Jazz, by Scott DeVeaux and Gary Giddins

Jazz by Scott DeVeaux

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Enjoyed this comprehensive but thoroughly readable history of jazz music. The listening notes are particularly good. Co-writer Gary Giddins appeared in the Ken Burns Jazz series, but for my money this book gives a more balanced treatment (giving a fair coverage of music beyond the 60s).

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Barbarians at the Gate, by Bryan Burrough

Barbarians at the Gate: The Fall of RJR Nabisco by Bryan Burrough

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Well written and researched account of the takeover of tobacco/biscuit giant RJR Nabisco by the private equity group KKR. At the time, this was by far the largest leveraged buyout (LBO) in history, and in inflation-adjusted terms it still is. The takeover was bitterly-contested, with three groups vying for ownership of the company -- including one led by the CEO Ross Johnson, who put the company "in play" in the first place. It received huge media attention and became a symbol for the greed and excess that came of age in Wall Street during the 80s.

Henry Kravis of KKR is pretty close to a real-life Gordon Gekko, though he doesn't come across as any less likeable than most of the players involved. Particularly detestable are the parasitic investment bankers who, driven by the prospect of huge fees, were desperate to make a deal happen and get a piece of the action.

The character that disgusted me the most in the whole affair was Nabisco CEO Ross Johnson. Investment bankers and lawyers are despicable by nature: it's what they do. But here was a guy charged with running a venerable company (or, more accurately, a group of companies following a series of mergers/takeovers). And from the word go he basically treats it like a fun park. You don't need to go past the obscenely extravagant fleet of private jets and purpose-built hangar to see that his priority was living it up and boosting his ego on the company tab. To top it all off he instigates an LBO --- for no better reason, according to the writers, than because he was a "man of action" who couldn't leave well enough alone --- in which he attempts to enrich himself and his cronies with obscene golden parachutes. In the process, of course, he destroys a group of companies that have been built up over generations. It's hard to find anything to respect about such a character, and you can't help thinking that without cretins like this at the helm of large corporations, the damage that could be inflicted by the piranhas on Wall Street would be severely limited.

Anyhow, it's a great (though at 600-odd pages a rather lengthy) read for anyone who enjoys good finance writing.

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Classic Albums: Rush 2112 & Moving Pictures (2010)

Enjoyed this excellent documentary on the two albums that many consider to be the most important milestones in the long career of prog-rock band Rush. Drummer and lyricist Neil Peart is particularly interesting as he reflects on the making of the albums and the influences that informed his songwriting process. It's also inspiring to watch the band jamming along to the original album tracks in the studio.

A real-life "Hell Mouth"

Have just read about the Derweze "Door to Hell" gas deposit (see also these amazing pictures). Apparently this has been burning for 40 years and shows no sign of stopping --- fascinating and a little scary...

Ken Burns' Jazz (2000)

Have recently "worked" through this gargantuan 10-part documentary on the history of Jazz by the maker of The Civil War. Weighing in at 20 hours (10 x 2 hour episodes), it certainly is an epic undertaking (watching it, I mean). And given that a lot of the visuals are black and white photos brought to life with extensive use of the "Ken Burns effect", the time doesn't exactly fly. Still, for anyone cultivating an interest in jazz music, it's definitely worth watching.

The series traces the history of jazz in a more-or-less chronological fashion, starting in New Orleans with the "proto" jazz music that emerged out of that city's rich and fraught cultural melting pot during the 1910s and 20s: the likes of Jelly Roll Morton, Sidney Bechet, and of course Louis Armstrong. It then moves on to swing era of the 1930s, and the big bands Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, Count Basie, and Chick Webb.

Up to this point, the pace was agonizingly slow: the swing era may have lasted for 10 years or so, but in this series it comes out feeling like a century. It's only in episode six that we hit the post-World War II bebop era, ushered in by sax player Charlie Parker. At that point it's like someone has cracked the whip as the pace steps up dramatically. Almost in a blur, the show progresses through the 1950s and 60s, covering bebop and the derivative genres that emerged subsequently (cool, hard bop). The big names come thick and fast: Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis ("the difficult son of a dentist from East Louis Illinois"), John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, Herbie Hancock, among others.

The final episode neatly showcases the best and worst aspects of the series. On the one hand, there is a poignant treatment of the final years and passing (in the early 70s) of two of the all-time greats, Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington, which neatly ties together a narrative thread that had run throughout most of the series. (Although these two characters were introduced very early on in proceedings, the show returns to them periodically, showing what they were doing while the landscape of jazz was changing around them. There was a classic bit of footage of Louis Armstrong on stage during the 50s, appearing to mock the bebop generation with "their flatted fifths and funny hats".)

On the other hand, we get a rushed and somewhat withering treatment of the whole avant garde/free jazz movement (Ornette Coleman, Cecil Taylor), and only the merest glimpse of jazz-rock fusion (Miles Davis' "Bitches Brew"). Then, according to the narrator, jazz "went away for a while" during the 1970s and was only saved by the heroic efforts of virtuoso trumpeter and outspoken jazz traditionalist Wynton Marsalis. It turns out Marsalis is a controversional figure who has been heavily criticized for his dismissive attitude to post-1965 jazz; he also happened to be a senior consultant to the series (and frequent on-screen commentator). The latter may go some way to explaining the skewed portrayal in the last episode: we get the impression that nothing much "new" happened since the 1960s, when in fact jazz went off in a variety of interesting directions. What about fusion: Weather Report, The Mahavishnu Orchestra, Return To Forever, for Christ's sake? I'm no jazz expert, but to exclude this music, and not even to mention great names like John Mclaughlin and Chick Corea, seems misguided at best. I was also peeved that, when one commentator listed the genres that sprung out of Jazz, he omitted to mention "jazz funk"!

