UND-Pilsa Blog

The incomparable guitarist George Benson has released The Greatest Hits Of All CD and basically it is exactly that.

I’ve got one word to describe this one, Wow!

This is one of the greatest greatest hits CD’s I’ve had the pleasure of reviewing.

Benson has been in the music game for so long I have to admit I had forgotten about some of these outstanding tunes. It’s really a testament to the fact that he has been a true hit maker for over 30 years now. Virtually defining the quiet storm format back in his younger days, and he continues to roll along even today.

A lot of these songs I remember hearing on the radio back in the days when I didn’t really know who was singing or playing them. Not knowing it was George Benson!

With the release of The Greatest Hits Of All, Benson’s artistic excellence is on full display as he mixes his at once smooth and funky guitar playing style throughout the collection.

The CD is packed with 19, I say again nineteen!, of Benson’s chart topping hits from his very long and amazingly outstanding career.

It begins with one of Benson’s best songs of all, This Masquerade and just rolls right through 18 more of what a lot of people will agree are some of the greatest songs we as music fans have heard over the last 30 years.

Benson, with his signature smooth guitar playing, showing why he his now considered one of the greatest artists of our time.

Contributors on the project includes an amazing line up of musicians with whom Benson has collaborated over the years. Industry heavy hitters like Michael Boddicker, Earl Klugh, Phil Upchurch, Marcus Miller, Lee Ritenour and Narada Michael Walden just to name a few, and the list actually goes on and on and on.

Benson’s The Greatest Hits Of All is simply an outstanding collection. If you love music this is not a CD you SHOULD get. It’s one you NEED.

Release Notes:

George Benson originally released The Greatest Hits Of All Time on July 8, 2003 on the Rhino record label.

CD track list follows:

1. This Masquerade
2. Breezin’
3. The Greatest Love Of All
4. On Broadway (Live)
5. Love Ballad
6. Unchained Melody
7. Give Me The Night
8. Love X Love
9. Turn Your Love Around
10. Love All The Hurt Away
11. Never Give Up On A Good Thing
12. Being With You
13. Lady Love Me (One More Time)
14. 20/20
15. I Just Wanna Hang Around You
16. Kisses In The Moonlight
17. Shiver
18. Let’s Do It Again
19. Standing Together

To listen to samples of each song on The Greatest Hits Of All by George Benson go to:
George Benson CD - The Greatest Hits Of All Samples

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Ballerina Music Boxes, inlaid music boxes, musical jewelry boxes, cylinder music boxes, and antique music boxes are delicate and beautiful. As most music box and antique collectors know, in order to preserve them, sometimes repair and restoration is needed. For this special work, it is important to choose a company that is reputable and an expert in this area. This is the second part of an interview with music box and mechaical insturment repair and restoration expert, Mr. Jim Weir

Jim does all kinds of antique musical box repairs and restoration. His work includes comb repairs, releading and tuning, dampering, cylinder repairing, and organ bridge work. Jim also offers all manner of musical box work on disc and cylinder music boxes..Let’s listen as he continues to give us an inside peek of this unique business.

6. What if your least favorite part of running your business? Your favorite part?

“Paperwork. Dealing with taxes and Customs (although I’ve got quite good dealing with Customs and Carriers). My favorite part? There is a satisfaction in finally getting a job finished; there’s also a fair amount of satisfaction in finally getting paid.”

7. What are some of your favorite music box and collectible pieces and why?

“A 26″ consul model Stella. It belonged to the late Bruce Devine and literally arrived in pieces (it had been dropped from a crane while being loaded). Originally Bruce gave it to one of my trade customers, who passed it on to me. Then my trade customer ducked out of the deal, and I ended up working direct for Bruce. It was an `interesting’ experience and quite a steep learning curve. At the end though, the box did sound good. Excellent tune arrangements.”

8. Is there any interesting history associated with some of your pieces?

“I don’t collect musical boxes; without being funny I genuinely cannot afford to. Some of the pieces I’ve worked on have had `history’; as an example the Stella referred to above. Another would be a rare long and short pin Forte-Piano box (maker unknown) I overhauled for a customer in France. It had a silver presentation plaque in the lid; as far as I could gather it was presented to a Mayor in 1847 for some kind of `service to the townspeople’. I’m not up on French politics, but the middle of the 19th century were turbulent times. One of the nicest stories is a box I fully restored for an old lady in Edinburgh. She was in her 70’s. The box had been in her family since new, and she had last heard it play when she was a child.”

9. What important advice or tips would you give to someone who would like to start a business such as yours either online or offline?

