24 January 2009

A way ahead

Official Poster Picture for "Art & All That Jazz" 2005. "Jazz Sax Player" by Joe Holiday [http://www.stlucieartleague.com/artjazzshow2005.htm]

I am worried that sotisie's and Boromir's departure, and some of the comments on the blog which stray into areas outside the topic of the posts, will lead to its demise. It is marvelous that you have joined us Bill, and it worries me that you are wondering whether you should post some new music. Personally I'd like to see if we can keep it going through these difficult times, to carry on the work sotisie and Boromir started, and to show that an interest in exploring new musical sounds is the most important thing here.

May I propose a way ahead?

Let each of the contributors post something over the next few days to refocus attension.
If we leave comments unmoderated, let each person who comments keep the discussion to the music that is being posted. If others have other things to say, we should let them stand, but we should not respond; keeping our contributions to the subject of great music. As any musician will tell you: an unresponsive audience is a pretty poor one. If we're talking about music, and others want to talk about other things, they will need to find a new venue.

Finally, if others would like to join the music posters, please do get in touch. This is a community for music lovers, everyone is welcome. I know that over the years the comments page has featured thanks to the people who made the effort to post music and explanations of why the music matters to them; but the vast amount of the comments go to praise the musicians who made it. Those who share music from their collection here attend these musican's concerts, buy their records, and promote their music to others. Most of the music that you can download through this blog is currently unavailable in commercial release. We share the music and all these experiences. We welcome your contributions to the community. When you make comments about the music, and respect others in the community, you make both stronger. Now that's worth working for, I think.

I'm writing up something on a David Murray concert of Duke Ellington music, which I'll try and get up this weekend.

6 comments:

Steve H said...

Well, as I commented here recently, I am probably as guilty as you can get for hit and run, and I am remiss. I have enjoyed so much that everybody has shared here, and I promise to give more feedback and contribute more to the discussion. Come to think of it, I may even have a thing or two to share ...

LYM said...

The Way Ahead
I Totally agree with You!
In the next days, perhaps even tomorrow, i'm goin to post some other music again. You're right when You say that we must post only out of print, or radio broadcasts or private recording.I'm thinkin even to other ways of postin' here or elsewhere.Let's see. Anyway what must be clear to anyone here is that our only proposal should be that of promoting unheard or OOP music with the firm belief that this way we can give a little contribution to the knowledge of some amazing musicians, sometimes underrated, other times neglected and other times luckily well known.

See YOU. LYM

8mmbolex said...

i'm a huge fan of your extraordinary blog. if more reader comments are helpful i'll try my best. the discourse here is followed with genuine fascination and great appreciation.

kingpossum said...

I'm in. I have only commented sporadically, though I have certainly enjoyed the music as well as the comments of boromir and sotisie and others.

As in all things, anything can be gotten over. Let's get over this, too. Thanks everyone for the music and take the time to leave a comment. I will. The joy I've taken from the music and others' comments is to valuable to let pass.

Regards,

kinabalu said...

Sounds like a fair enough proposal, WoS. I did post the Zorn just now and have got another one fairly ready to go (and a couple more on the backburner). Hopefully, I may find time to do some vinyl, but that's often a tedious prcedure as you've got to check and recheck several times to avoid mistakes during the whole transmission process.

Anonymous said...

All of us who have benefited from this fine blog should try to pitch in.

Inconstant Sol (and the Church before it) has done so much to broaden my obsession with this music. Boromir and Sotise are responsible for a dozen blooming mini-obsessions with artists I'd previously not known. They will be sorely missed. At the same time, the new contributors around here are once again opening my ears to things I would have otherwise overlooked. It's all wonderful.

I have some nice OOP things (Braxton's Tristano Compositions, Sam River's Contrasts, Oliver Lake's Heavy Spirits, The Great Concert of Cecil Taylor, some early Fred Anderson) that I will transfer and post, provided that I can afford both an LP-to-MP3 converter and health insurance.

This is a long way of saying that my collection is modest and mostly redundant with what's been posted here. But I'm pledging to do what I can to give back.

Another thought -- the brain trust of Inconstant Sol could post a want list of most sought-after albums, and us loyal visitors could do whatever is in our power to supply them.

Many thanks to all of you, and especially to the departed Sotise, whose taste and admiration for Joe McPhee was impeccable.