Pat Metheny on Kenny G:

Pat Metheny on Kenny G:
Question:

Pat, could you tell us your opinion about Kenny G - it appears you were quoted as being less than enthusiastic about him and his music. I would say that most of the serious music listeners in the world would not find your opinion surprising or unlikely - but you were vocal about it for the first time. You are generally supportive of other musicians it seems.

Pat's Answer:

Kenny G is not a musician I really had much of an opinion about at all until recently. There was not much about the way he played that interested me one way or the other either live or on records.

I first heard him a number of years ago playing as a sideman with Jeff Lorber when they opened a concert for my band. My impression was that he was someone who had spent a fair amount of time listening to the more pop oriented sax players of that time, like Grover Washington or David Sanborn, but was not really an advanced player, even in that style. He had major rhythmic problems and his harmonic and melodic vocabulary was extremely limited, mostly to pentatonic based and blues-lick derived patterns, and he basically exhibited only a rudimentary understanding of how to function as a professional soloist in an ensemble - Lorber was basically playing him off the bandstand in terms of actual music.

But he did show a knack for connecting to the basest impulses of the large crowd by deploying his two or three most effective licks (holding long notes and playing fast runs - never mind that there were lots of harmonic clams in them) at the key moments to elicit a powerful crowd reaction (over and over again). The other main thing I noticed was that he also, as he does to this day, played horribly out of tune - consistently sharp.

Of course, I am aware of what he has played since, the success it has had, and the controversy that has surrounded him among musicians and serious listeners. This controversy seems to be largely fueled by the fact that he sells an enormous amount of records while not being anywhere near a really great player in relation to the standards that have been set on his instrument over the past sixty or seventy years. And honestly, there is no small amount of envy involved from musicians who see one of their fellow players doing so well financially, especially when so many of them who are far superior as improvisors and musicians in general have trouble just making a living. There must be hundreds, if not thousands of sax players around the world who are simply better improvising musicians than Kenny G on his chosen instruments. It would really surprise me if even he disagreed with that statement.

Having said that, it has gotten me to thinking lately why so many jazz musicians (myself included, given the right "bait" of a question, as I will explain later) and audiences have gone so far as to say that what he is playing is not even jazz at all. Stepping back for a minute, if we examine the way he plays, especially if one can remove the actual improvising from the often mundane background environment that it is delivered in, we see that his saxophone style is in fact clearly in the tradition of the kind of playing that most reasonably objective listeners WOULD normally quantify as being jazz. It's just that as jazz or even as music in a general sense, with these standards in mind, it is simply not up to the level of playing that we historically associate with professional improvising musicians. So, lately I have been advocating that we go ahead and just include it under the word jazz - since pretty much of the rest of the world OUTSIDE of the jazz community does anyway - and let the chips fall where they may.

And after all, why he should be judged by any other standard, why he should be exempt from that that all other serious musicians on his instrument are judged by if they attempt to use their abilities in an improvisational context playing with a rhythm section as he does? He SHOULD be compared to John Coltrane or Wayne Shorter, for instance, on his abilities (or lack thereof) to play the soprano saxophone and his success (or lack thereof) at finding a way to deploy that instrument in an ensemble in order to accurately gauge his abilities and put them in the context of his instrument's legacy and potential.

As a composer of even eighth note based music, he SHOULD be compared to Herbie Hancock, Horace Silver or even Grover Washington. Suffice it to say, on all above counts, at this point in his development, he wouldn't fare well.

But, like I said at the top, this relatively benign view was all "until recently".

Not long ago, Kenny G put out a recording where he overdubbed himself on top of a 30+ year old Louis Armstrong record, the track "What a Wonderful World". With this single move, Kenny G became one of the few people on earth I can say that I really can't use at all - as a man, for his incredible arrogance to even consider such a thing, and as a musician, for presuming to share the stage with the single most important figure in our music.