“I wouldn’t. Things move faster now that we have the Internet. To get fully involved in this kind of work takes time, which the whole `I want it NOW’ approach of the Internet doesn’t favor. I was lucky in that I had a skill with clocks that I was able to sharpen and direct to music box work. If I had to give advice, I’d say by all means get involved with music boxes, or whatever else begins to drive you, but try to maintain a backup. The wisest thing? Learn that `quitting’ is not necessarily a personal failure; it’s recognizing that some choices can turn out to be wrong. There are maybe a few music box repairers who would be happier now if, 30 years ago, they’d sold their lathes, workshop tools etc. and taken up farming. Not me though, I hasten to add.”

10. For those antique and music box collectors looking to find valuable and interesting pieces for their own collections, where would you suggest they go either online or offline? How about those who are just starting a collection?

“Take advice from your friends. Don’t necessarily follow it, but give it some thought. Subscribe to music box sale catalogues, it’s a good way to check what things actually sell for; they often give the hammer price of items from previous sales. Go to music box auctions if you can; not necessarily to buy anything but to observe, to get a feel not just for how much pieces sell for, but for what sells and what doesn’t. Try to figure out why what looked like a nice box didn’t sell. If you’re really interested in buying a specific musical box, either from a dealer, private seller or at auction it can save you a lot of heartache if you get someone who knows what they’re looking at to check the box over and advise you of likely repair costs before you buy it.

A lot of repair costs can be itemized; if a potential customer emailed or wrote to me (even `phoned me) with a good description of a box needing repair, I would do my best to advise them as to how much the repairs could cost before they part up with maybe a lot of money to buy it. I don’t charge for this and neither do most restorers; having given advice we all hope for the work if the customer goes on and buys the box. If the box is a particularly fine example, and likely to be expensive to buy, it’s can be worth paying a restorers time for them to go and check it out at the sellers address. I’ve done this; a collector armed with an itemized potential repair cost of something he’s interested in buying is in a very strong position when it comes to arguing the sale price with the seller”.

Jim ends with saying this about his hopes for the future:

“To bring in more work and pay off the mortgage. Ok, there’s a lot more to life than that but one way or another, the bills still have to be paid. Most of my work to now has come from dealers; what I’m hoping is that by advertising in the MBSI Journal, I’ll attract more work direct from the public. In theory I could put up my public prices, but in practice I cannot, at least not to customers in the USA. They already have to pay shipping costs, and the simple fact is that whether a musical box needs comb work, cylinder work or a full restoration, there’s a top limit to how much most people will pay to have it worked on, irrespective of how long the work takes. People have to make choices; your car’s broke, your washing machine leaks and the antique music box you inherited from your Grandmother squeaks. Which one do you spend your money on? That’s about it really; the sun’s shining and it’s time to get back to the workshop.”

I’d like to personally thank Jim for taking the time to share with us this valuable information about his business as well as letting us get a sneak peak into the world of music box repairs and restoration. Jim Weir can be reached at combwork@aol.com or by telephone/fax at 01144-1575-572647.

Established in May of 2005, http://www.My-Music-Box.com is a music box gift store specializing in products such as inlaid ballerina music boxes for ballerina rooms décor, whimsical carousel music boxes, and musical jewelry boxes. The company provides interesting information for music lovers of all ages. Owner Monique Hawkins is also the author of the blog “What You Never Knew About Music” http://whatyouneverknewaboutmusic.blogspot.com, and owner of the eBay store “Monique’s Music Box” at: http://stores.ebay.com/Moniques-Music-Box Monique can be contacted at (540) 858-2885.

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Disregard the popular image of rappers with their ghetto blasters, terrorizing neighborhoods with eardrum-splitting cacophony. Consider instead our delightful school bands and orchestras… and ponder on whether those students might be becoming our best future citizens.

Unlikely as it may seem, recent scientific research suggests this hypothesis might actually be true. It appears studying music can, in fact, impact the development of the human personality, especially in the area of socialization. In particular, music education encourages self-discipline and diligence, traits which carry over into other areas.

According to statistics compiled by the National Data Resource Center, students who can be classified as ‘disruptive’ (based on factors such as frequent skipping of classes, times in trouble, in-school suspensions, disciplinary reasons given, arrests, and drop-outs) total 12.14 percent of the total school population. In contrast, only 8.08 percent of students involved in music classes meet the same criteria as ‘disruptive’.

