Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville

Listen to a Brief History of the Waveform here. Recording sound before Protools? Yes, fascinating. How was that even possible...?

Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville got it for the first time.

Required reading

Gary Burton, the bold conservative. No musician, aspiring musician, music lover or jazz aficionado in particular, should skip reading this book. 

Gary spares no words...

Arts funding, Europe and America

The European crisis is old, probably as old as Europe itself. The euro crisis is but one of its most recent signals. However, amidst its long trail of debris, "for quite a few American jazz musicians," as Gary Burton writes here, "it can often seem that they are more appreciated in Europe than they are at home." On the other hand, as Gary further recognizes, "European society also makes a greater commitment to supporting the arts". 

What went wrong with us after all?

Tomorrow I’ll be at the Estoril Jazz Festival attending your concert, Gary, also conscious of its political message...

David Torn

Sometime around 1999 I discovered this interview with David Torn. Later his example helped me a lot when I became partially deaf due to an internal ear infection. He will probably never know what his example meant to me and I will never be able to thank him enough. 

I know how much guts it takes to overcome a situation like this and admire David for his courage in an infinitely more serious situation. Not to mention his music. 

And now he plays the multiac oud too!

Discord

If you believe sound matters and noise harms but are unsure why this is so and want to find out more about the reasons for your concerns this book Discord: The Story of Noise by Mike Goldsmith (former Head of the Acoustic Group at the United Kingdom's National Physical Laboratory) is for you.

We are not alone, believe me. And noise is not a consequence of modernity.

Read a NYT review of this book here and more reviews through the author’s site.

The front cover was NOT designed by Munch, I am sure...

New Book On Field Recording

The book "Field recording: l'usage sonore du monde en 100 albums" is a welcomed entry on the subject of field recording, covering its history, methods, practitioners, the analysis and consequences of their work. 

A few more or less obvious but irritating gaps are compensated by the wealth of the material actually presented. 

A must read for anyone interested in this area. The interviews alone justify getting the book. 

Alisa Weilerstein

Alisa Weilerstein was in town. I lack the words that can better describe the magic feeling that her playing produces in me.

Intercultural Identities

Here’s an article by one of my most inspiring teachers, Dr. Jan Walls, titled Intercultural Identities. 

Utopia made possible

If you decide to visit Portugal be sure to include the Schist Villages region in your itinerary. You’ll be doubly fortunate if you happen to be there during the X JAZZ festival. 

I visited the schist villages and caught X JAZZ this past week but then they say I was born with the silver spoon in my mouth. 

Evan Parker, the great British saxophone player, directed a one-week workshop for musicians and concerts took place in several villages around the region, as part of this year’s edition. A eulogy to art, ecology, entrepreneurship and social responsibility, proving that utopia is possible.

Ask for information about the next X JAZZ here and be sure to attend it.

If you can read Portuguese see a different version of this article here. Photos of the event here.

El Silvo

click here to watch documentary

Such an inspiring, learning and, I dare saying, moving experience. 

Check out El Silvo, a documentary on the Canary Islands whistling language.

Worth reading

Bernie Krause writes about The Sound of a Damaged Habitat in the NYT. “While a picture may be worth a thousand words, a soundscape is worth a thousand pictures.” 

Hearing is believing, I would say...

Who are the real criminals?

These days the expression arts funding is equivalent to severe cuts. Deep in their hearts many people believe that the arts are not really necessary, their role and impact on society is negligible and they are the least of our worries. Arts and artists are tolerable at most if they entertain you, while you are trying to get way from having to worry with more serious matters.

Things like crime, criminals and prisons for example, these are serious matters that deserve the society’s undivided attention.

Maybe, just maybe, if more programs like the Carnegie Hall outreach program were taken more seriously and carried out at a more opportune time, society would have less to worry and human kind could preserve better its future. Maybe if more serious arts programs for children were properly funded you would not have to spend as much money fighting crime and criminals...

Watch this CBS report titled "Sing Sing inmates perform, change their lives with music" and be a witness.

Really cool festival

The polar wind brought the Pat Metheny Unity Band to town. “Are you guys freezing out there?” asked Pat. “We are. This is really bad for our fingers but we’ll try to do our best.” And their best they did. 

Only this music could keep me from freezing to death...

A mixture of PMG, PM without G, an astounding Chris Potter, a quartet of trios, duets, Pikasso guitar solos and some spare parts of the Orchestrion thrown in for flavor. Every possible combination in a compact format, a never seen before flexibility in any PM formation. An incredible offer by these virtuoso musicians to the cooled audience of the Cool Jazz Festival. 

Next year I hope they set up an igloo and toss us in there. It’ll be a lot cozier I’m sure... 

“Léo-l’enfant-sourd”

An amazing book by Yves Lapalu “Léo, L’enfant sourd”. A different cartoon character, Léo, a deaf child, moves through a world of sounds. 

Quite moving.

World Listening Day 2012

An intimate and humble contribution to the WLD2012: listening to a documentary titled “A Day in Autumn with Dietrich Fischer-Diskau”. I could hardly breath. 

One voice, two ears. 

The whole purpose is discovering music through the musicians, not the musicians through music, he said...

Happy birthday Nelson Mandela. 

Happy birthday Murray. 

Happy WLD2012 everyone.