This type of musical necrophilia - the technique of overdubbing on the preexisting tracks of already dead performers - was weird when Natalie Cole did it with her dad on "Unforgettable" a few years ago, but it was her dad. When Tony Bennett did it with Billie Holiday it was bizarre, but we are talking about two of the greatest singers of the 20th century who were on roughly the same level of artistic accomplishment. When Larry Coryell presumed to overdub himself on top of a Wes Montgomery track, I lost a lot of the respect that I ever had for him - and I have to seriously question the fact that I did have respect for someone who could turn out to have such unbelievably bad taste and be that disrespectful to one of my personal heroes.

But when Kenny G decided that it was appropriate for him to defile the music of the man who is probably the greatest jazz musician that has ever lived by spewing his lame-ass, jive, pseudo bluesy, out-of-tune, noodling, wimped out, fucked up playing all over one of the great Louis's tracks (even one of his lesser ones), he did something that I would not have imagined possible.

He, in one move, through his unbelievably pretentious and calloused musical decision to embark on this most cynical of musical paths, shit all over the graves of all the musicians past and present who have risked their lives by going out there on the road for years and years developing their own music inspired by the standards of grace that Louis Armstrong brought to every single note he played over an amazing lifetime as a musician. By disrespecting Louis, his legacy and by default, everyone who has ever tried to do something positive with improvised music and what it can be, Kenny G has created a new low point in modern culture - something that we all should be totally embarrassed about - and afraid of. We ignore this, "let it slide", at our own peril.

His callous disregard for the larger issues of what this crass gesture implies is exacerbated by the fact that the only reason he possibly have for doing something this inherently wrong (on both human and musical terms) was for the record sales and the money it would bring.

Since that record came out - in protest, as insignificant as it may be, I encourage everyone to boycott Kenny G recordings, concerts and anything he is associated with. If asked about Kenny G, I will diss him and his music with the same passion that is in evidence in this little essay.

Normally, I feel that musicians all have a hard enough time, regardless of their level, just trying to play good and don't really benefit from public criticism, particularly from their fellow players. but, this is different.

There ARE some things that are sacred - and amongst any musician that has ever attempted to address jazz at even the most basic of levels, Louis Armstrong and his music is hallowed ground. To ignore this trespass is to agree that NOTHING any musician has attempted to do with their life in music has any intrinsic value - and I refuse to do that. (I am also amazed that there HASN'T already been an outcry against this among music critics - where ARE they on this?????!?!?!?!, magazines, etc.). Everything I said here is exactly the same as what I would say to Gorelick if I ever saw him in person. and if I ever DO see him anywhere, at any function - he WILL get a piece of my mind and (maybe a guitar wrapped around his head.)

NOTE: this post is partially in response to the comments that people have made regarding a short video interview excerpt with me that was posted on the internet taken from a tv show for young people (kind of like MTV)in poland where i was asked to address 8 to 11 year old kids on terms that they could understand about jazz. while enthusiastically describing the virtues of this great area of music, i was encouraging the kids to find and listen to some of the greats in the music and not to get confused by the sometimes overwhelming volume of music that falls under the jazz umbrella. i went on to say that i think that for instance, kenny g plays the dumbest music on the planet – something that all 8 to 11 year kids on the planet already intrinsically know, as anyone who has ever spent any time around kids that age could confirm - so it gave us some common ground for the rest of the discussion. (ADDENDUM: the only thing wrong with the statement that i made was that i did not include the rest of the known universe.) the fact that this clip was released so far out of the context that it was delivered in is a drag, but it is now done. (its unauthorized release out of context like that is symptomatic of the new electronically interconnected culture that we now live in - where pretty much anything anyone anywhere has ever said or done has the potential to become common public property at any time.) i was surprised by the polish people putting this clip up so far away from the use that it was intended -really just for the attention - with no explanation of the show it was made for - they (the polish people in general) used to be so hip and would have been unlikely candidates to do something like that before, but i guess everything is changing there like it is everywhere else. the only other thing that surprised me in the aftermath of the release of this little interview is that ANYONE would be even a little bit surprised that i would say such a thing, given the reality of mr. gs music. this makes me want to go practice about 10 times harder, because that suggests to me that i am not getting my own musical message across clearly enough - which to me, in every single way and intention is diametrically opposed to what Kenny G seems to be after.

