Lots of good shows around Albuquerque/Santa Fe recently. Richard Thompson at the Kimo in Albuquerque was quite good, and he's probably one of the best guitarists living. Son Volt at Santa Fe Sol put on an excellent show (July 12); they sound more and more like a country band these days. But the really amazing show was Stanley Clarke, July 21st at the Lensic in Santa Fe.
Stanley is unquestionably a virtuoso, and may be the best bassist I've ever seen, though people like Buster Williams and Dave Holland make it difficult to compare. His walking-bass playing is surely the best I've seen. His solos are phenomenally inventive, and not just flashy but full of heart. He played acoustic for most of the night, only using the electric bass in the encore, with references to his classics School Days and Rock and Roll Jelly. He played some Return to Forever material, but most of the set list was new, and fantastic stuff. The kind of jazz that makes your hair stand on end. It had the standard jazz form of theme statement followed by a series of solos, recapping the theme at the end, but otherwise there was nothing much predictable about it.
On top of all that, it seems he's an excellent bandleader, the kind of guy who's a joy to work for. (I had the same impression of John McLaughlin a couple years ago.) His band consisted of three other virtuosos, and the excellent violinist Zach Brock was the least of them. He sounded a great deal like Jerry Goodman with the Mahavishnu Orchestra, but didn't leave that neighborhood much. John Beasley on keyboards was consistently startling, just about as inventive as Stanley. The astonishing thing which made the show most memorable was the drummer - 18-year-old Mike Mitchell. This cat is a cross-dresser, or at least a really weird dresser, and has a perfectly ridiculous hairdo. Stanley's first words about him were, "Don't let the hairdo fool you." Well, it didn't fool anybody. He could wear a Mr. Potato suit and it wouldn't matter. In his first few minutes of playing, I was thinking it sounded like he had the Max Roach style down pretty well. Before long he had gone way beyond that. I've seen Buddy Miles, Billy Cobham, Carl Palmer, many other great drummers, but the only ones who outshone Mike Mitchell were Cindy Blackman and McCoy Tyner's drummer Aaron Scott. Give Mike 5 years or so, and who knows?
Stanley took a 10-minute bass solo towards the end of the show loosely based around 'Spanish Phases' from his early Stanley Clarke album (his 2nd I think). It was mesmerizing, but then he let his drummer outshine him with a 10-minute solo of his own which was as unpredictable as it was delightful. He even featured Mike more than himself in the encore. A very generous man.
All'n'all, a top-drawer show for sure, which pleased the audience and the band about equally. If Stanley comes to your town, don't think twice.
Sunday, July 28, 2013
Monday, July 1, 2013
Democracy in Egypt
Today I have been very much inspired by the behavior of the people of Egypt (it isn't the first time), and I mentioned to a friend that my faith in human nature was given a boost. At the same time, I'm painfully aware of my fellow USAns' near-universal belief that democracy consists of being allowed to choose between two candidates for office, and almost nothing else; we're expected to "vote" with our money by choosing what products to buy, for example. Yet I can truthfully say that in my adult life I have not yet been asked, or allowed, to vote on anything important.
The Egyptians apparently clearly understand that in a democracy the will of the people is sacred. They know that an elected President must serve all parts of the population, that winning a vote is not a winner-take-all situation, but the assuming of the responsibility to build a concensus. And, it seems, they refuse to be ruled by those who do not understand these things any more.
USAns, on the other hand, seem generally to believe that if the Senate 'votes' to abolish candy, and condemn those who eat it as 'enemy masticants', we have to live with it, because after all we elected the psychos.
I like to go back to the basics; it's refreshing. Here's a few:
Secrecy in government is completely incompatible with democracy. This means that all public servants sacrifice their privacy when they serve. The rest of us keep ours.
Democracy and empire are incompatible. The Romans proved this a while back.
Capitalism is not incompatible with democracy, as long as every individual, every clan, community, and polity, has the protected right to approve or ban actions by corporations that affect them. That is, charters of all corporations must be subject to review by all communities in which they operate. Corporations as tools of people can be very useful, and make many things possible that would not be otherwise. Corporations that make tools of people absolutely must be abolished, as they have abundantly proven their hostility to life.
Every government is a corporation. (By the way, did Marx really fail to realize this? Communists in general seem oblivious of it.) Any corporation out of the control of the people thinks only of its own perpetuation and growth. This applies to every undemocratic government, which includes most named democracies.
The United States has never been fully a democracy, though we had a good chance at it in recent history (1972-1980, in my estimation). That chance is long lost. The ruling class rules but no longer has any class. They openly mock the will of the people, and brag of being rich as if it were the same as being wise. (Do you hear me, Joe Biden? BabyDoc Bush? Nancy Pelosi?) These sociopathic "leaders" (see Eugene Ionesco for the best definition of Leader) command by force and fraud the respect their behavior could never inspire, and by virtue of their meritless authority prevent any humans less inferior than themselves from aspiring to even the humblest reforms. It's been said a lot, but I'll say it too because it's true; brothers and sisters, we're screwed. But so what? People have been screwed throughout most of history. If it brings on despair, just think about how very not alone you really are.
There's always someone to talk to. They might be in Egypt, though.
I haven't figured out how to post a song in here yet - I'm a tech-tortoise. But if you can find it, go listen to John Kruth's "Here When You're There", and wipe the frown off.
For now, till later, what then,
Justin
The Egyptians apparently clearly understand that in a democracy the will of the people is sacred. They know that an elected President must serve all parts of the population, that winning a vote is not a winner-take-all situation, but the assuming of the responsibility to build a concensus. And, it seems, they refuse to be ruled by those who do not understand these things any more.
USAns, on the other hand, seem generally to believe that if the Senate 'votes' to abolish candy, and condemn those who eat it as 'enemy masticants', we have to live with it, because after all we elected the psychos.
I like to go back to the basics; it's refreshing. Here's a few:
Secrecy in government is completely incompatible with democracy. This means that all public servants sacrifice their privacy when they serve. The rest of us keep ours.
Democracy and empire are incompatible. The Romans proved this a while back.
Capitalism is not incompatible with democracy, as long as every individual, every clan, community, and polity, has the protected right to approve or ban actions by corporations that affect them. That is, charters of all corporations must be subject to review by all communities in which they operate. Corporations as tools of people can be very useful, and make many things possible that would not be otherwise. Corporations that make tools of people absolutely must be abolished, as they have abundantly proven their hostility to life.
Every government is a corporation. (By the way, did Marx really fail to realize this? Communists in general seem oblivious of it.) Any corporation out of the control of the people thinks only of its own perpetuation and growth. This applies to every undemocratic government, which includes most named democracies.
The United States has never been fully a democracy, though we had a good chance at it in recent history (1972-1980, in my estimation). That chance is long lost. The ruling class rules but no longer has any class. They openly mock the will of the people, and brag of being rich as if it were the same as being wise. (Do you hear me, Joe Biden? BabyDoc Bush? Nancy Pelosi?) These sociopathic "leaders" (see Eugene Ionesco for the best definition of Leader) command by force and fraud the respect their behavior could never inspire, and by virtue of their meritless authority prevent any humans less inferior than themselves from aspiring to even the humblest reforms. It's been said a lot, but I'll say it too because it's true; brothers and sisters, we're screwed. But so what? People have been screwed throughout most of history. If it brings on despair, just think about how very not alone you really are.
There's always someone to talk to. They might be in Egypt, though.
I haven't figured out how to post a song in here yet - I'm a tech-tortoise. But if you can find it, go listen to John Kruth's "Here When You're There", and wipe the frown off.
For now, till later, what then,
Justin
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