An Editorial by Dawoud Kringle
(Originally published in https://dawoudtherenegadesufi.substack.com/. Reprinted with Permission)
Music has always been a major part of any culture and counterculture. It always will be. This phenomenon is hard-wired into all human society. Music possesses the power to change a society’s character. The cultural upheavals of the United States during the 1960s are a perfect example of this.
Text by Dawoud Kringle
Andre Benjamin (a.k.a. Andre 3000) succeeded with the Atlanta-based hip-hop duo Outkast, collaborated with Beyonce and Erykah Badu, and made his mark as an actor. In 2023, he shocked the music world by releasing New Blue Sun, an all-instrumental collaboration with Carlos Nino, where he played flute. Nothing could have prepared audiences for one of the greatest rappers in hip hop making a bold move into ambient, flute based improvisational music. And against all odds, it was a great success.
Musicians have been improvising music for thousands of years. I could (and occasionally have) write about the musical traditions of ancient and classical cultures where musicians were expected to improvise. In the last several decades, jazz, some arcane offshoots of rock music, and all variations and subgenres have established improvisation as a mainstay in its canon.
Text by Bruce Gallanter (Downtown Music Gallery, 9/26/2024)
“Janis” by Country Joe & The Fish, from I Feel Like I’m Fixin’ to Die (rel late, 1967)
Into my life on waves of electrical sound
And flashing light she came
Into my life with the twist of a dial
The wave of her hand, the warmth of her smile.
Text by Bruce Gallanter (Downtown Music Gallery, August 22, 2024)
“The Hook” by Free Design . From their reunion album, Cosmic Peekaboo (released in 2001)
All the pretty young singers with their popular songs
Kind of short on meaning but the beat goes on
You really have to love them – but not for very long
They’d like to thank their managers
And fans, and friends and yawn…
Text by Dawoud Kringle
John Mayall was born in Macclesfield, Cheshire, UK on 29 November 1933, and grew up in Cheadle Hulme. His father, Murray Mayall, was a guitarist. He taught himself to play the piano, guitars, and harmonica after immersing himself in the music of American blues players such as Lead Belly, Albert Ammons, Eddie Lang, and Pinetop Smith.