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Broads Authority

The Broads Authority was set up in 1989, with responsibility for conservation, planning, recreation and waterways.

The Broads Authority, a statutory body, was set up to conserve and enhance the natural beauty of the Broads, to promote the enjoyment of the Broads by the public and to protect the interests of navigation.

It must also consider the needs of agriculture and forestry, and the economic and social interests of those who live or work in the Broads.

The Broads is a fascinating area with a rich history, reflected in the many wonderful places to visit and the unique wildlife. There are restored windmills, medieval churches, beautiful gardens and great places for family visits. If you enjoy walking or cycling, there are also many routes to choose from.

For many people, a great way to explore the Broads is by water, as much of the history of the Broads revolves around the way the rivers have been used over the years. For many, the charm of the Broads rests on the illusion of remoteness you get when you're on the water. You can be near a village without knowing that there is anybody or anything for miles around. So, whatever you do, try to get afloat and you will find much to surprise and delight you.

www.broads-authority.gov.uk

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VD Attack Plan

Disney - VD Attack Plan - (Venereal Disease Education)

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5809480155676785259

Copy-paste the above URL to your browser

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Seville unpeeled

From: The Guardian

Timing is everything in Spain - and the right time to hit the south is spring when the party season is in full swing, sherry runs like a river and the sun has yet to bake it all dry. Robert Elms reports

