The truth is that you, doc, and I don't give a rip about the lyrics to this song or whether they are racist. Some do care and that's up to them. I'm with you, though, that the content should be up to the artist and would add that the criticism will be what it is. My main pushback has been toward those whining that this song has been cancelled, which is patently bullshit, esp. when compared to songs with objectionable content (which were cancelled to a greater extent). As for doc, you're gonna have to reach new levels of abstract thought or just not try to follow along. Hang in there.
I don't know if the Bluebird was there in the mid-60s. There was a tavern on Music Row called the Talley Ho. There was a guy there one night sitting at a table and singing his songs for free beer. He sang "The Best of All Possible Worlds," and I liked it so much I later bought him a beer to sing it again. I didn't even know his name that night, but it was Kris Kristofferson.
So that amphitheater is right there where we were hanging out last summer - beautiful. Mom & the kid look great too. As for bluegrass . . . . really? I much prefer it to country. Your thoughts on Nickel Creek? One of my buddies runs a concert venue in CA and had 'em out there last week. Said it was one of the best shows ever. This is a children's/folk song that they riff on superbly imo. Some of their originals are even better.
Once again, he was making fun of the fact that he didn’t write his own music. Is that something that is embarrassing to most singers? His lack of singing talent wasn’t part of that discussion.
My impression is that folks in Nashville and some parts of NC/VA were born with guitars in their hands. I've heard countless singers/guitarists in those places and almost never did they suck. Great story about Kristofferson. Thanks for sharing.
It should be. The good singers at least compose their own poetry/lyrics. Jim Morrison probably didn't know a C major scale, but could write the hell out of a lyric. Elton John is the other extreme - music savant who has had a co-writer, but write much of his material in collaboration. IMO singers who don't write music are not artists. They're just singers.
Funny you should bring them up. BK....the dude I record with went to Telluride this year & "that guy" was there. I've rarely heard him gush on & on about a musician. Apparently that mando guy was in like 10 diff acts there. Punch Brothers is another of his more popular bands. That guy is nuts. He's won a McArthur (sp) genius award. I actually was listening to him play some Bach just yesterday. I'm not surprised RE: our respective tastes. I think you have a much greater capacity to appreciate great musicianship. I tend to be more song-writer focused, which IMO is country's forte.
Yeah, I think you have this right. I'm an idiot when it comes to songs/lyrics; much more an instrumental guru. I'll have to dig more into Nickel Creek's mandolin player, who is def amazing. I like their tunes for more than that, though. We were doing a search for a choral conductor the past couple weeks and had them work with our vocal jazz kids who were singing an arrangement of "Lighthouse." The kids did a great job, esp. in July with half the ensemble. I dig the song mostly for the harmonies.
Just listened to the Bach. That dude has been preparing to play music like that since he was five years old - I promise. I'd also promise that he took piano lessons as a kid. Of all the piano performances I've heard, there's nothing that stymies a piano player (esp. in terms of memorization; not necessarily technique) than Bach. He even had one or two hiccups in there because of the difficult memorization. It's a lovely performance, though. Thanks!
I’ve never been that into bluegrass, but I’m starting to gain an appreciation. The DMV area is lousy with old school bluegrass musicians, and I play acoustic jazz, and there’s a big overlap in the two scenes. I know almost as many mandolin players as guitar players, and most of them are great players. I played this evening with Tom Mindte, head of the Patuxent Music label, and a ridiculous mandolin player (as well as banjo, fiddle, accordion, and some other instruments). He likes the old timey stuff at a singable tempo but then he’ll call Avalon at 300 bpm and rip an incredible solo. It’s an education being around musicians like that. Tom aside, most of the bluegrass folks I play with are extremely good but they don’t have a jazzer’s chord vocabulary.
As a non musician, where do you guys think someone like Sinatra fits in here? Love his voice but read that he only wrote lyrics to a few lesser-known songs and not even sure if he played an instrument or could read music. Pavarotti was one of my favorite live performances ever but he was vocally improving Puccini or whoever and was backed up by an incredible orchestra. I know opera is unique and not comparing most pop singers to Sinatra either.
Well, shit. You got me. Sinatra, while more of an entertainer/comedian/actor was certainly an artistic singer. Good enough to front one of the greatest bands of all time - the Count Basie Orchestra. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLGIcZonDP3p6DdQbh-lVFYDI053V3NBD3 That said, Sinatra is not ubiquitously loved. See Dan Levitin, author of This is Your Brain on Music, who panned one of Sinatra's best-known albums ("Songs for Young Lovers"). Pavarotti most certainly made his fame from the operas of composers like Puccini and Verdi. But here's the difference: Composing a pop song is not like composing an opera or even a big band arrangement of "Come Fly With Me." Pavarotti was def an artist and heck, he may have written his own songs, I don't know. Sinatra was more on the fringe, but was so good at phrasing and entertaining that he could cut it in front of some of the best instrumentalists - arguably an artist level musician. They are probably in their own category, adjacent to the spectrum of singers who compose and singers who only sing.
Always like to read your takes on music, given your work in gypsy jazz (sorry if I'm presuming that) and Bossa Nova. Avalon, btw, is a pretty easy tune to rip on. Us horn players usually do it in F. Do y'all play it in G?
No, this group tonight and my usual band play it in F, although I’ve played it in G with vocalists. My Friday evening group is kind of a rotating lineup jam session, and the usual band does more gigs for hire. That tempo is a challenge for me, but I enjoy it, especially when the stakes are low. I also dig Lady Be Good, Noto Swing, Brazil, Mimosa, and some other tunes at those tempos. But then I also love a mid tempo bossa. And Anouman, which is slower than molasses (but with lots of 16th notes).
Vocalists - always in G! I mean, seriously . . . And yes, 300 is stupid fast. I'd have to work up to it. Probably comfortable up to about 260 w/o practice. At 300 I'm not ready to put more than a couple bars of eighth notes together. Thinking about a four-bar phrase and it gets dicey at that tempo.
yeah, I can be fluid up until about 240, can play maybe an interesting line or two up to about 260-280, and at 300 I’m holding onto a bucking bronco just trying to stay in time. Anywhere over about 240 I’m basically just playing memorized lines. Luckily I’ve memorized a few over the years.
I'll bet "Black Orpheus" is a regular in your set. I also love "How Insensatez" near the end of the night. "Triste" is a great bossa tune to play and I also really like "Poinciana" though I'm pretty sure it's more of latin folk song that has been co-opted by Ahmad Jamal and others.
Poinciana gets called at most sessions I go to - usually because I call it, but lately a bunch of other folks are calling it - and I’m pretty sure I started that. I love hitting blues licks on a walk down from the Gsus9 to the Fsus9 in bars 3 and 4 of the form. My usual band plays Black Orpheus, Wave, and The Girl From Ipanema mosts shows, and occasionally Samba De Orfeu and A Felicidade. I’m trying to hip them to Chega De Saudade but we haven’t gotten together for practice much during family vacation season. And of course, we play a bunch of gypsy bossas like For Sephora, Bossa Dorado, and Elena’s Bossa. I love Insensatez. I’ve heard Triste but never really studied it. I’ll have to pay more attention. The Brazilian approach to guitar is really beautiful - it’s just like a bunch of subtly moving voices with less concern for what we should call the chord.
