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There are music historians who profess that Jazz is America’s only native art form. They will get no argument from me. To understand the state of Jazz in America today, I’ll recount a story I read a few years ago in a local newspaper. The f.y.e. (For Your Entertainment) store in a nearby mall received complaints that adult videos were being openly displayed on shelves where they could … Continue reading WRVR Jazz Radio New York
They say that if you want to understand why an instrumentalist plays the way he or she plays, listen to them speak. That makes total sense when hearing Wayne Shorter or Ornette Coleman being interviewed. And now, courtesy of Ben Sidran, there’s never been a better chance to hear other examples of this. Sidran is […] Ben Sidran: Talking Jazz (An Oral History) Continue reading Ben Sidran: Talking Jazz (An Oral History)
Regardless of your stance on players kneeling during the National Anthem, baseball is still the American pastime, rich with myths, legends and colorful language and imagery. The beloved poem, Casey at the Bat by Ernest Lawrence Thayer is the inspiration for my take on the circus surrounding the Presidential election results in Georgia. Donnie at the Bat The outlook wasn’t brilliant for the Trumpville mob … Continue reading Talkin’ Baseball…and elections
On a typical blustery early fall day in New England, we embrace change, change guided by forces greater than our own. Fall Foliage Video Continue reading Winds of Change
The Bridge is an enduring symbol of the conquest of ingenuity over physical obstacles. It is about creating connections where none previously existed. And, it is a metaphor for the basic human need to connect with others of a like mind, to be understood. I explored these cultural connections in an earlier post https://foursquaremiles.wordpress.com/2017/05/11/culture-of-one/ I’m over here, you’re over there but every day we build … Continue reading Bridge
There’s no shortage of old stone walls in Connecticut. Most have been standing for hundreds of years. They were built from materials pulled from the land. When the glaciers melted and land masses were pulled apart by the forces of nature, Long Island was blessed with rich, fertile soil, leaving New England with an unyielding rocky coastline. Walls are built to keep things out, or … Continue reading Wall
Though the sun is setting and we are confronted by twilight Know there is also potential for incredible growth Continue reading Shadow
“One Ton…One ton, it’s not gonna get any lighter.” Rahsaan Roland Kirk at Newport Jazz Festival Hidden behind a stone wall that borders a small brook, this stone cross is a reminder of the sacrifices that have been made for all of us, and the burdens still shouldered by our brothers and sisters. Beyond the darkness is light Arms spread outward in an infinite embrace … Continue reading The Cross
Heartbeat teabtraeH HeartbeatteabtraeH HeartbeattraeH Heartbeat—pulse of the city street or a country road Heartbeat of rhythms carry me to the sea carry me, far away far from shores of steel and cobblestone and far from rooftops—stargazer’s threshold to Heaven And further yet from stillness of country nights a heartbeat riding bareback, hair flying free riding into darkness—far from me Heartbeat of traffic Sirens a hornblast … Continue reading Heartbeat
In honor of the awe inspiring Republican National Convention, I profoundly present to our listeners a song from the days when America was great, when WRVR was broadcasting on the New York airwaves, Donald Trump was following in the footsteps of his father Fred, demolishing some of New York City’s finest architectural landmarks, and when men were men, women were women and, like minorities and … Continue reading WRVR Jazz NY – RNC Theme Song
