July 12

I really enjoy spending time designing gig posters. I hope to be able to do more and more of this in the future not only for myself but, for others also.

Had a really interesting gig yesterday at Time & Style in Roppongi (Tokyo) and Midtown. Time & Style is a very hip interior design shop which sponsors monthly jazz events. Did the gig with bassist, Ken Kanoko and drummer Mike Reznikoff. In addition, famous Japanese photographer Naito Tadayuki was having his exhibition in the same space. So the music, Tadayuki's photos and the hipness of Time & Style made for a great event.

Naito Tadayuki Official Website

Had interesting moment when we asked the audience to express how they felt sitting in Time & Style listening to live improvised music. Several people expressed themselves. I told me we were going to play a "free improvisation" based on the feedback they had just given us. I love doing that kind of thing. I think we got pretty close to the feelings they had described to us before the improvisation.

Gary Bartz interview


Today went to a new cafe in Takasaka called the Malidali Cafe
Malidali Website

Returned to the rice fields in Kita Sakado on Sunday to take a few more photos and observe the progress. I was curious to see if the rice is doing well because this rainy season has had surprisingly little rain. As you can see, the rice is coming along very well. The fields are well irrigated.

Reading

"If You Want To Write - A Book About Art, Independence and Spirit"
Brenda Ueland

Terrific, down-to-earth book on the creative process. One of the best books I've ever scene on the subject!

Notes (to myself for "If You Want to Write")
Everybody has talent, originality and has something important to say.
The creative spirit is there waiting to be unleashed...do it...daily!
To write (create) freely without inhibition for the love of it..no expectations ($, fame, etc).


Listening
Miles Davis
ESP
Sorcerer (Prince of Darkness is my favorite tune on this one. Like what Ron Carter and Tony Williams were doing with the "time" during Miles' solo. Great communication between Tony and Wayne. Like the change of "vibe" when Herbie enters to solo and especially how he stretches his melodic phrases in the first 2 choruses. Heard Tony Williams talk about the way they used to change the time/feel at a workshop years ago. Basically he said that they never talked about it and that sometimes it worked out beautifully and other times it just fell apart. He emphasized that we (the public) only heard the times it worked on those great "live" recordings. He was stressing that it's really important to "go for it" and try to "get out of the box." So what if it falls apart?
On The Corner (Luv all the grooves on this album!!!)
We Want Miles Back Seat Betty is the one for me on this album!!! Love the way they take their time and build tension in the beginning of this tune. So much space..not cluttered....simple. Miles playin' the blues..always.
Tutu

I don't "get it." So many "jazz" musicians have voiced their disappointment or dislike of these electronic recordings that Miles did. I feel like he was doing the same thing he had always been doing with a different groove placed around it. Miles always played the blues. I admire his creativity and willingness to remain open and take chances.

Dave Holland
Prime Directive Just started listening to this album this week. Trying to absorb the tunes (melodies/harmonic structure)...listening and singing the melodies. Will work on the solos after I get more understanding of the tunes.

Wayne Shorter
Juju

Joe Henderson
Page One
Lush Life
In 'N Out

Monk
Monk's Dream

July 11

"Every morning when I pick up the horn, I'm a beginner."

Armando Ghitalla

In 1979, Ghitalla came to WVU for a masterclass. I remember playing the Hindemith Trumpet Sonata for him in the afternoon. That night we had a party for him at my teacher's house. Everyone was afraid to talk with him. He was on one side of the room and all the students were on the other side. I sat down on the sofa and started telling him that I was was leaving WVU soon and going to Boston to study at Berklee (down the street from the Boston Symphony Hall). He was extremely warm and kind. I asked him for some advice and he quoted the statement above.

July 10

Got this great email newsletter Lateral Action

"You don’t try. That’s very important: not to try, either for Cadillacs, creation or immortality. You wait, and if nothing happens, you wait some more."

Charles Bukowski

“Don’t Try” - Charles Bukowski’s Advice to Creators - Lateral Action Newsletter

This has been one of the most difficult things for me over the years in sports, music and business. I can remember my coaches always saying, "Don't try so hard!" Seems like "trying" has always choked off the flow for me. Reminds me of the ideas in Zen and also some of Deepak Chopra's writings. There is always this idea of detachment that play's a huge role in one's development. I feel like I'm always walking a fine line of "caring too much" (trying too hard) and having an attitude of not caring (detachment). It's when I do have a feeling of detachment or I'm distracted by something that I feel most creative.

July 9

Theodore Adorno and Max Horkheimer
Culture Industry

"Culture industry is a term coined by Theodor Adorno (1903–69) and Max Horkheimer (1895–1973), who argued in "The Culture Industry: Enlightenment as Mass Deception," that popular culture is akin to a factory producing standardized cultural goods - through film, radio and magazines – to manipulate the masses into passivity; the easy pleasures available through consumption of popular culture make people docile and content, no matter how difficult their economic circumstances. Adorno and Horkheimer saw this mass-produced culture as a danger to the more difficult high arts. Culture industries may cultivate false needs; that is, needs created and satisfied by capitalism. True needs, in contrast, are freedom, creativity, or genuine happiness."

