Music Modernization Act

“Now” Cannot, In Any Real Sense, Be Preserved!

In order to be truly connected to a real event “NOW,” it may be necessary to be disconnected from the digital cyber world… In fact, the modern music business has delegated the sublimity of music itself to a zeitgeist of insignificance. 

A Cultural Commentary By Dawoud Kringle

There was a scene in the movie Collateral, where the whole of modern popular musical culture was eloquently represented. A professional assassin (played by Tom Cruise) took a cab driver (played by Jamie Foxx, who Cruise forced his assistance in a series of assassinations) to a jazz club. The assassin loved the live jazz performance in the club. He was fascinated by the unpredictability of the music. The cab driver disliked the performance and found it incomprehensible for the exact same reason. His conditioning to accept uniformity and predictability in music – and life itself – could not allow him to let go of his illusion of control and allow the music to be itself.

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Simon Nabatov

Concert Review: Simon Nabatov Trio @ The Galway Jazz Fest (Ireland)

Date: October 8, 2017
Venue: Galway Jazz Festival (Ireland)

Review by Fiona Mactaggart (Photograph by sus)

An award for ‘friendliest festival’ might well go to the Galway Jazz Festival, this 4-day long event utilizing an eclectic range of venues and heaving with musical treasures. Tonight the venue is an up-market restaurant, the musical fare a veritable aural banquet offered by the new trio of pianist-extraordinaire, Simon Nabatov.

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Amy Denio

CD Review: Amy Denio “The Big Embrace”

Amy DenioArtist: Amy Denio
Title: The Big Embrace
Label: Spoot Music
Genre: folk rock/world/contemporary/field recordings/jazz; and improvised music

CD Review by Dawoud Kringle

Amy Denio is an interesting musician. Based in Seattle, WA, she is known internationally as a record producer, composer, improviser, singer and multi-instrumentalist (voice, alto saxophone, clarinet, accordion, acoustic and electric guitars, electric bass, and theremin). Denio co-founded The Tiptons Sax Quartet and Drums, recorded with Bosnian metal/punk/folk group Kultur Shock, recorded and toured with Austrian trio Die Resonanz Stanonczi, and co-founded Ama Trio with Correo Aereo. She toured as a solo artist, and has collaborated and recorded with Matt Cameron, Bill Frisell, Chris Cutler, Guy Klucevsek, Pauline Oliveros, Tarik Abouzied, Francisco Lopez, Danny Barnes, the Relache Ensemble, Faust, Fred Frith, Hoppy Kamiyama, KMFDM, Il Parto delle Nuvole Pesanti, Ronin, and Chuck D’s Fine Arts Militia (as part of the Experience Music Project in Seattle). Denio scored two animated films by Thomas Edward: Pangaea’s Brood, and Synchrony in Estrus. She also scored Jamie Hook‘s feature film The Naked Proof. She also produced the soundtrack for choreographer Pat Graney‘s piece Girl Gods, and the soundtrack to choreographer David Dorfman’s piece Sky Down. She’d earned many awards and fellowships, and recently became a member of Musicians for Musicians (MF).

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Emil Brandqvist Trio

Emil Brandqvist Trio (Sweden) bringing a breath of Swedish fresh air to the Galway Jazz Festival

Venue: Black Gate Club at the Galway Jazz Festival (Eire)
Date: October 5th, 2017

Review by Fiona Mactaggart

The subdued lighting of the basement venue is well suited to this thoughtful and measured set, the small space only intensifying the calming effect of the delicate and beautiful melodies traced by pianist Tuomas A Turunen over a web spun by drummer and band leader, Emil Brandqvist.

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Jimi Hendrix

MFM and DBDBD Salute the Memory and Legacy of Jimi Hendrix on His 75th Birthday

Jimi HendrixText By Dawoud Kringle

On Monday, November 27th, 2017, the musical world celebrated the 75th birthday of one of the greatest musicians of the 20th century, Jimi Hendrix.

To say that Hendrix was innovative is a gross understatement. In the short three and a half years of his career in the limelight, before he tragically left this world, Hendrix’ accomplishments are staggering.

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