Dean Esmay has an extensive essay up right now about jazz for fans of classical music. It'll blow your mind - if you're a music fan of any kind, it should be great reading.
Being mainly a rock and roll chick myself, I have no idea what the hell he is talking about, actually - but still: it's a damn fine read.
Good job, Esmay.
Posted by sheilaThe Grateful Dead?? ugh.
Posted by: Mitchell at May 17, 2004 06:04 PMI never got into them either. And URI was pretty much Grateful Dead Central, wasn't it??
Mitchell - did you see in the post above where I daydream about "joining the circus"? I realized, just now, that you actually HAVE joined the circus.
Posted by: red at May 17, 2004 06:08 PMfunny..its a dream! I leave for Circus Smirkus on Sunday!!??? Wow..so much work...are the O' Malleys still coming to see the show?? What town?
Posted by: Mitchell at May 17, 2004 06:21 PMThankee for the linkee. ;-)
But as for the Dead: it's hard to write or talk about them for a variety of reasons, mostly because of the cultish nature of so much of their fan base. Too much mystique gets built up and just screams to be punctured, and of course the drug sub-culture needs skewering. A further complicating factor is that in their 30 year career they spanned so many different styles.
Nevertheless I have yet to meet anyone who did not enjoy the specific recording I recommended. As I said in my article: people often wonder why the Dead were popular, and that recording will explain it to you. It's the best of who they were when they were really, really good.
Posted by: Dean Esmay at May 18, 2004 02:01 AMThe Buena Vista Social Club he mentions is one of the best Cuban music CD's ever put out. Dont know if I'd consider it all that jazzy but still, a damn fine album.
Posted by: Val Prieto at May 18, 2004 10:40 AMVal - I'm sure you saw the movie then??
Posted by: red at May 18, 2004 10:42 AM