Among the more attractive performances scheduled in the near future in the Boston
area are the ones listed below.
With the exception of some gigs that feature Magazine Cover (MC) groups (which can range
in quality from very good to terrible), the gigs listed below are ones that I
wish I could attend.
And—if time and
circumstances permit—I will be there.
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For now some locations indoors are open for music performances. Distancing and mask restrictions apply. If people exhibit safe behaviors, such gigs may not be shut down. Let's hope things improve soon.
If you thought Trump's first administration was a nightmare, you ain't seen nothing yet.
Update (11-18-24): I hope you have
your copy of the Project 2025
document handy. Trump just announced
that Brendan Carr will be running (or, perhaps better-worded, running into the
ground) the Federal Communications Commission.
If you turn to page 845 of the Project
2025 document you will notice Mr. Carr has written what he plans to do when
he takes over the FCC. The rest of the
document is quite foreboding as well.
Update (12-5-24): And the hits just keep coming. As The
New York Times (12-5-24,
pages 16 and 17) points out, no fewer than seventeen of the more than sixty
potential members of his cabinet and other senior-level positions (in some
cases pending confirmation) of the incoming administration are associated with
the America First Policy Institute or Project 2025. But there’s more. Journalists Karen Yourish, Lazaro Gamio, and
Ashley Wu catalogue seven other sets of affiliations of note. And in each case they name names. So in the case of the Project 2025 document, you can find where in the document that
particular right-winger contributed his or her “wisdom.”
The
Times also includes a fine
graphic (republished above) that helps you understand the overlap of
affiliations among people in different right-wing groups. Of course, the above reproduction is lacking
in detail; you would do well to go to the original published article. But even without the detail, you will notice
that there are some people with connections to two or more groups. For example, Vivek Ramaswamy both held events
at Mar-a-Lago and has Fox News affiliations.
Getting back to the buddies at the America First Policy Institute and
Project 2025, these folks are pushing right-wing Christian authoritarianism, wanting
to make that form of church-going essential for governance of America. In other words, there would be no separation
of church and state, whether you like that church or not. In addition, people of that mind set tend to
ignore the fact that several of our founding fathers were Deists. Those who are aware have come up with the
fabrication that Deists were Christians.
Thomas Jefferson was so concerned about Christian doctrine that he was
compelled to build a "wall of separation between church and state." Wikipedia, quoting scholarly sources says, “Though he had a lifelong esteem for Jesus'
moral teachings, Jefferson did not believe in miracles, nor in the divinity of
Jesus.” The right-wing Christian
authoritarians can fabricate all they want, but it is the Deist Jefferson who
warned us about those Trumper “Christians.”
1/11 – The Dan Rosenthal/Eric Hofbauer Quartet at 8 p.m. (MP) – The trumpeter and guitarist have
shared the stage many times in a variety of contexts. On this evening they will be joined by
surprise bassist and the rock solid Austin McMahon on drums. It should be fine evening of music at
Peabody Hall, Parish of All Saints, 209 Ashmont Street, Dorchester ($20/$10/free
for people under 18)...
1/14 – Point01Percent presents a fine improvising
quartet followed by Construction Party at 7:30 p.m. (PA) - The first set
presents Anna Webber (sax/flute), Anthony Coleman (piano), Bruno Råberg (bass),
and Eric Rosenthal (drums). Then at
approximately 8:30 Construction Party takes the stage with Dave Rempis (one or
more saxophones), Forbes Graham (trumpet), Pandelis Karayorgis (piano), Nate
McBride (bass), and Luther Gray (drums).
It should be a challenging, engaging evening at the Lily Pad, where
pandemic regulations apply ($15)...
Every Monday – Monday night at the Lily Pad returns with Jerry Bergonzi, Phil Grenadier, guest bassist, and Luther Gray. Then The Fringe Duo, John Lockwood and George continuing the fire no doubt inspired by the memory of Bob Gullotti. It begins around 8:30 pm and continues forever ($15 per group; $10 students)…
Ongoing – Non-Event online Music – Performances at various times plus an archive of music (PA) – Non-Event is offering music via online audio files and video files plus real-time performances. The emphasis is on new music, some of which is improvised music. For example, Matt Samolis (who unfortunately for us moved from Boston to central Massachusetts) is presenting his bowed cymbal meditation recorded on May 1, 2020. Keep in mind, money helps support these events. The URL is: http://www.nonevent.org/
If you would like to read Science News’ fine coverage of the pandemic and its implications (including dozens of articles so far), go to the site’s page of coronavirus feature articles. On that page also is information about how to receive that publication's coronavirus update newsletter twice each week. Science News will try to answer your questions at feedback@sciencenews.org. …
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Key codes: The abbreviation in parentheses following the name of the event or
band/musician performing indicates roughly the type of music that you can
expect if you go to the gig.
MC=
Magazine Covers. These musicians/bands
are popular with jazz fans and therefore often find their photos on the covers
of jazz magazines. This type of band may
or may not be any good qualitatively.
However, many fans like to know “what’s hot.”
MP=Mainstream/Post-Bop. This is the music that most people think of
today when they think of jazz. It runs
the gamut from Parkeresque bebop and Websterish ballads to the post-bop work of
people such as Bergonzi and Lovano.
PA=Post-Ayler. This is Anthony Braxton’s term for all the
adventure that came out of Ayler, Ornette, Cecil and others (including Mr. Braxton,
of course). In some ways it is the most
diverse jazz and jazz-rooted music being performed today, including everything
from near zero dB whispers (e.g., undr, John Tilbury) to eardrum demolishing
walls of sound (Keith Rowe, a ton of stuff from Japan) to performances built on
combinations of composed and improvised material (Liberation Orchestra, Charlie
Kohlhase’s ensembles) to completely improvised offerings
(Evan Parker, Laurence Cook).
S=Swing. It don’t mean a thing… Maybe “nothing” means “anything” if you are a
fan of swing. Sadly, fine swing music
seems to be approaching extinction, at least in the Boston area clubs. The reasons are obvious and elusive. The great names of Swing (such as Lunceford
and Barnet) have passed on and taken almost all of their band mates with
them. In addition, in spite of the fact
that some of the finest music of the swing era was produced by the combos
of Goodman and Basie (among others), people continue to think of swing in terms
of large (and therefore economically untenable) ensembles. You can find it happening in some dance
halls, but mostly at weddings and Bar Mitzvahs.
For years such names as Whitney, Winniker, and Hershman have held the
fort in the Boston
area. But you’ve got to keep your eyes
peeled.
T=Two-beat/Trad. Some of the finest contemporary two-beat jazz
anywhere has been nurtured and grown in Eastern
Massachusetts since the 1970s.
Everyone knows about the New Black Eagles, and a host of other musicians
are held in equally high esteem around here.
Some of the better-known are Jimmy Mazzy, Stan McDonald, Jeff Hughes,
and Guy Van Duser. Unfortunately for
city dwellers, two-beat jazz (and, to a lesser extent, the blues) has moved to
the suburbs. But the best of it is worth
the drive.