinewy tough guy.  His novel, entitled 'Playback' is especially engaging.

Wednesday, August 5, 2015

Memories About My Close Friend, Frank Hyland of The Atlanta Journal

FRANK HYLAND was a fantastic man of The Atlanta Journal.  I first got to know Frank when I started working with him in 1970.  Also, he and I and several others worked what they called the Saturday Night College Football business from about 1973 to 1977.  The totally amazing thing about the great Mr. Hyland was the fact that no matter how tough things got with newspaper pressures he was unflappable.  He could just keep on going and going with his incredible editing and writing skills.  Frank Hyland was a genius of a copy desk boss (we called these folks slot men).  The fascinating thing about Mr. Hyland was the guy could get along so beautifully with all kinds of people.  He had tremendous news understanding.  And as a writer Hyland was sensational.  When the grotesque day of 9-11 came along Frank Hyland was asked to write the main story for the front of The Atlanta Journal.  He did a beautiful journalistic writing job on the 9-11 story.  Another marvelous aspect of Mr. Hyland was his ability to talk on any subject.  I especially loved his tales of enjoying the jazz music in the super clubs of merry old San Francisco.  I will never forget the powerful Irish soul of the great Atlanta Journal Man,  Mr. Frank Hyland.

Thursday, July 30, 2015

Season 19 - Pro Male Dance with Julianne Hough

Female Pros Dance-"Run The World (Girls)"-Wk-4-Results

Wynton Marsalis Plays Blue Note Jazz At Lincoln Center Orchestra 2015

Michel Camilo - Full Concert - 08/18/91 - Newport Jazz Festival (OFFICIAL)

Cedar Walton Trio with Billy Higgins & David Williams

Buddy Guy - What Kind Of Woman Is This

Luther Allison - Live in Paris (Full Album)

Arturo Sandoval - Full Concert - 08/16/98 - Newport Jazz Festival (OFFIC...

Wynton Marsalis - Full Concert - 08/13/05 - Newport Jazz Festival (OFFIC...

The Crusaders - Full Concert - 08/15/87 - Newport Jazz Festival (OFFICIAL)

Stan Getz Quartet Featuring Kenny Barron - Live 1989

Kenny Clarke, Co-Inventor of Bebop

Monday, July 27, 2015

Bored

BORED HUMAN...Am trying intensely not to be cynical.  But it is difficult.  There is so much verbal crud...I abhor the alleged poetry of oddnniks like Robert Frost...I like the bizarre words of rascals like Charles Bukowski and Henry Miller better...It is hard to get energized when one is engulfed by moronic simpletons running hither and yon as old J. Austen might have said.

The Skatalites - Live At Lokerse Feesten

Tuesday, July 7, 2015

Truman Capote....The Sleek Innovator

BREAKTHROUGH WRITING...That is the provocative essence of the words of Truman Capote.  His style is thick with multi-levels of the mosaic known as cleverness.  It was a wild ride for Capote.  His 'Other Voices, Other Rooms' published when he was in his early twenties and then later on his merry and yet not turgid work like 'Breakfast at Tiffany's' amounted to engaging building blocks in a masterful man of modernist writing.  Also, his passionate development of what he defined as the "nonfiction novel" was so poignant and delightfully overwhelming with all the superior acclaim the work did receive.  The sharp and almost gargantuan tones of Capote's achievements indicate a decadent but yet so brilliant mind.

The Rippingtons ft.Russ Freeman - Caribbean Breeze

Late Red Rodney Quintet 1992 ~ Crazeology

Sonny Rollins Quartet 1955 ~ There Are Such Things

Monday, June 29, 2015

Hampton Hawes Trio - Somebody Loves Me

George Coleman - Amsterdam After Dark

George Coleman quartet Vitoria 1985

Howlin' Wolf "Smokestack Lightning" Live 1964 (Reelin' In The Years Arch...

Bix Beiderbecke - I'm Coming Virginia - 1927

Ron Carter & Art Farmer (with Billy Higgins & Cedar Walton) - Live At Sw...