Neurobiologist Norman Weinberger reports on another research study by Martin Gardiner of Brown University. According to Weinberger, writing in the Winter 2000 Issue of MuSICA Research Notes, Gardiner’s study checked the relationship between arrest records of teenagers and their degree of involvement in music. He analyzed a large-scale data base that included information gathered over a period of many years for more than a thousand residents of Rhode Island.

Gardiner tracked people from birth through the age of thirty, and found that the greater the involvement in music, the lower the arrest record. Teens who had music education were less likely to get into trouble than students who didn’t. However, those who were also involved in playing a musical instrument had even fewer brushes with the law. Those who had the most experience, including good sight-reading ability, had a negligible arrest record.

Gardiner’s study, which took place in 2000, is backed by others. The National Association for Music Education publishes a fact sheet on its website which quotes the Texas Commission on Drug and Alcohol Abuse Report. According to the January 1998 report, secondary students who participated in band or orchestra reported the lowest lifetime - and current - use of all substances (alcohol, tobacco and illicit drugs).

And a 1990 study at the National Arts Education Research Center, concluded that students who participated in arts programs in selected elementary and middle schools in New York City showed significant increases in self-esteem and thinking skills.

The results of studies such as these are promising for the future of our society, especially in the light of a 2003 Gallup Poll Survey showing record numbers of Americans now play musical instruments.

This survey - conducted by the Gallup Organization (commissioned by NAMM, the National Association of Music Merchants) - found that Americans are playing musical instruments at the highest levels since 1978.

Just over half, (54 percent), of households surveyed had a member who plays a musical instrument. And in 48 percent of households where at least one person played an instrument, there were two or more additional members who also played.

Ninety-seven percent of respondents agreed that playing a musical instrument provides a sense of accomplishment and encourages expression, and 85 percent believe it makes someone smarter. An equal number regretted not learning to play an instrument and 67 percent said they would still like to learn.

Interestingly, the survey also showed that an increasing number of young people are becoming involved in music, with the percentage of people ages of 5 to 17 who play an instrument at 31 percent, up from 25 percent in 1985.

Of the total respondents a further 27 percent were between the ages of 18 to 24.

Most of those questioned began their music education before their teens with 64 percent saying they started music study between the ages of 5 to 11 and 18 percent between the ages of 12 to 14.

In his highly acclaimed book, A Users Guide to the Brain, Ratey John J, MD notes: “The musician is constantly adjusting decisions on tempo, style, rhythm, phrasing and feeling - training the brain to become incredibly good at organizing and conducting numerous activities at once. Dedicated practice of this orchestration can have a great payoff for lifelong attention skills, intelligence and an ability for self-knowledge and expression.”

Good citizens require many of these same skills in order to live harmoniously with other human beings. So as you move to a new town or take up a new job, it could just be worth enquiring if your neighbors and colleagues are musicians.

Duane Shinn is the author of over 500 music books and music educational materials such as DVD’s, CD’s, musical games for kids, chord charts, musical software, and piano lesson instructional courses for adults. His book-CD-DVD course titled “How To Play Chord Piano” (http://www.chordpiano.com) has sold over 100,000 copies around the world. He holds an advanced degree from Southern Oregon University and was the founder of Piano University in Southern Oregon. Previous to that he worked as an assistant music therapist at DeWitt State Hospital in Auburn, California. He can be reached at http://www.pianolessonsbyvideo.com. He is the author of the popular free 101-week e-mail newsletter titled “Amazing Secrets Of Exciting Piano Chords & Sizzling Chord Progressions” with over 55,000 current subscribers. Those interested may obtain a free subscription by going to http://www.playpiano.com/

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“Hey, I’m looking for a rhythm guitar player for my virtual blues band. Can you play the blues? You can? Great! Would you like to audition? You would? Fantastic! Come on, step into my virtual rehearsal room and meet my virtual band mates. We’ve got a big virtual tour coming up and we desperately need a virtual rhythm guitarist. By the way, what’s your name? Stevie? Nice to meet you Stevie, I’m Pete. Come on, come inside…..”

CUT TO…..

VIRTUAL REHEARSAL ROOM -EVENING

A dimly lit room with graffiti on the walls. The drummer and the bass player are jamming a jazz blues. Pete and Stevie interrupt.

PETE: (Shouting) Guys

They don’t hear him

PETE: (Shouting louder) Guys, QUIET!!!!!!

They stop playing.

PETE: Thank you. This is Stevie. He says he can play the blues.

JAKEY THE DRUMMER: Hi Stevie, I’m Jakey

COLIN THE BASS PLAYER: Yo, I’m Colin

STEVIE: Nice to meet you both.