Saturday March 25, 2006
The Guardian
First of all, you have to say it properly. It's not Seville, which is a blunt anglicisation, but Sevilla, with long rolling vowels - Seveeya - a sound to be savoured, a portent of somewhere sensual and extravagant. Next you have to be prepared to give in to this totally over-the-top place. All the lurid and exaggerated imagery of Spanish-ness is everyday reality here: this is genuinely a city of toreros and flamencos, dark-eyed beauties and white-washed alleys, unforgiving blue skies, never-ending late nights; parades, fiestas, siestas and blood.
If you find all that cheesy and cliched, then go to a different Spain. But if you have ever hankered after Hemingway, Don Juan and Carmen, ever wanted to wander citrus-perfumed squares in your finery, or roll through dappled parks in grand carriages while the rapid rattle of maracas hangs in the hot, still air, then Sevilla is the city for you.
Of the triumvirate of Moorish redoubts that made up the glittering Caliphate of Al Andalus, Granada is dark and brooding, Cordoba learned and introverted, but the capital of contemporary Andalucía, Sevilla is almost preternaturally dedicated to communal gaiety, a high-stepping show off, which revels in its reputation as Spain's party town.
And what a setting for a party. With a wide river rolling through it, there's the elegant Arabic heritage of labyrinthine alleys and languorous gardens, the Giralda, the Alcazar and the barrio Santa Cruz. There's the even more imposing 17th-century colonial style, when the riches plundered from the Americas were converted into a swaggering architectural confection of ornate palaces and monuments, basilicas, bullrings and fountains. And then there's a faintly preposterous but wonderfully lavish 1920s Sevilla, when they built grand art nouveau hotels, parks and Brobdingnagian boulevards for a trade fair which did little trade. All of these are combined in an area small enough to wander around. And wander you will.
You must make sure you stay close to the centre, rather than banished out in the dreary suburbs. Taxis are cheap but traffic is tiresome, so either stay in the barrio, which is beautiful but teeming, in upmarket Arenal by the bullring close to the river, or even better in the often overlooked neighbourhood of Alfalfa, which is less touristy but just as immediate. The real joy of a few days here is simply to step out and lose yourself in its beguiling grace. There's a decent art gallery - the Bellas Artes - and a checklist of churches and statues, but the real art of Sevilla is its way of life.
Things are done slowly and repetitively. It doesn't vary much day after day, but what lovely days. Find your spot for breakfast, sit outside, order pan tostada with olive oil and ripe tomatoes, café con leche and freshly squeezed oranges from that tree over there, and watch the world saunter by. Then a little shopping expedition along the winding old Calle Sierpes A glass of cold fino sherry and some bulbous olives in that great little bar adorned with bulls heads and taurine posters. (Almost all bars are bullfight bars, Sevilla is known in Spain as "Bull City", so if the imagery of this brutal but beautiful art form upsets you, again this might not be your town.) Then it's probably time for lunch.
This is an important choice, as it's the big meal of the day and will take up a large part of it. Sevilla doesn't have great restaurants, but it has plenty of decent ones, all of them deeply traditional. Thin shavings of dark Serrano ham, grilled lumps of meat or fish, sweet cloying puddings and good, robust wines. Locals eat indoors, savouring the cool darkness. You should do the same, and it's also wise to follow their example by retiring for a post-prandial nap. Everything is shut until the evening anyway, so sleep off lunch and feel refreshed for the night, which is likely to be late.
Timing is important in this town - never lunch before 2.30pm, never dine before 10pm, never bed before 2am- and so is the time of year. Winter, which is short and occasionally brutish, is best avoided as the Sevillanos hunker down, sulking about the fact that the weather has robbed them of the opportunity of doing what they like best, which is parading and partying. High summer is painfully hot, and all but abandoned by locals who flee to the coast leaving their lovely city to mad dogs and ill-advised tourists. Spring, though, is greeted with some of the most joyous celebrations on earth. Holy Week (April 9-16 this year) is when this frothy community becomes all pious and pulls on long robes and pointy hoods to parade virgins and worship icons. Millions of true believers throng the streets in a moving display of faith, all the while planning an even wilder party in a couple of weeks time.
La Feria de Abril (the April fair, April 25-30) is an orgy of dressing up and dancing, traditional costumes and horses, daily bullfights and carriage rides. A giant funfair and a vast encampment of casetas (marquees) just over the river Guadalqivir, becomes the focus of attention. All night, all week, the entire city - girls in spotty flamenco dresses, men in high trousers and short jackets - flocks over the bridges to this incredible display of bravura hedonism. Live flamenco bands play, sherry runs like rivers, dashing horsemen display their skills, and women seductively flick their skirts. It is amazing, but be warned, la feria has been rightly described as "2,000 cocktail parties to which you are not invited".
