"Everything that can be invented, has been invented."
=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0 - Charles H. Duell, 1899=A0
=A0=20
=20
# Need help using (or leaving) this mailing list?
# Send the command "info exotica" to majordomo@lists.xmission.com.
# To post, email exotica@lists.xmission.com; replies go to original sender.
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 12 Jan 2001 09:01:20 -0800
From: "Wayno" <studio@wayno.com>
Subject: (exotica) My 2ó on the JAZZ thing...
Vern's response to the "Jazz" controversy was thoughtful and
well stated. Glad to hear you're digging (and digging into) some
of this stuff.
My take is that this highly hyped media event will spark a fad
with the general public that will die out soon enough. The average
viewer will, if anything, buy a couple of the tie-in compilation
CDs and play them at parties. The discs (which to be fair, are
pretty decent overviews of each artist's output) will be used
as sonic wallpaper for a while and will then be forgotten.
Vern, you are not the typical viewer, you're an explorer interested
in learning about things that are new to you. Jazz music is rich
and varied, and has many rewards to offer you. Unfortunately,
this bloated documentary focuses on a few giants, officially
sanctioned by the Marsalis/Crouch regime as fitting into "the
tradition." Other innovators, who took the music down paths not
coincident with what Marsalis views as legitimate, are glossed
over or ignored.
Members of this list would probably be interested in the music
of Rahsaan Roland Kirk, but from what I understand he doesn't
show up in the PBS series. Kirk had roots in tradition and eventually
transcended them, creating his own wild (and very entertaining)
vocabulary. Besides, a very large blind man playing three horns
simultaneously would certainly be more interesting to look at
than the same shots of the Chicago rail yards and grinning jitterbuggers
that pad out Burns's film.
Rahsaan's Atlantic albums "Blacknuss" (wherein he twists hit
songs like "Never Can Say Goodbye," "Mercy Mercy Me," and "Ain't
No Sunshine" into something completely "other") and "Natural
Black Inventions: Root Strata" (Kirk plays an assortment of horns
& percussion, many of his own design, without overdubs) are two
of my personal favorites.
Overall, Burns's film will do little to "revive" jazz beyond
its meager 3% share of US music sales (except in the short run),
and does a disservice to those who are truly interested in exploration.
As Ken Tucker said in his review in "Entertainment Weekly" (not
the hippest publication around, by the way) (I'm paraphrasing
here): "All right! I get it! Armstrong and Ellington were great!
Now let's see something else!"
By the way, does anyone else think that Stanley Crouch looks
like a Muppet?
Wayno
- ----------------
Sent from a WebBox - http://www.webbox.com
FREE Web based Email, Files, Bookmarks, Calendar, People and
Great Ways to Share them with Others!
# Need help using (or leaving) this mailing list?
# Send the command "info exotica" to majordomo@lists.xmission.com.
# To post, email exotica@lists.xmission.com; replies go to original sender.
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 12 Jan 2001 12:08:58 -0500
From: nytab@pipeline.com
Subject: (exotica) [obits] Bryan Gregory
Bryan Gregory
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) -- Shock-haired guitarist Bryan Gregory, an original member of The Cramps, whose trashy rock 'n' roll first gained notoriety during the late 1970s punk music heyday, died Wednesday. He was 46.
Gregory, a native of Detroit, had recently suffered a heart attack and had been ill for several weeks, said his former wife, Robyn Hunt.
The Cramps made their 1976 debut at New York's legendary punk club CBGB. The Cramps released two albums which feature Gregory on second guitar: the Alex Chilton-produced ``Gravest Hits'' in 1979 and ``Songs the Lord Taught Us'' in 1980.
After Gregory's departure from the band in 1980, The Cramps founding duo -- singer Lux Interior (Erick Purkhiser) and guitarist Poison Ivy Rorschach (Kirsty Wallace) continued the band with various members.
Gregory then performed with the band Beast until 1984, and with The Dials from 1992 to 1995. He had recently formed a new band named Shiver.
Gregory, who was known for his wild stage antics and his distinctive lock of bleached hair hanging over his eye, also appeared with other Cramps members as ``punk thugs'' in the 1978 film ``The Foreigner.''