JAKEY: So you play the blues, huh?

STEVIE: Sure, anybody can play the blues.

PETE: Ok, grab a guitar Steve. We’ll have a jam.

Jakey adjusts his hi-hat. Colin turns the volume up on his amplifier.

COLIN: Ok, how about something simple to start off with.

JAKEY: A 16 bar?

PETE: Sounds good, key of C sharp.

Jakey starts counting in

JAKEY: 1…2…3..

Stevie interrupts

STEVIE: Sorry, a what bar?

PETE: A 16 bar

Stevie has a blank look on his face. Colin and Jakey exchange glances.

PETE: Have you played a 16 bar before?

Stevie shakes his head.

PETE: Ok, erm…I know let’s try an 8 bar blues.

COLIN: Yeah. Let’s do it in A flat

JAKEY: Great! 1….2….3….

STEVIE: (Interrupting) Hold on guys.

Everybody looks at Stevie.

STEVIE: I’m sorry, I’m not too sure how to play an 8 bar.

PETE: I thought you said you could play the blues…

STEVIE: (Angry) Sure I can play the blues. I’ve been playing the blues for years. I grew up playing the blues.

PETE: Erm, ok then, let’s try a minor blues in F sharp.

JAKEY: 1…2…3…

STEVIE: (Interrupting) Er…no

PETE: But you did say you can play the blues.

STEVIE: Course I can play the blues.

COLIN: Ok, your call Stevie, what shall we play?

STEVIE: Well, how about a 12 bar blues in E?

PETE: Yeah, ok. Let’s give it a go. We’ll make it a quick change 12 bar in 12/8 time. Oh yeah and lead in with the turnaround.

JAKEY: 1………..

STEVIE: (Interrupting) Erm…….

Pete, Jakey and Colin are puzzled

PETE: What?

STEVIE: Quick change? 12/8? Lead in with the turnaround?

PETE: But you said you can play the blues.

STEVIE: yeah, well not this sort of blues.

An awkward silence fills the room.

STEVIE: (Embarrassed) Erm…maybe…..I should…er……go

Stevie turns and leaves

Jakey and Colin glare at Pete

PETE: But he said he could play the blues….

Cymbal crash - THE END!

Ok, let’s step out of virtuality and back to reality. I have a question for you…..

If you were in Stevie’s shoes, what would you have answered when asked you if you could play the blues?

Be honest, would you have said yes? I think most guitar players would have. It seems as though a lot of people think the blues is an easy music. Three chords in a 12 bar format. Well, a lot of it is three chords and a lot of it is in a 12 bar format. There is no denying that. But, there is also a lot more to it than most people think.

Let me ask you another question. Once again, answer honestly.

Imagine it was you in the audition room and not Stevie. Could you have played the 16 bar in the key of C sharp? How about the 8 bar or the minor blues? How would you have coped with the turnaround intro or the quick change? Would you have known what 12/8 time was? Would you have been comfortable in the keys that were suggested? C sharp?, A flat? F sharp? Remember, you are being asked to play these things on the spot.

If you answered yes to all the above then, great! You need read no further. Go reward yourself with a jam doughnut, you deserve it. For those of you that answered no to all, or just one of the questions, we need to do some work. Maybe you could argue that “feel” would have got you through the audition. What is this word; “feel?” Well, it’s great to have it, but a bit silly to rely on it. Sometimes we need a little bit more than feel to get us through tough situations. The truth is we need knowledge!

If you are serious about becoming a professional guitar player then you really do need a good knowledge of the blues. It is a language that all musicians love to use. The way to get this knowledge is to work hard and commit yourself to your musical education. A solid understanding of blues progressions is essential to your development. Sorry but a 12 bar in E just will not do.

That’s why we, at Jack Sky Ltd, have produced an excellent blues rhythm guitar study entitled “Blues Progressions.” This 32 page e-Book covers 8 bar, 12 bar 16 bar, minor blues, jazz blues plus many variations of these progressions. It also includes a chord syllabus with chords that are commonly used in blues music. It really is packed with information that will equip you with the skills required to jam with any blues band.

The next time somebody asks “Can you play the blues?” make sure you are in a position to stick out your chest, lift up your head, look em in the eye and reply….”Yes, I play the blues!” Grab this fantastic e-book today. Visit our on-line store at www.jack-sky.com

Knowledge breeds confidence. Confidence will, in turn, create opportunities. Opportunities will bring experience. Experience will bring success!! Here’s to your success! Work hard and feel yourself improve……

Oh, and by the way, can you play the blues………..?