So unless you are connected, or you simply want to watch, best perhaps to settle for the rest of spring and early summer or the long, glorious autumn. Then you can really revel in the soft enveloping evenings, which are the very best time to be in town. Personally I would always don a touch of finery, as you never know where the night will lead and Sevilla does dressed up.
Begin with a paseo, the communal stroll, which might take you through the elegant Maria Luisa Park, or along the banks of the river. You certainly won't be alone. Sevillanos love this time and never tire of parading. Now it's time to tapear. Tapas are what you eat in the evening, and tapear is the verb to glide from bar to bar indulging in little snacks while sipping little drinks and engaging in little but often passionate conversations, and maybe even flirting a little with other people doing the same.
You might have tickets for the opera or a flamenco show, in which case your tapas trawl will be a prelude, but most usually this is it, this is what the night is for. There are wonderful tapas bars all over town, you can spot them by the huddles of locals gathered outside, but especially in and around the edges of the barrio Santa Cruz on Calle Mateos Gago, on the tumultuous Plaza del Salvador, in the cool warren hugging the back of the bullring and over the river on Calle Betis, looking back at that wondrous vista. Don't make the common mistake of ordering loads of different dishes at one place, that defeats the object. You are cruising and grazing, dining on and drinking in the city itself. And most of the city will be doing just the same.
When you've had your fill of eating and drinking, it might be time for drinking and dancing. There are plenty of discos for club kiddies pumping out a combination of house and latin music. For those of us seeking the more traditional song and dance of this city it's not so easy. Flamenco is everywhere and nowhere. You'll hear it all the time, reverberating round the alleys and squares, as you get in cab, as you walk past an open window. You can go to one of the shows by major name artists at a theatre and the standard will be very high and very serious. But to catch spontaneous live flamenco is a combination of chance and nous.
Triana, over the river and once the poor gypsy quarter, is still the best bet, but you could sit in a dozen bars waiting for nothing to happen. A little bar called El Tamboril on the plaza Santa Cruz is not a bad call, but always late, always when you are just about to leave. Then somebody will pick up a guitar and start to strum, the ululating wail of melancholic voices, so like the muezzin calling the faithful to dance, will pour forth and somebody will answer with sexy, passionate steps. If you're lucky.
If not, you're lucky anyway. You can walk back to bed through the now quiet warren, no more tourists, no sound save the bats hovering over the cathedral, the waft of jasmine and lemon swelling the air. This is the time to really savour the magnetic charisma of this remarkable city, happy in the knowledge that you're going to do it all again tomorrow.
Tapas trail
The night's work of the committed tapeador in Seville is made easier by the tendency of tapas bars to come in clusters.
The most obvious is, of course, in the winding lanes of the barrio Santa Cruz, within a short hop of the cathedral, Giralda and Alcázar. Here you'll find Las Columnas (C/Rodrigo Caro 1), with its wise-cracking barmen and terracotta cazuelitas of spinach and chickpeas, riñones al Jerez (kidneys in sherry) and oxtail stew.
A little further into the labyrinth is the dusty and, given the location, surprisingly local Casa Román (Plaza de los Venerables 1), famous for its tostadas rubbed with tomato and draped with petals of cured jamón. Also known for its acorn-fed ham is the nearby Bar Las Teresas (C/Santa Teresa 2), which also delights with tasty little coquinas (wedge clams) and miniature skewers of garlicky prawns.
West of the cathedral, Entrecárceles (C/Faisanes 1) is a small Dickensian place, unchanged since 1854 but for its elaborate tapas: foie-gras mousse with grapefruit sauce or aubergine layered with salmon, cod and langoustine.
Rich pickings are also to be had in the neighbourhood of El Arenal, south of here. The 155-year-old Casa Morales (C/Garcia de Vinuesa 11) is an atmospheric place for pork stewed in sherry or venison chorizo, and is within a fortuitously short walk of Enrique Becerra (C/Gamazo 2) and its roast lamb with honey or toast with foie gras and figs.
Those with any energy left should finish with a montadito - a short, hot, panino - in the modern-looking Antonio Romero (C/Antonia Diaz 19). The best are filled with smoked salmon and cream cheese; mojama (wind-dried tuna), and, above all, the legendary pringá, a tasty sevillano mash-up of chicken, beef and sausage.

