"Why isn't everybody running around wearing stereo microphones in their hands"?

The days go by...

The Leg-irons
(from the Prison Diary of Ho Chi Minh)

With hungry mouth open like a wicked monster,
Each night the irons devour the legs of people:
The jaws grip the right leg of every prisoner:
Only the left is free to bend and stretch.
Yet there is one thing stranger in this world:
People rush in to place their legs in irons.
Once they are shackled, they can sleep in peace.
Otherwise they would have no place to lay their heads.

The Prison Song

Music...

The evolution of pleasure

"A principle of evolution is that in general, if something feels good, evolution must have made it so - evolution must have provided a reward mechanism for synchronized movement and music making, in the same way that evolution provided mechanisms of reward when we eat and have sex." (The World in Six Songs, Daniel J. Levitin)

Listen to the Listeners

This brilliantly produced program is a must-listen. 

The Listeners (series 1 and 2) is a BBC radio documentary about people whose profession is based on listening or use sound as a tool. An absolute gem, definitely one of the most fascinating pieces of radio documentary I have listened to in ages.

Is listening important? Are there still doubts?

Listen to this. I rest my case.

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.