Avant-garde Jazz, American Idol, and The Form of No-Form

Just returned from a Tuesday night at Hotti Biscotti where the music is free-form or avant-garde jazz - or simply "improvised music". There is quite an art to experiencing this type of music and it took me a little while to get a grip on it. I used to think that this type of music was self-indulgent and intended for the enjoyment of the players rather than the listeners. Not true. Consider this : In "conventional music" of any style, the musicians play for the audience and basically go through established forms and routines. No matter how brilliant a particular soloist is, he is always backed by the familiar patterns of that genre. Consequently, not a whole lot is required of the audience, because they can sit there and evaluate the music on comfortable, well-known terms. However, in improvised music, everything is brand new - especially to the musicians themselves. So, the audience must get involved and follow closely. Otherwise it is just noise. As listeners, we have to organize sound into patterns - however loose and vague. In regular music, most of this is done for us. But in avant/free-form/improv/blow-your-mind music YOU HAVE TO PARTICIPATE !

Another thing about listening to this music is that you realize there are very few fundamentals to any kind of music in the first place. There is tonality and rhythm. These two units are about all there is to The Form Of Music. In Zen Buddhism, there is a concept called "the form of no-form" and I am always reminded of this philosophical insight when listening to challenging and bold music. All is in the elements and when you scrutinize it closely, there is no form, but "no-form".

Which, improbably leads me to American Idol. No, I'm not going to trash that show. I merely want to point out a humorous link between one of the smallest audiences possible (like improv-jazz) and one of the largest in the world (American Idol). On tomorrow night's show (2/21/07), America and the world will hear a young woman named Leslie Hunt. She is the daughter of Steve Hunt - a Tuesday night regular behind the drum-kit at HB. Yes, the musical torch has been passed from father to daughter and Leslie will attempt to catch the attention of a has-been studio bassist, a smarmy British guy and a chick who's either really crazy, or really smart. Or perhaps, my idea of a perfect woman. No idea what song Leslie will sing, but here's hoping she knocks it out of the park.

Anyway - we wish her well and have our TiVo's set on STUN.

A Difficult Return

OK - I don't know what the hell Blogger is thinking with this "new and improved" version with Google getting involved. I could not for the life of me sign in here, until I signed in on a different blog (on this same site) and THEN came back here and signed in to SSP. I fail to see the logic in this, but what the hell - I'm an artist, not an engineer.

Been a long time, I know. Since November, actually.

A brief re-cap:

October to December - Back trouble that wouldn't go away. Like Vicodin-level back pain. Thank you Doctor for the generous re-fill. It was needed. Much better now. Pain-free and drug-free also.

Then came the holidays and I didn't even think of posting. After that, a nice cold/sinus infection that laid me out for a couple of weeks. Finally over that, too.

Throughout this time period, I considered the fate of SSP. Should I just abandon it ? Or should I launch a second blog that will feature my poetry only, and maintain SSP for other writers and things that I want people to notice. In the end, this seemed like too much work. I will stay with SSP in it's current format. Sometimes I will share a poem, sometimes I will share a link to something cool/weird/idiotic, etc.. Other times I will let loose with a commentary that will leave the real world entirely unaffected but will make me feel better anyway.

And so you have it. Nearly three months off and nothing has changed. Such is life, sometimes.

Two really nice things have happened to me personally, though.

ONE - The baseball team that I have followed and cheered for and fretted over and worried about and prayed for all these years - from childhood to today - finally went all the way into October and WON IT ALL ! And they did it by working through the injuries. They did it despite everyone saying they couldn't. They did it as underdogs. They beat probably the best team in baseball in 2006 (The Detroit Tigers) and it only took them FIVE GAMES. I love my St. Louis Cardinals and I love the example they set by never giving up and by pulling together as a team. The Cardinals ROCK.

TWO - I have discovered one of the best poets I have ever read - an American voice, authentic and real. She is from Kentucky and the images she creates are stunning. I will devote an entire entry just to her, complete with a link to her site. She is remarkable - trust me.

Time to go now. See you sooner than three months from now - I promise.