Mizar6

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Almost a year ago, i wrote a Mizar5 entry about an old guitar, the Hofner Club 40 my dad used to have. He’d given it to his younger brother who returned it to me past weekend at a family reunion. I’m very glad the guitar’s back and will have it restored as much as possible at Harry Sibum’s Hofner House knowing it’s in the capable hands of a true Hofner connaisseur.

The minute i had this cute little guitar from 1960 (its serial number is 2350) back in my hands, it felt very comfortable. It’s a lightweight, but definitely not shallow and as a semi-acoustic enjoyable to play without an amp. I learned to play guitar on this Hofner, so the sentimental value is huge. That’s also why it deserves to be looked after properly, get cleaned up and such. My father wanted to add some stuff back in the 60s and had someone drill holes in it for an extra toaster and some knobs. We’re going to get that fixed and no, we’re not adding an extra toaster and turn it into a turbo Hofner…

The history of this German guitar, bass and violin brand is most interesting. The Beatles had made some of their models very famous, like a similar Hofner Club 40 by John Lennon and the violin bass, which is still used by Paul McCartney. The Dutch Indo-rock scene loved the Hofner guitars back in the 50 and 60s and let’s not forget there’s also a gorgeous range of Hofner jazz guitars.

To learn more, there’s of course the official Hofner site and the Hofner Hounds Community, but for vintage visuals and some of the finest collections, you can visit Steve Russell’s Vintage Hofner website.

(May, 2008) Devoted to helping children in Afghanistan since her son died in the World Trade Center attacks, Vermont educator Sally Goodrich will be keynote commencement speaker at the University of Maine at Farmington. Goodrich’s son Peter, a graduate of Bates College, was in the second plane to hit the World Trade Center on Sept. 11. He was 33.

Her work to help children through the Peter M. Goodrich Memorial Foundation by building a school for 500 girls in Afghanistan will be reflected in her message, “Believe in things unseen.” “When attempting to change something in parts of the world that represent challenges, you need hope and the belief that you can alter the landscape,” Goodrich said Monday.

“After 9/11, my immediate response was, ‘Why my son … a very loving, kind, open-minded and nonjudgmental human being,’ ” she said. In his work for a software company, some of his colleagues were Russian Jews, Serbian and Indian immigrants. He was curious and immersed himself in their culture reading both the Bible and the Quran, she said.

Wanting to remember the way her son lived his life, not the way he died, Goodrich responded when her neighbor’s son wrote to his parents. As a Marine major, Rush Filson, also a Bates graduate, was on his first tour of duty in Afghanistan when he wrote his family to tell them about meeting a school principal there who changed his life. At the end of the e-mail, he asked for school supplies to be sent. “It was like a door opening,” she said, knowing that her son would have had the same openness to the culture.

She realized that at that time, she needed to understand the underlying conditions that lead to 9/11, she said. “I went to Afghanistan and encountered such widespread suffering on a scale I had not experienced … Everyone in Afghanistan had lost a family member, moved in order to survive or faced prison … It put my own suffering into perspective,” she said.

click to read more

The Goodrich Foundation: http://www.goodrichfoundation.org

RE-DESIGN OF WEBSITE:

7 HOURS OF MUSIC / FREE DOWNLOADS / CHARTS / WHAT’S UP WITH BEAS

Check out Beas’s
NEW FAN-FOCUSED WEBSITE www.beasleymusic.com, which has a player with 7 hours of music from his eight albums; artists he has produced, and music from commercials, films, and TV shows.

FREE DOWNLOAD AND CHART EVERY MONTH:

For fans, every month, Beasley will offer a free MP3 download and accompanying sheet music. So, come back often so you can grow a library of Beasley’s original music.

“Every month I will GIVE AWAY a track and the lead sheet. For AUGUST, download MP3 [right click and choose ’save link as…’] and lead sheet Beehave Yourself. It’s from my first album, Cauldron, which was produced by Walter Becker and features bassist Rickey Minor. Send me an email with your feedback.

“WHAT’S UP:

Shy as he is, Beasley will start blogging. “There’s so much that I experience and learn when I’m on tour, conducting a clinic or working on a film/TV or special project that I would like to share,” says Beasley. “I think it’s essential as a musician to continue to grow; and you do this when you can articulate what you’ve been through and get feedback from others.”

NEW CD LETTER TO HERBIE - a tribute album to Herbie Hancock



Christian McBride, Jeff ‘Tain’ Watts, Roy Hargrove
19 weeks on Jazz charts
AVAILABLE at iTunes, Amazon.com, Rhapsody, Resonance Records, BeasleyMusic.

REVIEWS:

“a mother of a session … The kind of mind blowing date contemporary jazzbos are always on the lookout for” –Midwest Record Recap

“…there’s a drive, verve, and passion in the trio that matches the pianist’s desire to take Hancock’s music to a different level. The pianist… has never sounded better. More than up to the task, he is able to push and pull the bass and drums seemingly at will, and possesses impressive chops and witty ideas that flow throughout. This is a credible and laudable effort.”
– All Music Guide, 4 ∏ stars

“Jazz fans from coast to coast are talking about this all-star tribute to a jazz icon from this one-time keyboardist for Freddie Hubbard and Miles Davis. A contender for one of the top 10 jazz albums of the year.” –Amazon.com

“Jazz talent, John Beasley’s Letter to Herbie applies top-shelf resources to his tribute to one of his primary inspirations, Herbie Hancock. {The engineers’} sonic clarity emphasizes the warmth of Beasley’s sound as he indeed does adapt Hancock’s style to an interpretation of some of his music without being imitative.” –Jazz Improv

“Clever arrangements…. Beasley does a ‘mash-up’ of Maiden Voyage and Tell Me A Bedtime Story two of Herbie’s finest compositions. This mash is a real banger, and I would go back for second helpings. Beasley is quite effective, especially as a rhythm section pianist, and has mastered a number of Hancock’s signature devices. …this is a strong performance and a notch above your typical tribute project.” –Jazz.com

“…ten exciting interpretations…” “The one standard, “Maiden Voyage” is given a fresh and intriguing makeover through a clever re-harmonization.” — Floodwatchmusic.com

“The instant classic is Beasley’s intuitive juxtaposition of Hancock’s chordal classics “Maiden Voyage” and “Tell Me a Bedtime Story,” which he calls “Bedtime Voyage.” Elsewhere, Beasley flipped Hancock’s slickly winding 1980 fusion composition “4AM” into an accelerated and swingin’ straight ahead whirl. He took the boogaloo cue “The Naked Camera” from Hancock’s score to “Blow Up” (1967) and transformed it into something that – thanks to McBride’s bass line – sounds like Eddie Harris’ “Listen Here…Gone Reggae.” And the trance-inducing “Vein Melter” from Hancock’s funk-jazz fusion classic Headhunters (1973) gets a dub inspired makeover.”
-–The Urban Network

TOURING:
Currently booking a Fall/Winter Tour with Buster William, Bennie Maupin, and Jeff “Tain” Watts. Check my GIG CALENDAR or MYSPACE.

Thank you for sticking with me all these years!
See you at a gig or bring me to your town by suggesting a venue.
www.beasleymusic.com

—signing off—Beas

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Philippe Poudensan from France has been sending us Steely Dan related news for some years now and most of it was either used for a Mizar5 article or posted in Blue, one of the Steely Dan fan forums.

Often he wrote about musician/songwriter Jay Graydon and what he’s been up to and whether we could use it for Mizar5. We know we haven’t so far, not because we didn’t want to, but because it’s usually just me doing the writing here…

Daddy G. aka Dimension Skipper is the only other author who pops in on occasion when returning from his own inter-dimensional journeys and reporting on those, so whatever is sent to me, has to either be prepared for Mizar5 by me or it remains in the mailbox. Realtime life and all in it is what usually keeps me from posting everything. Or staying online 24 hours a day. There’s also never been a real rule for what is typical Mizar5 stuff or what isn’t. It’s usually been just the flow of things. Let cybernature run its own course, kind of.

That is why THIS time around, we REALLY followed up on Philippe’s advice and checked out Jay Graydon’s HOT NEWS section on the official site. He went to see Steely Dan on July 31.

We assume we don’t need to introduce Jay to any of the Mizar5 readers nor explain his Steely connection… and if you really really want to see it all spelled out, sorry… maybe a year ago we would have gladly taken the trip in the archives and dungeons for you and make it easy, but this time, if you really really need to know, you just got to do your own homework like we did all these years

All we can say is, Jay Graydon’s sites are worth a visit, not just for the pics with John Herington, Michael Leonhart, Freddie Washington and Walter Becker. Which leaves us to say goodbye to Mizar5 as it was. Perhaps you’ve noticed it’s Mizar6 now. Yup. Correct.

In the Rumpus Suite we’ve already explained why we’re changing course and abandoning the Steely Dan theme, as DimSkip so eloquently translated from English to English. We’ve had some fun years chasing Steely related news, interviewing musicians and learning about the various connections to music history, culture even and the past, present and future. But there comes a time when the end of the line is near, or visible. It’s been near for months and now we’ve reached the line.

We’ll continue as Mizar6 and keep posting about interesting people, music and fun stuff. It’s just not dedicated to Steely Dan no more. So, if you like to stick around and trust our nose for good music and fine folk, you’re more than welcome to stay!

And thank you, Philippe.

Georg Wadenius is the featured soloist on the sold out Prize Ceremony of August 26th when Pink Floyd will receive the Polar Music Prize 2008.

“The 2008 Polar Music Prize is awarded to the British group Pink Floyd for their monumental contribution over the decades to the fusion of art and music in the development of popular culture. Through extensive sonic experimentation, they captured the mood and spirit of a whole generation in their reflections and attitudes. Pink Floyd managed to evolve and create exciting music and albums over the years, When rock’n'roll developed, Pink Floyd was foremost in shaping the sounds that would influence artists for ever.”

The Polar Music Prize was founded in 1989 by the late Stig ”Stikkan” Anderson, one of the true greats in the history of popular music. As the publisher, lyricist and manager of ABBA, he played a key role in their enormous success. 
Its name stems from Anderson´s legendary record label, Polar Records. The Polar Music Prize is one of the most prestigious and unique music prizes in the world, crossing over musical boundaries and awarded to individuals, groups and institutions in recognition of exceptional achievements.

The board of the Stig Anderson Music Award Foundation includes representatives from the
Stig Anderson family, SKAP (The Swedish Society of Popular Music Composers) and STIM
(The Swedish Performing Rights Society). The task of scrutinizing nominations submitted
and selecting the ultimate laureates is undertaken by an Award Committee comprising
of experienced members of the music industry.

Laureates from a wide range of countries, cultures and continents have received the Prize
in Stockholm from the hand of His Majesty, King Carl XVI.

Sir Paul McCartney, Dizzy Gillespie, Witold Lutoslawski, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Quincy Jones,
Mstislav Rostropovitch, Sir Elton John, Joni Mitchell, Pierre Boulez, Bruce Springsteen, Eric
Ericson, Ray Charles, Ravi Shankar, Iannis Xenakis, Stevie Wonder, Bob Dylan, Isaac Stern,
Burt Bacharach, Robert Moog, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Sofia Gubaidulina, Miriam Makeba,
Keith Jarrett, B.B. King, György Ligeti, Gilberto Gil and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Valery
Gergiev, Led Zeppelin, Steve Reich and Sonny Rollins have all been bestowed with
the Prize since its inception in 1992. In 1992, the Baltic States were also awarded
the Prize to encourage them in their work for protection of copyright.

We wanted to let you know about a pretty cool site that Steely Dan fans might like to check out. Basically, iVideosongs is a new site that shows you how to play songs completely and accurately, oftentimes from the actual artists. When we don’t have the artists themselves, we have world-class instructors showing you how to play songs from killer artists, like Steely Dan.

Check out the preview:

Kid Charlemagne

Do It Again

We actually just put out a press release (please see below) announcing the news today. We’d love to know what you think of the site. We really think the lessons can help learn to play the songs quickly and accurately.

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iVideosongs Shows How to Play My Favorite Mistake and Kid Charlemagne

Two More Legendary Songs Added to Growing Catalog

ALPHARETTA, Ga. – August 13, 2008 – Two more great songs are being added to the growing iVideosongs (www.ivideosongs.com) catalog this week. Sheryl Crow’s tune about an unfaithful lover, My Favorite Mistake, and Steely Dan’s jazz-rock fusion classic, Kid Charlemagne, joins the iVideosongs line up. Each of the songs features instruction by the expert staff at iVideosongs.
iVideosongs shows aspiring musicians everywhere how to play their favorite songs completely and accurately, with the instruction provided by the original artists who wrote and performed them, as well as from expert instructors.

My Favorite Mistake, from the album, “The Globe Sessions,” earned Sheryl Crow a Grammy nomination in 1999 for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. Kid Charlemagne, from the 1976 Steely Dan album, “The Royal Scam,” features a challenging guitar solo by the great Larry Carlton. iVideosongs shows how to play the signature Carlton solo in Kid Charlemagne as well as the complex rhythm sections of this great song.

Kid Charlemagne is the second Steely Dan song to be added to the iVideosongs catalog, joining Do It Again, which was added to the site in early July. My Favorite Mistake joins the previously added Sheryl Crow hit, The First Cut is the Deepest to the growing song catalog available at iVideosongs.

iVideosongs has licensed full rights to its songs from BMG Music Publishing, EMI Music Publishing, Sony/ATV Music Publishing, Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner/Chappell Music and also many secondary and tertiary publishers. This allows the company to provide complete and accurate instructional titles, presented exactly as they were originally written and performed. The iVideosongs titles are primarily for electric and acoustic guitarists, but titles for bass, keyboards and drums are also included in the catalog.

iVideosongs offers three kinds of music instruction content. Tutorials designed to improve basic to advanced skills are available free of charge. Complete and accurate songs, instructed by professional music teachers cost $4.99. Complete and accurate songs, taught by the original artists who wrote, performed and/or produced them, cost $9.99.

iVideosongs customers can choose a skill level and genre, and then download the high- def titles to their personal computer, iPod or other device. Each song title is presented in chapter format, so aspiring musicians learn the introduction, verse, chorus, bridge, outro and other elements in bite-size pieces and at their own pace. Each title also includes a master performance so customers can compare their progress against the song, and tablature notation to aid in learning. Titles featuring artists also include an interview segment, where they reveal the inspiration and influences that went into the creation of the song.

iVideosongs launched the beta of its service this past January 29, 2008.

About iVideosongs

iVideosongs is the pioneering music instruction service that enables aspiring musicians of all skills levels to learn how to accurately play complete songs from the original artists who wrote and performed them, and also from legendary side-men and a staff of exceptional instructors. iVideosongs on-demand, high-def video titles live on customers’ computers, iPods and other devices, and are accessible to them whenever and wherever they like.

Visit www.ivideosongs.com to start learning today.

This is a new thing we’re trying here. Mizar5 and an album of the month. There are various musical geniuses. Frequent visitors of this digital double star will agree about Steely Dan and Frank Zappa. It don’t take long to come up with those two names.

But David Byrne, frontman of the Talking Heads is quite the gifted musician too. And that’s why we dedicate this first entry in a new category to an album that is one of the best albums to have been released in the fuzzy plastic almost artificial ’80s.

Remain In Light.

Press release Scooby Medina

20th Anniversary Scooby Medina
Sunday, August 31
Vlamertinge, Belgium

- Cornwall’s Voice for Animals, (UK)
- Greyhound Compassion, (UK)
- Greyhound Friends Inc., (USA)
- Greyhound Protection International, (DE)
- Greyhound Rescue International Network, (USA)
- Greyhounds in Nood (NL)
- Les Fils Du Vent, (FRA/BE)
- New Graceland, (CH)
- SOS Levriers (FRA)
- WSPA (worldwide)

(Angel’s review) “Being we got there on time, we again got to watch the Joey Defrancesco Trio in action. I found that I enjoyed them more this time, though it was sometimes difficult to see them, through the crowd moving to their seats. We had the added burden that our stairs led to the place where you got onto the floor, so anyone who was seated on the floor, passed our seats on their way down. Joey and trio did a half hour and then the crew set the stage for the band. At around 9PM, there they were.

Steely Dan.”

click image above to continue reading

I saw Steely Dan two weeks ago, Saturday Night at the Greek Theater in Berkeley. I had a great time, nice changes in the set list for the most part - no My ld School (yay!), but no Babylon Sisters either (aww… though they most play most of Gaucho).

And I was so waiting for the “distant lights from across the bay” line, at the top of the lawn where I could see SF across the bay. Oh well, maybe next year…

Here’s the colour I posted on the yellow. Wait… are set lists ok to post here? -SPOILER ALERT- from this point on if you’re avoiding set lists… scroll on past, if you haven’t already…

Beautiful clear summer night in Berkeley California, in foothills of the Berkeley hills, top of the lawn, watching the sun set on the Golden Gate, distant lights from across the bay…

Jazz jam featuring elements of Everyone’s Gone to the Movie, The Fez, Kid Charlemagne, and probably more that slipped by me

Royal Scam - band vamps on intro as D & W walk out. Carlock turns the beat into a subtle reggae, very nice effect.

I Got the News - snarky arrangement… a cool little funky something going on in the verses,

Show Biz Kidz - slow JB (no, not Jeb Bush) groove on this one; same killer arrangement from the last tour, but deeper funk. Devastating version, imho.- lots of chair dancing now (even more impressive without the chairs up on the lawn…). Dr. Walt busted out a smoking solo that started at ROCK volume before being faded back.

Everything You Did - big surprise here! Slow reggae arrangement that worked perfectly from where I was sitting.

Two Against Nature - nice choice I thought, least acknowledging the album. Didn’t seem to catch fire though, imho. The rhythm section in particular seemed a tad too mechanical, so while it was very tight, it didn’t rock. Killer keyboards carried the song though.

Hey 19 - good version, Dr. Walt’s geographically accurate “happy ending” rap was pretty amusing

Godwhacker - return of the lawn dancing, This groove smoked… I was using my friend’s binoculars and I chuckled because I think I saw Dr. Don dancing (!) a little bit while the horn players were trading solos. I just didn’t expect to see him bust a move like that

New Frontier - great to hear… but… frankly, the rhythm section seemed bored. I hate to say it, but it didn’t pop at all… it was all very “professional” and certainly well played, but nobody seemed to be getting off.

And that brings me to my only real criticism of Carlock. I think he’s an outstanding drummer, and incredibly versatile, but there’s times when it’s more like he’s laying a track instead of interacting with the other musicians. Carlock’s technically amazing, with precise tempo, but it’s so precise it gives the impression of going nowhere; the beginning of songs are just like the ending, giving the impression of no momentum building, and little emotional enthusiasm for the song. You know… a sense of drama. But hell, all the other stuff he does so well usually makes all that moot

Harrington blew up on the end solo though

Glamour Profession - just fucking great. Great to hear, well-played, lawn dancing…”illegal fuun… under the suuun, boiz” is one of the all-time rock and roll moments in song

Gaucho - Dr. W on vocals, therefore a different key. It was performed well, but the key change… changed the entire feel of the song for me. And I’m not sure for the better, lol…

Home At Last - dreamy DF intro on this one, reminiscent of his solo tour. I will always love this song, any time, any way they decide to play it… WB [i]owned[/i] this solo, imho

Parker’s Band - ladies night at the Apollo!

Black Friday - slow “Texas” (ala DF) blues shuffle, well-played, but no jump (see New Frontier)

Josie - another cool DF intro, smokin’ version… and during the chord weirdness after the last bridge there was a shooting star over the bay… that was pretty cool, must’ve cost a fortune…

Aja - excellent version. I like it better later in the set like this rather than first song like during the EMG tour, really let you appreciate the epic quality on the song. Harrington took the solo this time.

“Livewire” - band intros

Peg - Freddie Washington playing the Rainey pops perfectly, this was great… great Harrington solo. Really impressed with how he’s carrying “famous solos” on guitar tonight

Kid Charlemagne - big cheer for “San Francisco nights”… seriously, I think Jeff Young and DF play some incredibly funky keyboards together, once again, Harrington…

encore:
Third World Man - dramatic, stately… “famous solo” note for note. Seriously, it was so beautiful I think the crowd was a little stunned., ok, maybe it was just me…

Do it Again - great choice for the last song… same arrangement as the last tour, but still a great version, killer groove, the sound of slot machines everywhere…

and that was that: Three minutes after eleven. Great show… Great set list, definitely one of the better performances as a band I’ve seen them give. I felt they were getting stronger as the night went on… probably could’ve played another half an hour and not even the Berkeley hills residents would’ve minded.

The ladies sounded great. Kinda missed WB later on in the show… Harrington took all the later solos, WB most of the early ones. Easily the best I’ve ever heard Harrington play.

I can honestly say I’ve enjoyed the Dan more every time I’ve seen them.