Peter Jones is the Managing Director of Jack Sky Ltd. Based on the banks of the River Mersey in the great city of Liverpool, Jack Sky Ltd is committed to providing quality guitar tutorials to its customers. A warm welcome awaits you at http://www.jack-sky.com

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Bringing music to life is a musician’s job and their joy. Children taking piano lessons can also learn to bring life and artistry into the pieces they are playing once they understand this concept. But how is this communicated to a child who plays mechanically and doesn’t know how to make their pieces sound, well, human?

Here some ways to do this which I do not recommend.

1. Tell the student who has no idea what you are talking about that they play like a machine.

2. Tell the student who has no idea what you are talking about that their playing sounds so terrible they should quit because playing piano just isn’t their forte.

3. Tell the student who has no idea what you are talking about that they are incapable of playing beautiful music on the piano because they just don’t have the personality for it.

I don’t recommend any of these approaches, because only someone who doesn’t have any idea what the problem is would do this. Too bad for them, but this doesn’t have to be you.

Here’s the real issue and what you can do about it. The reason students sometimes don’t understand how to bring their music to life is because they don’t know that they can. Try having this conversation with your child or piano student.

“Sally, do you see this page of music? Do you know what it is?”

Here are the answers that 95 percent of students give.

“Uuuhhmmm….notes?”
“Uuuhhmmmm………music?”
“Uuuhhmmmmm……………my lesson?”

Before I tell you my answer to this question, think about how you would answer it if you were the piano student? Do you have a better one? Here’s mine.

“No Sally, what you are looking at are just ink blots on paper. That’s it. That’s all you see here. There is no life in those ink blots or the paper they are printed on. There is no life in the piano you are playing on. It is just a mechanical device to make sounds. But music has life!!! When you hear a jazzy beat and start to tap your foot or swing to the music, that’s life! When you hear a lullaby and it makes to want to rest, that’s life. Music has power to affect us, but where does that energy come from?”

“Uuuhhmmm….I don’t know?”

“Well, let’s think about this for a moment. The ink blots on the paper aren’t alive, and the piano you’re playing isn’t alive, so what else could bring the music to life?”

“Uuuhhmmm….I don’t know?”

“Are you alive, Sally?”

“Yes!”

“Sure you are alive, and you have the power to bring this music to life.” That’s what learning to play the piano is all about.”

You can do that by putting a little Sally into your playing. You have a great personality, Sally. Let it shine through in your music. Communicate each note like you would tell a personal story of interest to your best friend. It takes hard work and planning to learn to play the piano, Sally, but it also takes a little magic. And you have the magic it takes to bring ink blots on paper to life!”

For great home piano activities parents can use to help children ages 5 to 11 develop their musical talent, visit Piano Adventure Bears Music Education Resources You’ll find a treasure box filled with piano resources to create an exciting musical adventure for your child - right in your own home! Visit their website and subscribe to their f’ree internet newsletter so you can download f’ree piano sheet music and mp3s of original piano compositions.

These exciting stories, games, piano lessons, and inspirational gifts feature the Piano Adventure Bears, Mrs. Treble Beary and her new piano student, Albeart Littlebud. Young students follow along with Albeart to learn what piano lessons are all about in a fun way that kids readily understand appreciate. Click here to visit PianoAdventureBears.com For a wealth of information about piano lessons, visit tallypiano.com

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OThere is a prominent feeling that when a band decides to grow up and write more about real life, adult situations they have become a better band. A good case of this can be seen in the popular pop band blink-182. Often known for their childish themes in songs early in their career, this band focused most of their attention on swear words and being naked in various situations. As their CDs grew in number, however, they began to write about suicide and other various harder topics in their music. Many fans of the band felt they sold out at this same time, becoming too main stream and overlooking fans of their previous work. So this article will address whether making meaningful lyrics goes hand in hand with selling out.

The first thing that has to be addressed is that there are some bands which start out playing meaningful lyrics from their very first single. Because it would be incredibly hard to call someone whose never been anything but mainstream as selling out to the mainstream, we will ignore this group for now.

The truth of the matter is that bands cannot make the same songs over and over again. Why would people continuously spend money on buying new audio CDs and going to concerts if all they were going to hear is the same old thing? That may work for diehard fans, but not the casual ones who pack most of the stadiums and concerts. Bands have to change and adjust, like everyone else in life do, to keep their career promising in the future.