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The importance of recycling

Watch out! There's a nasty (deafening) 'beep' at the beginning, but after that this clip is worth watching.

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What is a blog?

Mini-clip interview with for TheWeblogProject with Reed Donoghue: What is a blog? Shot in February 2006 in Rome. Here what he says:

"It's just like an online journal.

I mean, you put down whatever you want to in there. You can put down something about sports, your favorite football team, or your personal feelings.

Personally I think that someone... to let people know how they're feeling and use this way to get their emotions out instead of actually telling somebody.

Or a way to push your opinion about sports and things like that.

Blogs are a place to get people's opinions and how they feel, so I think it's an alternative source from news media outlets because you can get other opinions to what they are telling you."

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Brokeback Anal-ysis

Everyone who’s tired of the media—and Madonna—calling Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger “brave” for acting in Brokeback Mountain, please raise your hands. Then say it with me: “poppycock” ....

Read more here:

http://ladybunny.net/blog/2005/12/brokeback-anal-ysis.html

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Honda Unveils Voice-Operated Car Navigation System

TOKYO, August 29, 2002 - Honda Motor Co., Ltd. has announced that, by integrating its new voice-operated car navigation service with mobile telephone technology, it has succeeded in creating a new two-way information network, service providing customers with a level of information that only an automaker could offer. Known as InterNavi Premium Club, this service will be launched with the new Accord, which goes on sale in fall 2002. It will be offered free of charge for three years, from the date of the car's initial registration until the first mandatory vehicle inspection.

The platform for this new service is comprised of Honda's newly developed voice-operated onboard car navigation system, combined with InterNavi*1, Honda's information network system for drivers, launched in 1998. Integrating onboard car navigation functions with PC and mobile-phone access, plus an information center, InterNavi Premium Club delivers a full menu of services designed to make life easier for drivers. This menu features an on-demand Vehicle Information and Communication System (VICS*2), with nationwide road traffic report coverage, along with a wide range of maintenance and driving information.

The newly developed Honda onboard navigation system makes extensive use of voice-operated commands and system help, enabling the driver to access information without taking his or her eyes off the road. The system also enables the driver to operate the air-conditioning and the audio system using voice commands, to dictate notes, and to have hands-free conversations on the mobile phone. The wide range of safety features includes an erratic driving detection system and a driver assist system complete with curve sensing functions. Since the system is compatible with most popular mobile phone handset models, the user does not have to invest in a special connection device, which helps keep costs down. Thanks to its built-in modem and data terminal functions, the onboard system also acts as a high-performance information platform.

Honda envisages that by 2004, the new onboard navigation system required in order to use InterNavi Premium Club will be supported on most of its models, mini-cars excepted, and that the system will be factory-installed on 30% of all models sold (again excepting mini-cars), making InterNavi Premium Club available to a large number of customers.

Outline of Principal Services Available from InterNavi Premium Club

(1) New road traffic information

Unlike services using conventional VICS FM multiplex receivers and beacons, which have information access in a limited reception area, InterNavi is accessed via mobile phone networks. This means it is able to offer on-demand VICS for access to road-traffic reports covering the whole of Japan. Data on road obstructions and slowdowns is picked up as needed, delivering door-to-door route-planning guidance tailored to the driver's needs.

Road traffic reports affecting all stages of the journey can be accessed from anywhere in Japan.

Areas and points on which information is required can be pre-set as desired.

The information update frequency can be specified, allowing the driver to keep track of changing situations.

(2) Maintenance information

Based on the odometer reading, the system refers to the maintenance record or the onboard memory to find out when oil changes and other maintenance tasks are due. The InterNavi Information Center then sends a reminder via e-mail or via the driver's personal web page, helping the driver to keep the car in top condition.

(3) Car navigation information

Voice commands can be used not only to set the destination, but also to locate nearby roadside services and other facilities, view various types of news reports, check e-mail messages, find out what the weather is like at the destination, and obtain a variety of other information as well.

Incoming information including images, location data, and/or telephone numbers can be displayed as the background image on the screen. This display data can also be used to set the destination or make a hands-free telephone call.

The contact numbers for emergency and roadside services can be pre-programmed so that the driver can make a hands-free phone call to summon help.

(4) Personal web page

Each user is provided with a personal web page customized for access by PC or mobile phone. In addition to a photo of the driver's car and a display of the kilometers traveled, it contains driving help, maintenance reminders and a wide range of other information calculated to improve the quality of life behind the wheel. Being accessible on the Internet, the personal web page can be used from wherever the driver happens to be at the time.

(5) DVD map update

When an InterNavi Premium Club member's car is taken in for its annual maintenance check, the DVD-ROM-based map can be exchanged for the latest version. This service will be available for the first three years, up until the first mandatory vehicle inspection.

*1
InterNavi is a registered trademark of Honda Motor Co., Ltd.
*2
VICS is a registered trademark of the Vehicle Information and Communication System Center

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