Wikipedia - Culture Industry

Wikipedia - Culture Industry

The Culture Industry: Enlightenment as Mass Deception
Chapter 1 from Dialectic of Enlightenment - Adorno/Horkheimer

Ran Blake
Around 1994, I was fortunate enough to spend about 3 days, 8-12 hours a day in Ran Blake's studio in Boston going through his "Primacy of the Ear" method and being introduced to the concept of the Third Stream music department at New England Conservatory. Needless to say, it was an intense few days. I'm still thinking about things he said and trying to put things into practice that he introduced me to.
Ran Blake's Official Website
Ran Blake on Wiki
WBUR Interview - Ran Blake
Interview-audio
Third Stream Music


Charlle Haden on NPR
Interview on "Ramblin' Boy" (text)
Audio Interview
Interview on Democracy Now
Text/Video/Audio/MP3

"I’ve been so lucky to play with great musicians, most of whom I wanted to play with and I sought out when I was in my younger stages, and, you know, I wouldn’t do anything different, except I would seek out as many musicians to life the way I am and dedicated to beauty the way I am, because it’s not really about categories, like jazz, it’s about beautiful music and playing music from all over the world with other musicians who are dedicated, because it’s up to us to bring beauty back into this world. It’s up to people in the arts, the painters, the writers, the composers, the dance troupes, everybody, the actors, the people who write poetry. You know, it’s up to us to try to make a difference in this world and try to make this planet a better to live for all the human beings and stop the cruelty and the devastation that’s going on, you know, and have a great place."

Charlie Haden - Democracy Now Interview September 01, 2006

July 8

"I'm trying to immature."

We always hear people talking about being mature or wanting to have a mature sound. Wanting more maturity in their decision making or in their work. I'm all for that. But, I'm also thinking that more of a "child-like" way of being is important in the creative process, also.

Tom Waits
I enjoyed hearing what Tom had to say about songwriting. Especially interesting to hear him say that the room is an instrument too!


Haneda Photos
Went to Haneda airport today and got some shots from the observation area on the top floor of the terminal. Kind of rainy though.







Chomsky on FinklesteinNoam Chomsky is one my very favorite writers and speakers. Here is an interesting excerpt in which he describes the "institutional control" that is prevalent in the book world.

July 7

Creativity/Projects



Reviewing this issue of Lenswork this morning, I was reminded in the Editor's Comments about the importance of project oriented creating. For example, in the world of photography, Brooks Jensen prefers to already have visualized a project and then go out and go after the photos to make the final project a reality. Of course it's fun to also have days when we doodle, improvise freely, take photos randomly and just kind of float through the day. Jensen's comments were part of a larger article dealing with procrastination in the creative world and offering suggestions how to overcome it.

My first introduction to project oriented music making was when I moved to Washington, D.C. in the early 1980's. I was teaching trumpet lessons at a music store in Fairfax, Va and was around a lot of rock musicians. They were always talking about their projects. Some of them were involved in bands that had never played in public but, had been getting together once a week for 2-3 years. I always thought that sounded like a great idea. In Tokyo, I'm surrounded by "force" in the "jazz world" that seems to push everyone to put together projects that might last 1 day/1 gig (afternoon rehearsal/evening gig).

Interview

Slide Hampton
One of my very favorite improvising musicians. I was at a jam session in Pittsburgh and was amazed at Slide's "storytelling" on the horn. I heard other cats just trying to successfully "make it" through the chord changes. But, Slide was operating on a completely different plane. He was so relaxed, no tension (apparent) in the body. His motivic development was beautiful.

I recommend listening to both parts of this interview. If you can't, definitely listen from 2:11 of part 2. You will be listening to a true "master" speak volumes in 2.5 minutes.

Part 1

Part 2


Charlie Haden/Pat Metheny


Lester Young on Reading Music


Dexter Gordon on Being an "Oddball Artist"


Quotes from Karl Marx


Practicing
Working on Carmine Caruso exercises today. Because of the physical nature of this work-out, I usually do these only 3 times a week. After reading Kenny Werner's Effortless Mastery again (it's been a few years since I first went through it), I suddenly noticed a great similarity between some of Werner's "Steps to Change", Caruso's 6-note exercise, Marc Copeland's ear training exercises, tai chi and my chi kung work-out.

Ed Neumeister
Creative Practicing - Practice Creatively, Part I of V






John Grisham on Writing

July 6

Becoming Posthuman Essay - James Sparks

Posthuman Artists

"STELARC is an Australian-based performance artist whose work explores and extends the concept of the body and its relationship with technology through human-machine interfaces incorporating medical imaging, prosthetics, robotics, VR systems and the internet."

STELARC website

Stelarc images
Stelarc
NeMe: Prosthetic Head: Intelligence, Awareness and Agency by Stelarc
STELARC on Wiki

Alexa Wright
Orlan

Democracy Now
Noam Chomsky



Spent some time this morning researching a few "posthumanist artists" (Stelarc-Wright-Orlan), reading the above essay and listening to Noam Chomsky's talk given recently in Harlem. Had to leave early for a rehearsal and a gig. Nice gig tonight with a new band led by Tim Lyddon. Tim has recently moved to Tokyo from New York. I really like Tim's harmonic vocabulary. Gives me space to go a lot of places melodically. Gives me options for color. He is a great listener.