It also doesn’t make sense when people accuse bands of selling out after they sign with big record companies and play on MTV. The truth is that every band is made to make the big bucks and to be famous. By refusing to go mainstream it would be hard for any band to do this.

That being said, making more sensitive and serious lyrics shouldn’t go hand in hand with selling out. While blink-182 may have been happy all the time and felt good enough to not have to write anything but naked humor early, it is likely they witnessed more and more bad events occurring around them as they grew into their later ages. It is hard to keep all your emotions bottled up when you want to express feelings, so it is not a big deal that the band wanted to use harder events in their lyrics. I don’t think that makes them sellouts, even though they are much more of a mainstream band than they used to be.

In the end, blink-182 broke apart and no longer play together anymore. Many fans still existed for the band and they are still looking for a reunion. While this may or may not ever happen, one thing is for sure. The blink-182 who used to have nothing to do but run naked down a street while passing hot girls is probably gone forever. But their lyrics will be something that will touch us all forever.

Joe Kenny is the webmaster at the free music lyrics website, http://www.lyricspost.net.
Visit today: http://www.cardguide.co.uk/

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With the release of For Her Walter Beasley makes his much anticipated debut on the Heads Up record label.

As the story goes the CDs title, For Her, comes as a result of the fact that when Walter first started making it he had just started seeing a new and special woman so it just made sense to him to call it “For Her”. However at some point during the process of completing the project he broke up with “Her”. Walter kept the title because he felt she was the emotional inspiration behind the album.

At any rate this is a Very Smooth, Smooth Jazz CD. One of those CDs that goes great with a fireplace, your favorite bottle of wine and your significant other.

The title track, For Her [track 2] and Don’t Say Good Night [track 6] are tunes that will get anybody “in the mood”.

On Don’t Say Goodnight, and Things Change [track 10] […referring to the break up] Walter lends his vocal capabilities. Which come off silky smooth, just like his sax playing.

Smooth Jazz, and Walter Beasley fans will enjoy the mix between soul and smooth jazz on this release.

Overall this CD is a real pleasure to listen to as Walter certainly does not disappoint, and is in my opinion some of his best work.

The standout tunes are Good Morning [track 4], Grace [track 8], and Let’s Ride [track 9]. My SmoothLee Bonus Pick, and the one that got Sore […as in “Stuck On REpeat”] is track 5, Lost What Ya’ Feelin?. Very nice!

Release Notes:

This CD was originally released May 24, 2005 on the Heads Up label.

CD track list follows:

1. She’s All That
2. For Her
3. Coolness
4. Good Morning
5. What Ya’ Feelin’?
6. Don’t Say Goodnight
7. Remember When
8. Grace
9. Let’s Ride
10. Things Change
11. Playtime

To hear samples of each song on this CD go to Walter Beasley CD - For Her [ www.smoothlee.com/music-samples/walter-beasley-for-her.htm ]

Clyde Lee Dennis, a.k.a. “SmoothLee” has been bumping around on the web since 1999 and is a self described “Web Head, and Life long AVID music fan”. Smooth Jazz Music in particular. In addition to writing CD Reviews for I Love Smooth Jazz.com he is also the Program Director, and can be heard during his daily radio show which airs on one of the internets most listened to smooth jazz radio stations, Smooth Jazz 24/7

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Al Kooper has been involved in a career that has spanned many decades. Born on February 5, 1944, he joined a group called The Royal Teens which found some success with a couple of hit singles. He then engaged in a series of sessions [as a guitarist] and ultimately became a songwriter, co-writing the hit “This Diamond Ring” for Gary Lewis And The Playboys. He went on to form The Blues Project and then found his first taste of true fame as a founding member of Blood, Sweat & Tears. Though he only lasted through one album, Child Is Father To The Man, this brought him enough visibility to venture out as a solo artist.

Here, in late 1976, the keyboardist/guitarist/composer/producer talked about his current solo album, Act Like Nothing’ Wrong, and forayed into his past to describe projects from back in the day.

Steven:
When did you first start playing?

Al:
I first started playing when I was six years old. I sat down at a piano and played ‘The Tennessee Waltz’ on the black keys because that’s the only song I knew. And from that day on I was hooked. We couldn’t afford a piano and the only time I could play is when we’d visit someone who had a piano. So I would not go with my parents to someone’s house unless they had a piano. Finally, they bought one when I was about ten and I went through a myriad of teachers because I played by ear; I had trouble playing technically which still exists today.