1984 Milt Jackson - Ray Brown, Cedar Walton, Micky Roker -3+4 Bolivia / ...

John Updike, The Super Prose Stylist

INDEED, MR. JOHN UPDIKE is a fine, heroic man with words.  His 'Rabbit Run' is a magnificent work.  It is fiery with articulate dissections of modern, urban society.

Ronny Jordan - So What

Selena Gomez

FUN MUSIC proves delightful.  The wild energy of stylish performances by the clever singer Selena Gomez is such a terrific splash of greatness in our world.  Enjoy the creative, explosive vision of Ms. Gomez.

Ready For The 4th

CULTURE IN THE U.S. is exciting.  So many cultural variables occur all the time. One of the best happens to be the July 4th celebrations.  I am so exuberantly ready for the July 4 thing this time.  Listening to J.P. Sousa march music helps me ready myself.  All of Us Find the 7-4 fun a terrific joy in this merry country.

Chelsea Dagger - CSO and Riccardo Muti

Saturday, June 20, 2015

My Daddy

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY to my Daddy in heaven.  My Daddy passed in January 2007.  He was an Army Air Corps veteran of World War II.  My Daddy personified powerful true greatness in every way.

Bud Powell Quintet 1957 ~ Frantic Fancies (Take 6)

Happy Father's Day 2015!

A BIG HAPPY FATHER'S DAY to all the Daddies out there.  It is a lot of work assuming the role of the father.  It is often difficult nowadays because the role of the father has changed a lot in the last few decades. There is so much responsibility now in the daily lives of all fathers.  But also now there is a passionate and overwhelming joy in seeing your offspring mature into great, vivid human beings.  God Bless All the Fathers in this magnificent year of 2015!

"Marcha Slave" de Tchaikovsky

Charleston

IT IS SO SAD. The Charleston tragic news is so totally sad.

Monday, June 8, 2015

Love Miles Davis Jazz

JAZZ GENIUS Miles Davis is so profound,  Listening to his 'Relaxin' with the Miles Davis Quintet' is a fantastic and powerhouse joy!

History Represents A Meaningful Intellectual Experience

INTENSE THINKING on International History and American history truly indicates a remarkable journey for the brains of all of us.  When I read Bill Shirer on the Third Reich, Rick Atkinson on WWII and even Mr. Keith W. Nolan on The Battle For Saigon and Tet 1968 then I get so many fresh and vibrant insights into comprehending modern adult life. When I was a University of Georgia student I had remarkable History professors like Kenneth Coleman ( American History) and Willard Range (International Relations).  These men ignited a tremendous intellectual spark in my brain and soon I wanted to learn more and more about the true meaning of many classic and contemporary historic events.  When we men and women assimilate the cultural aspects of many different countries and their proverbial ups and downs vibes then we find ourselves becoming more and more brain-invigorated by all this vivid structure of unusual intellectual delights.  Let us make sure all of our family and friends get deep into the study of amazing Historic things and we will all gain for ourselves terrifically enlightened lives. Then we can enjoy classical, jazz, blues and film experiences even more and we will have new-found energetic happiness.

Evgeny Kissin - Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No. 2

Tuesday, May 19, 2015

Monday, April 20, 2015

Phone Stuff

TRYING TO GET a live person on the phone is somewhat difficult in our culture.  You try and try to get a person to talk with and you continually get..."At the tone, Leave a message.'  It is rather perturbing.  I wonder what guys like Tolstoy and Raymond Chandler would think of this cultural oddity.

Wardell Gray Quartet 1949 ~ Easy Living

P. I. Tchaikovsky - Piano Concerto No. 2, Op. 44 (Pletnev, Fedoseyev)

Thursday, April 9, 2015

Friends Are Great Human Beings

FRIENDS ARE WONDERFUL.  Now that I am shall we say a wee bit more mature I realize more and more the value of having great friends.  It is marvelous to have souls who will back you up.

Count Basie - Jada

Nice Writing

THE GOOD terse writing of Ernest Hemingway is a real joy.  He does not use too many adjectives.  His 'Torrents' is a fine tome.