Now that the tax season is officially over (even though I was presented an additional 6 ‘opportunities’ last night after midnight), I will recount some funny things that occupy the rest of my year.
Continue reading Priority Practitioner Line
I am sure you all know that I am not really a fan of country music. Oh, sure, I got sucked into the genre living in Charlottesville. (Thank you, Bellamy Brothers, for my theme song- “He’s an old hippy and don’t know what to do….”)
When I moved to Charlottesville (VA) way back in 1976, I knew I was in for a major life change. Despite the way I thought the modern world worked, Charlottesville was a remnant of the old South.
Continue reading Will lightning strike twice?
Oh, gracious! I thought it was just me. But, now I’m backed by science!
You see, I always thought it was just because I was Jewish that my nerves were on edge with the incessant Christmas music playing everywhere comes the day after Thanksgiving (or even earlier). I was sure it was because when I grew up in Forest City, where all the neighbors’ homes had speakers blaring out songs that I really never learned. Or, when I walked into a store, only to be greeted not by a salesperson, but by the sounds of a Christmas Carol or ditty. And, no, I didn’t care if the songs were written by Jewish folks or not.
Continue reading Stop the Music!!!!!!
Way, way back when I was about 7 years old, I was mesmerized with a new arrangement of Count Basie’s music. Not done by the Count himself, but a group (that I learned much later on) was called Lambert, Henricks, & Ross (LHR). What they had done was overdub all the Basie Project’s music, recreating the concept of the big band sound using only their voices. By the time I knew the group’s name, the album had been redone- with Count Basie playing along. LHR was generally considered to be the most influential singing group in jazz history. (It was also one of the first integrated groups, to boot!)
I had a meeting the other day with a very talented musician. He’s been preparing a brand new album and he wants to begin operating as a real business.
One of the issues always brought up by companies when pressed to raise the wages of their employees is that productivity is not increasing.
Continue reading The 50 Second Waltz?
I’ve loved jazz since I was a very little boy. I have no idea what makes its sounds resonate in my soul, but they do. And, today, I am lamenting the loss of my childhood favorite, Edie Hart. (Yes, she had reddish hair, too!)
Continue reading Edie Hart- MIA for years- found dead
Leonard Bernstein. Arthur Fielder. Michael Tilson Thomas. Marvin Hamlisch. Marin Alsop.
I always made sure I attend(ed) as many concerts led by these folks as I could. But, while I enjoyed their musical performances, I could never put my finger on exactly what made these folks such great musical leaders.
Continue reading Ah-one, ah-two!
I’ve always been a great fan of Big Band music and Jazz. So, I was only slightly surprised to hear Herbie Hancock explain the confluence of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) and jazz. He strongly believes that there is an intrinsic link between building things and playing music. Which, of course, means that our schools’ idea of cutting music from the curriculum is not helping our kids with STEM education.
Continue reading Music is part of STEM?