I played until I was about fourteen and then I played guitar for years. I quit because it wasn’t real status to play the piano at that time. Piano was like milk, it’s the basic food, the basic instrument. You can figure everything else out off of it. All the horn players in Blood, Sweat & Tears cut me on piano, all the horn players played piano better than I did. Eventually the trombone player [Dick Halligan] took my place on keyboard when I left the band.

When I was a junior in high school, I took private lessons from a guy on Long Island named Gerald Knighter. That was extremely helpful but it was also a tremendous setback in my playing career as he told me I would never be a good player. He quit teaching me piano. I don’t think I’ve ever overcome that; I convinced myself that he was right and I quit ever thinking I could ever play. It hurt me immeasurably [even] today.

Steven:
When did you first start working with Blood, Sweat & Tears?

Al:
Right after I left The Blues Project; there was this kind of glimmer in my eye concept. Actually I didn’t do much playing in that band because I wrote the horn charts and the horn charts is usually what I would have played on the organ or the keyboard and so it didn’t leave me very much to play.

Steven:
Was the idea of using brass in a sort of rock band your idea?

Al:
Yeah, the brass thing was an idea that I had and I wanted to introduce that to The Blues Project but there was no acceptance for it there. I was just turned down cold. And I was writing all these songs that showed up on the first Blood, Sweat & Tears album that were adaptable for brass and that I heard in my head. I heard them [songs] in my head, finished, and they had to have brass, they couldn’t make it with just The Blues Project instrumentation. So I had to quit and put together this band and that was my motivation.

Steven:
What instrumentation were you using on the first BS&T album?

Al:
I bought an organ which I had custom-wired; it was a Hammond and I had little things put on it that I liked. I had the volume pedal removed so it could go anywhere on the floor and I had the stops pre-set to how I wanted them. And I had the thing beefed up so it was louder than a regular one. Of course, this was in ‘67 before they made those chopped up ones. All of us bought instruments when we got the advance from CBS; it’s just that mine was the most expensive. Steve [Khan] got a guitar, Bobby [Colomby] got a set of drums and a couple of the horn players got axes. Nobody really had much money in those days, and so I sort of made a pact with everyone and said, ‘Look, if anyone ever splits the band, they oughta be able to walk with their axe.’ And of course when I got kicked out, they kept the organ. I thought it was terrible, it really pissed me off.

Steven:
Was Super Session the project you went into directly after BS&T?

Al:
Yeah, I didn’t have anything to do and that’s why I did it. Either did Bloomfield; we found out that our careers were amazingly parallel. In that we both played with Dylan, we were both in blues bands, and we both quit them to form horn bands [Bloomfield assembled The Electric Flag]. And we were both kicked out of our horn bands. And so it just seemed that we should come together.

It was very casual, thrown together, hastily assembled album. The thing that’s important about it is that none of us were trying anything, it was just totally relaxed. We didn’t have anything to prove except go in there and play music. And of course it was bigger than anything any of us had out at the time. Before that, I assume we all probably tried too hard.

Steven:
Your first album after Super Session was…

Al:
I Stand Alone, which is why it was called that. OK, after all this shit, here I am by myself now.

Steven:
At this point, did you primarily consider yourself a guitarist, or a keyboardist, a writer, a singer?

Al:
Yes, all except the last one. Yeah, singing was always my weakness. The problem was that the music I’ve always loved and felt was not the voice that God gave me. I always wanted to have a throat transplant with Buddy Miles or something. I love black gospel music more than anything and I just can’t sing it; it’s very frustrating to me. So I do the best I can but it’s sort of useless; I get better at it every year but I’ll never be the thing that I’m imitating.

Primarily, my main instrument is the Hammond B3 organ like they had at Columbia [recording] Studios. There were some ridiculous organs at Columbia in those days; some where the tremolo wouldn’t turn on. I think on some days when we were recording Child Is Father To The Man album, I had a Hammond organ where you couldn’t turn the tremolo on, it just stayed without tremolo. I’d have to use the vibrato for any change but that’s what it was.

Steven:
Did you used to amplify the organs?

Al:
I didn’t really use any amplification. When I used to play with Dylan, I played a Hohner Pianette, and I used it on the Highway 61[Revisited] album. It was the first Hohner electric piano; I remember because they brought it to us to try it out. This girl named Chris White, I think, she’d bring Dylan harmonicas and she’d bring me all these keyboard things. I used it live and on stuff like ‘Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues.’ And I used it in the beginning of The Blues Project and on the first album, Live At The Café Au Go Go.

