Poem by John Kruth, 1992
Photo by Sohrab Saadat Ladjevardi
If Ornette Coleman was a Plumber
If Ornette Coleman was a plumber
It’s with great sadness that we announce the passing of beloved music man & longtime President of Blue Note Records, Bruce Lundvall. He was 79 years old. The cause was complications from a prolonged battle with Parkinson’s disease. Born in Englewood, New Jersey in 1935, Bruce was a lifelong jazz lover whose passion for the music was ignited by Clifford Brown, Charlie Parker & the other beboppers he heard as an underage teenager at clubs along West 52nd Street in New York City in the 1950s.
A self-described “failed saxophone player,” Bruce took an entry level marketing job at Columbia Records in 1960 and over the following two decades rose to lead the North American division of the label, signing artists including Dexter Gordon, Herbie Hancock, Stan Getz, Wynton Marsalis & Willie Nelson. After launching the Elektra/Musician label in 1982, he received the offer of a lifetime in 1984 when EMI approached him about reviving Blue Note Records which had been dormant for several years. He jumped at the chance, partnering with producer Michael Cuscuna to bring back the label’s earlier stars like Jimmy Smith, McCoy Tyner, Freddie Hubbard, Joe Henderson & Jackie McLean, and signing new artists including Dianne Reeves, Cassandra Wilson, Michel Petrucciani, John Scofield, Charlie Hunter and Medeski Martin & Wood.
Text by Ned Sublette from his newsletter nedslist, March 27, 2015
A quick music diary . . .
Saturday: Pedro Luis Ferrer
Sunday: Emilio Morales y Los Nuevo Amigos at La Zorra y El Cuervo
Monday: Harold López-Nussa
Tuesday: a triple play: the peña (regularly scheduled gig) of Pancho Amat at the Museo Nacional de la Música; Havana d’Primera at Casa de la Música Miramar; Aldo López-Gavilán
Wednesday: Roberto Carcassés y Interactivo at Bertolt Brecht
Thursday: Pupy Y Los Que Son, Son at Casa de la Música Galeano . . .
Tonight: Van Van at the Capri . . .
Tomorrow: Reguetón . . .
My overriding impression is that Cuba is in better shape than I’ve seen it, in terms of material conditions at least. People have more access to money and goods. There are more opportunities to monetize skills, and there is momentum and hope. There are fewer people pestering you in the street.
A mural by Brazilian street artist Paulo Ito on the side of a schoolhouse in São Paulo
Post from The Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/06/24/world-cup-photos_n_5511834.html
Text by Sohrab Saadat Ladjevardi
On my way to my friend’s Kickstarter fundraising campaign yesterday, I passed by the East Village Radio (EVR) station which is a small storefront studio on 1st Ave and 1st Street.
I said good-bye to this great local Internet radio station and to the DJ inside the studio who was playing electronic music.
It’s really a shame that this radio station had to close down due to financial difficulties, such as rising rents, equipment costs and the licensing fees for broadcasting music.
The station broadcasted music 24/7. Playing mainly eclectic-indie music, from indie rock to punk to post punk, club music, hip-hop. A growing listenership here in NY and also abroad and guests Like Lou Reed , Drake. Jimmy Cliff couldn’t stop the closing. Again: what a shame!