Nevertheless, flaws aside, Ken Burn's Jazz is an interesting and educational watch. Just make sure you have a comfortable chair.

Ray Kurzweil: "Climate Change No Problem"

Interesting interview with the respected futurist in The Guardian. I like the way he looks at the bigger picture, but his projections on renewable energy seem overly optimistic to me.

He's also the subject of a new documentary which I wouldn't mind checking out.

Short Courses @ Sydney Conservatorium Open Academy

Have just started two courses at the Sydney Music Conservatorium's Open Academy:

• Ear Training and Sight Reading - Level 1
  

• Jazz Guitar

The classes are two hours each and run for 8 weeks. They are held at the Conservatorium's Botanic Garden campus, about 5 minutes' walk from my office. The atmosphere is friendly and informal (there are no examinations of any kind), but so far they seem like they'll be pretty useful.

Pick it out

What about Wayne Rooney's spectacular overhead kick against Man City??

Every once in a while you see a goal that just seems to define a certain technique. If you'll indulge me for a minute, I'm thinking:

Pele's bullet-like jumping header against Italy in 1970 

Gaza's unbelievable free kick against Arsenal in the 1991 FA Cup semi-final

Roberto Carlos' amazing reverse curler against France in 1997

Marco Van Basten's unstoppable volley against the Russians in Euro '88

and, of course, Maradona's famous dribble against England in Mexico '86

Now, I may getting caught up in the moment here, but I reckon Rooney's goal wouldn't be out of place in that canon. 

And don't forget the context: this wasn't some walk in the park third round FA Cup fixture against non-league minnows, this was a top-of-the-table clash against arguably the best team oil money can buy. It's one to savour, not only because it secured an important 2-1 win, but because it sends a glorious 1-finger salute to the club that only recently had tried to tempt Rooney away from United.

The Story Of Stuff

This 21 minute documentary/short film is a must-see eye-opener on the reality of our consumer-driven society. It's available on YouTube.

I particularly identified with the depressing idea that people today are working longer than ever in order to fund an increasingly consumption-based lifestyle, and filling their leisure time with t.v. and shopping.

I also learned the phrase "planned obsolescence" -- pretty much sums up what I was ranting about in a recent post in relation to my ipod battery.

Fitter, happier, and more productive... a pig, in a cage, on antibiotics...

The Miles Davis Story (2001)

Just watched this excellent documentary on the life and music of jazz icon Miles Davis. Produced by the UK's Channel 4, it features interviews with many of the people closest to him --- including wives, mistresses, producers and fellow musicians. It's a fascinating window onto the life of a man who participated in almost half a century of jazz history and is credited with revolutionizing the field on at least 3 occasions. As noted at the end of the show, he was one of those figures who seemed to fit many lifetimes worth of experiences into one relatively short life. He was also an artist in the truest sense: never content to sit back and become ensconced in the genres he helped to create, he was constantly innovating and pushing boundaries right to the end. Finally, he was one stylish cat: the sight of his gaunt figure prowling the stage in billowing kaleidoscopic robes and outlandish sunglasses, with trumpet in hand and sweat beading on his capacious brow, is surely one of the most distinctive in western music.

Actin' a maggot (brain)

My ongoing explorations of 70s funk music recently unearthed a nugget of pure guitar gold: "Maggot Brain", by Funkadelic (from the album of the same name). It's an epic showcase of guitarist Eddie Hazel's Hendrix-esque talents.

Also worth checking is the live version on the P-Funk All-Star's 1983 album "Live At The Beverly Theater", which also features the powerhouse drumming of Dennis Chambers (who more recently has played with Mike Stern).

Here's a very basic transcription of the simple repeating guitar rhythm figure (note I've figured out how to add chord labels and a tablature staff in LilyPond!):

This a good candidate for laying down on the loop station and going mad with some seriously distorted angst-ridden E minor pentatonic noodling (trying to hit that iconic slow bend from D to E just right)...

Team America (2004)

Just watched this satirical comedy by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the creative duo responsible for South Park (a show that, with characteristic belatedness, I've been getting into recently). Unfortunately, what works in badly-drawn cartoons doesn't seem to carry over to Terrahawks-style puppetry. They go after the fairly easy and obvious target of right-wing US foreign policy post-911, but with all the flair and subtlety of a sledgehammer between the eyes. Decent gags are thin on the ground and, even at only 90 minutes, the film seems overly long --- and quickly descends into a predictable snore-fest. 

Bottom Line: don't waste your time with this one: there may be an "I" in "Team America", but there ain't many laughs. Or, to quote South Park's Officer Barbrady, "move along people, there's nothing to see here!"

Guilding the LilyPond

I've just discovered the superb open-source musical typesetting system LilyPond. It's a text-based system, very similar to (and presumably inspired by) the LaTeX system.

Here is a preliminary effort at a transcription using the system:

I can't vouch for the quality of the transcription itself (particularly the timing of the vocal lines), but I think you'd agree the formatting is beautiful. And it only took me a few hours on a Saturday morning --- most of which was one-off learning of the syntax and the various tricks.

The learning curve seems similar to what I experienced with LaTeX: there are plenty of little tricks to learn, most of which can be picked up by looking at snippets in the extensive documentation.

The system also handles guitar TAB and chord box diagrams, so it looks like a perfect solution for all my transcription needs.

The icing on the cake is that, being a text-based system which can be run from the command-line, it will be possible to set up scripts to generate sheet music in an automated fashion. My first project: generate random musical notation of specified complexity to use for sight-reading and sight-singing practice. Something like this has already been done by this guy, who incidentally was kind enough to put me onto LilyPond in the first place.