Kaori Kobayashi - Sunshine (0)



The comments are all horny guys swooning over a pretty girl playing a saxophone. I need to remember to keep the comments hidden on Youtube...

Anyway, I've been looking into jazz from other counrties for about a year. I've noticed in Japan that they have a really big following for fusion and bebop. Conflicting styles, but they do both so well. This song's melody sounds like something from the intro or ending to an anime, so maybe that's why I really like it. Either way, it's cool. It's almost impossible to find stuff of hers (or other Japanese artists who aren't Hiromi) without having to import it from Japan. Youtube will have to do until I have some money... Labels:

A Special Note From Kenneth Gorelick? (0)

About a year and a half ago, I found out Kenny G was considered being inducted into the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame. I couldn't believe it, so I researched it. I left a comment on a site that gave a few details. In retrospect, I was a bit brash, but I do not apologize for what I said. I returned to see that Kenny left a message. I don't really have any kind of reply, but here it is:

Look man, thanks for the tip. I'd rather learn from insults than ignore what everyone says, and because you are just a kid, I'd rather not fight with you.

To clarify some things they do use reverb, but what about all my performances? I don't then, because I am an amazing saxophonist.

Letting me in for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame was a bit weird, so I'm saying right now, I agree about what everyone says about me.

Yes, if you believe you are better than me, than I will quit forever. However I advise people that I am amazing so if don't want to be embarrased, don't challenge me.
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Something (0)

Falling too fast... Clearly, rules don't apply
Can't believe I just met you
You got me here watching minutes pass by
Wondering when to expect you
There you go... Is this a dream?
It's looking like every picture that I've seen of you before
I've seen it all before

Now that it's over, I should have known better
Just when I think this is real, and you could be mine...
I should have known better
Slowed it down because I felt you needed time, but I kept thinking

This could something
This could something
This could something
This could be, this could be
This could something
This could something
This could something

Maybe it's just nothing at all... I guess it's what we make it
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Good Riddance (0)

What kind of teacher tells you you're not good enough to succeed? What kind of man tells someone with dreams they won't reach them? I keep trying to push what he said aside, but it's really starting to piss me off. What makes me even more upset is that we could stand face to face and he could say the EXACT OPPOSITE. You don't tell me you're happy for me, that I'll do great... And then turn around and say I'll drop out of Berklee after one semester.

Goddammit. It's hard to believe this is the same man that bought instruments for students with his own money, that took school bands to national competition and won effortlessly with a group of students that were willing to do whatever it took to be the best because they had a motivater along the way.

And I'm tired of the "When you're rich and famous, you can rub it in his face" bullshit and the like. No matter how successful I can become, nothing is going to rewrite what this man has said about me and how he's made me feel. I'm tired of being compared to suburban children and the sytematic programs they were forced into. I'm done with being used for your personal gain and glory: Me getting into Berklee was of my own merit, stop taking credit for it. I had no practice sessions, no help, and no support from that man. He didn't even know I auditioned, let alone that I was accepted on a scholarship. I would like to take a moment from this rant to thank everyone everyone that has supported me, believed in me, and took the time to help me improve. You know who you are!

No name. No name will be spoken, written. Whatever. I've done enough damage.
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Christian Scott - Say it (10.16.08, Amsterdam) (0)



Hmm. This was played on my mother's birthday... What a weird coincidence. I've wanted to hear this live for a while, I'm glad he pulled it to play. One of my favorites of his.
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Anthony Braxton (0)



Months ago, probably at the start of my senior year, I read about Anthony Braxton, renowned multi-instrumentalist and philosopher. I was definitely interested in what he had to offer, so I immediately went and downloaded something called "For Alto," knowing absolutely nothing about it. Like most of my music so far, I didn't get a chance to listen to it.

I was job searching yesterday and walked into Record Theater for an application to fill out. I was going to go immediately out and head home... But I walked into the door that was entrance only, and the exit was on the other side of the cash register... So I decided to browse.

I ended up spending three cents short of 50 bucks, but I'd say it was worth it. I got a Wayne Shorter release (High Life), Pat Metheny Trio's Day Trip, and a release from Taylor Made Jazz (a locally-based group I got to play with when I was 13). Before all of those, though, Anthony Braxton's Saxophone Improvisations Series F caught my eye. The cover art (if you could even call it that), was weird, but not any more weird than the way songs were named (I remembered he used a method called conceptual grafting, highly complex).

You'd think he did shit like that just for attention. To seem like some eccentric genius. I listened to the first CD and none of it even mattered anymore. He was doing things on a saxophone that I had never experienced. I'm not talking about bullshit like mimicking another's pattern. He was pushing the alto saxophone to a limit that had not been exhausted. At the same time, he could play something that had a compelling melody. Accessible isn't the word, but it wasn't avante-garde.

Anthony Braxton seems to be severely underrated. The world of music as a whole seems to neglect the role jazz had on the subsequent genres we enjoy today, but more importantly it sometimes leaves out some of the biggest innovators and pioneers in favor of the "next big thing."

Then again, Michael Jackson is enough proof that some people won't give a fuck unless you're dead. Amazing. Labels: