Category: Jazz

Books, Music, and Film to Wake Up Your Muse and Help You Change the World, JazzLeave a comment

Something More Beautiful and Human Than the Dominant Madness

wandawaterman@themindfulbard.com

The Mindful Bard: The Signal by Wanda Waterman The Voice Magazine, Volume 22 Issue 40 2014-10-10 Album: The Signal Artist: Elizabeth Shepherd “I believe in God, as mother. She’s good to me and keeps me going. I’m aware of how dysfunctional and unjust our world is, and I feel the need to use my musical platform to try to bring some joy—something more beautiful and human than the dominant madness.” – Elizabeth Shepherd in an interview with Wanda Waterman, June 2013 I first heard of singer, pianist, and composer, Elizabeth Shepherd from her publicist just before her appearance at the … Continue reading Something More Beautiful and Human Than the Dominant Madness

Books, Music, and Film to Wake Up Your Muse and Help You Change the World, Gregor's Bed, Jazz1 Comment

The Fruitful Marriage of American Jazz and the Avante Garde, Part I

wandawaterman@themindfulbard.com

by Wanda Waterman The Voice Magazine, Volume 22 Issue 35 2014-09-05 “Late one evening, outside the Open Door in Greenwich Village, [Charlie] Parker, shuffling along in a pair of old carpet slippers, bumped into Jackie McLean. . . ’I want you to kick me in the ass, Jackie McLean, for letting me get myself in this position,’ Bird commanded, bending over … A few days later Parker borrowed McLean’s sax to make an out-of-town gig, a sax McLean had himself borrowed from a friend; Parker pawned it.” – from Birth of the Cool: Beat, Bebop, and the American Avant Garde, … Continue reading The Fruitful Marriage of American Jazz and the Avante Garde, Part I

Books, Music, and Film to Wake Up Your Muse and Help You Change the World, Jazz3 Comments

Japan’s Compact Jazz Powerhouse Swings Like Nobody’s Business

wandawaterman@themindfulbard.com

The Mindful Bard: Alive by Wanda Waterman The Voice Magazine, Volume 22 Issue 26 2014-06-27 Album: Alive Artist: Hiromi “I think music in itself is healing. It’s an explosive expression of humanity.” – Billy Joel “Occasionally in life there are those moments of unutterable fulfillment which cannot be completely explained by those symbols called words.” – Martin Luther King, Jr. I remember an English professor at Dalhousie who taught us that if we had a thought that we couldn’t put into words, perhaps we should consider that it wasn’t really a thought. At the time this made perfect sense. But … Continue reading Japan’s Compact Jazz Powerhouse Swings Like Nobody’s Business

Books, Music, and Film to Wake Up Your Muse and Help You Change the World, INTERVIEWS, JazzLeave a comment

Organically Honing the Art of Jazz

wandawaterman@themindfulbard.com

In Conversation With Michael Gauthier, Part I by Wanda Waterman The Voice Magazine, Volume 22 Issue 26 2014-06-27 “One of the things I like about Jazz, kid, is I don’t know what’s going to happen next. Do you?” – Bix Beiderbecke “Ahhh, those Jazz guys are just makin’ that stuff up!” – Homer Simpson Michael Gauthier is a Montreal-based musician who teaches jazz guitar at the University of Montreal and at McGill University. A fixture of the Montreal jazz scene, his memory houses a vast and irreplaceable knowledge of the history of jazz in Montreal since the sixties. Recently he … Continue reading Organically Honing the Art of Jazz

INTERVIEWS, JazzLeave a comment

In Conversation With Jack Malmstrom, Part II

wandawaterman@themindfulbard.com

by Wanda Waterman the Voice Magazine, Volume 22 Issue 21 2014-05-23 “Jazz washes away the dust of every day life.” – Art Blakey Jack Malmstrom is the swing clarinetist who put together Jack’s Cats, a vintage-style jazz sextet based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, that also includes keyboardist Gordon Fader, guitarist Dylan Quinn, bassist Mark Roberts, drummer Dave Skinner, and vocalist Kitty Farmer. The project, which quite successfully revives the “pre-bland” portion of the big band era in music, has also attracted the participation of some of the best jazz names in Atlantic Canada, including Holly Arsenault, Adam Fine, Mike Lee, … Continue reading In Conversation With Jack Malmstrom, Part II