TT 368: Ramblin'
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The second leg of the European tour with Thomas Morgan and Kush Abadey is going great! (Above: Rotterdam.) Continuing tomorrow:
Feb. 26 - Helsinki (SF), G Livelab
Feb 27 - Tampere (SF), G Livelab
Feb. 28 – Victoria – Oslo, Norway
Feb. 29 – Fasching – Stockholm, Sweden
March 1 – Jazz In Bess – Lugano, Switzerland
March 2 – Jazzclub – Ferrara, Italy
March 3 — Casa del Jazz — Rome, Italy
March 4 – Teatro Carambolage – Bolzano, Italy
Soon I’ll be in Denver, Albuquerque, and all over the West Coast playing with diverse trios and in a couple of solo piano situations.
March 28 – Dazzle (Denver) w. Gonzalo Teppa + Dru Heller
March 29 – Outpost (Albuquerque) solo
March 30-31 – SFJAZZ w. Reuben Rogers + Gerald Cleaver
April 1 — Earthwise @ The Mitch (Palo Alto) solo (double bill w. Marta Sanchez)
April 3 – Jack London Revue (Portland) w. Andrew Jones + Matt Mayhall
April 4 – Kuumbwa (Santa Cruz) w. Reuben Rogers + Jason Lewis
April 5-6 – Sam First (LA) w. Darek Oles + Peter Erskine
Read all about it…
Monia Ali: “Activist fandom and the defanging of the anti-Scientologist movement.” The internet brings us together; it also pushes us apart. Ali’s comments about fandom are always enlightening; her Substack is recommended.
Digression: I have a personal story about Scientology.
My first job in New York in the fall of 1991 was with a group of Scientologists. Fresh off the hay truck from Wisconsin, I landed in a cult.
Actually “cult” makes it sound worse than it was. Everyone in the National Improvisational Theater was very nice, and some of the actors were extremely talented. Their Chelsea improv comedy show was every Monday night: skits, songs, and lots of audience participation.
NIT wasn’t that successful, the audiences were smallish, my pay was $20 for a gig. Still, that was good money for me in those days, for my main food source was a bag of twelve day-old bagels purchased for a dollar.
When I started at NIT I didn’t know about their connection to the religion. After a few months they revealed the truth and placed a fair amount of pressure on me to join.
One performance was at the midtown Celebrity Centre where I got tested by an E-meter. I recall this being one of the better gigs, with a nice-sized audience and lots of laughs. There were fancy photos of Celebrity Scientologists on the walls, including Lee Konitz and Chick Corea.
A few weeks later NIT offices received a letter to me from Chick Corea. Or maybe it wasn’t from him, maybe it was from a minion, how would I know? At any rate it was a handwritten letter saying that Chick had heard that Ethan Iverson was talented, and that he was looking forward to meeting me someday, maybe on a Celebrity Cruise. Signed, “Chick Corea.”
I was 19…for about an hour I was like, “Wow, Chick Corea wants to hear me play!” before realizing that he simply wanted to give me a push to join the church. I left NIT soon after.
Catherine Sinow: “When Jessica Simpson Said My Name.” I’m not a Jessica Simpson follower but this is a very amusing essay.
Sharon Su: “The Price is Wrong.” Florence Price scores are apparently frequently full of errors despite fresh engravings. I don't know anything about how things work in a publishing house like Schirmer, but it strikes me as ludicrous that something would go to print without simply listening to a computer mock-up of a score first. There are always errors. The ear hears them before the eyes see them.
Kat Rosenfield: “In Defense of Grumpy Old Men.” Sincere thanks to Otto Penzler for a lifetime of commitment to my favorite genre, crime fiction.
Hank Shteamer: “Americans in Paris: The fruitful partnership of Frank Wright and Noah Howard.” Nice to see this excellent critic on Substack. One of the intriguing elements of the LPs under discussion is the presence of bebop master Art Taylor, who sounds notably comfortable drumming in a free context.
Bill Milkowski: “The Story of the Legendary Buddy Rich Tapes.” Another important critic is on this ever-expanding platform, and here Milkowski offers a truly worthwhile deep-dive into a famous bit of jazz lore. Interesting perspective from the taper, the fine pianist Lee Musiker. Most of us think Rich just sounds like an overblown jerk, but Musiker thought the drummer was trying to inspire the troops: “Through it all the message was excellence and perfection and bringing your best talent to the bandstand.”
Lewis Porter: “Lester Young Changed His Style, Part 2: Zan Stewart's Favorites, Jeff Rupert on Mouthpieces, & Conclusions.” Interesting comments on one of the greatest of the greats from experts Porter, Stewart and Rupert.
Vinnie Sperrazza: “The R&B Roots of Modern Jazz.” Vinnie and I are on the same page.