Then I used a Farfisa organ with The Blues Project because I didn’t have a Hammond organ until Blood, Sweat & Tears. I played the Farfisa about of the way through The Blues Project and then they brought a cheap portable Hammond organ, an L111, and I used that until the end of The Blues Project. It was a big update over the Farfisa but there were sounds I couldn’t get on it that I could get on the Farfisa. The Farfisa was a cool organ. When I think about it, it’s best exemplified by Country Joe & The Fish. They really used it, it was their sound. They were funny organs.

Steven:
In summing up, what is it about your playing that you think most people recognize?

Al:
I use a lot of moving bass lines especially in composing which I got from Dylan; Dylan did that a lot. Like, if you play a C chord, F chord, C chord, F chord, you keep moving your bass up from C, D, E, F, to change what the chord is. You get an almost gospel feeling to it. And I like having chords which do not display the root in them. Probably the two most complicated songs I wrote are on my last album, ‘Missing You’ and ‘Turn My Head Towards Home.’ You can’t really tell what key they’re in because they modulate so much.

Steven:
And you’ve always seemed to approach your music very tongue-in-cheek; you don’t seem to take yourself too seriously.

Al:
I don’t take anything really super seriously. The book is a great platform to unveil my sense of humor. It’s called Backstage Passes and will be out in February [1977]. It’s not serious, great to put down next to the toilet and pick up when you’re getting down to it. It’s just meant to make you laugh, there’s a lot of information and pictures in it, and it’s just not a serious work. All the things that passed before my eyes from 1959 to 1969. I talk about my bar mitzvah at the Hollis Hills Jewish Center on Union Turnpike. Everybody is the same - if you cut my hair off, I look just as nerdy as I did then.

Steven Rosen is a Rock Journalist. Since 1973 he has accumulated over 1000 hours of audio content and 700 articles and interviews…all now available for licensing or purchase.

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Classical music is at once one of the best known and least understood forms of music, and many music fans who feel they would never like classical music are surprised at just how enjoyable it can be.

Of course, classical music can take a great many forms, and not every music fan will appreciate every kind of classical music. To some people, classical music is best enjoyed in a crowded concert hall, with a glass of wine and good company. To others, the best classical music is enjoyed alone, perhaps in a darkened room with a great stereo system. Still others will enjoy making their own classical music in the company of family and friends, perhaps playing their own piano or enjoying a night out.

For those who are unfamiliar with classical music, there are many places to begin your classical education. One of the best places to start to learn about classical music is with your local public radio station. Just about every market in the country has at least one public radio station, and many public radio stations have extensive classical music programming during their broadcast day. In addition, the announcers on these stations are usually quite well versed in all aspects of classical music, so if you have a question about the art form they are a great place to start.

In addition to public radio, the many internet radio stations are a great way to introduce yourself to the world of classical music. There are a great many classical music stations on the internet, including many sub genres, such as classical guitar or classical piano. Scanning the music available at these sources is a great way to explore the breadth of classical music available and get started on your own appreciation.

For some listeners, an appreciation of classical music will come almost immediately, while for others it may take quite some time to develop an ear for the nuance and style that classical music represents. The time you take learning about classic music will be time well spent, though, and you may learn more than you ever intended about one of the oldest forms of music in the world.

Classical music has been with us for centuries, and chances are good that it will be with us for centuries to come. While other forms of music, from country and rock and roll to hip hop and rhythm and blues, may not be around five hundred years from now, chances are good that our great, great, great, great, great grandchildren will still be enjoying piano recitals, chamber music and other kinds of classical music.

For more information on the world of the classical visit http://www.classicalz.com

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Years ago, upon my first-ever arrival in Paris, there was no doubt as to where I would begin my itinerary …

I went immediately to the Pre Lachaise cemetery.

That’s the final resting place of such luminaries as Voltaire, Victor Hugo, Sarah Berhhardt and Chopin. If I had been there during daylight, I’m sure I would have taken my time to pay my respects to each of them and others. However, it was around 1.00am, and this was a pilgrimage to what’s become more of a shrine than a grave.

This is where Jim Morrison of the Doors is buried.

James Dean lived fast and died young. Kurt Cobain had succumbed, by his own hand, to stress and recurrent abdominal pains. Marilyn Monroe took too many pills. Mama Cass choked on that fateful ham sandwich. Keith Moon simply exploded from self-indulgence.

Jim Morrison was different. He lived hard so we didn’t have to.

I believe that there are those among us who live life on the edge for the sole purpose of conveying that experience to everyone else. I don’t think they make a conscious decision to do so, but the circumstances of their existence drew them to it. They embody a collusion of talent, freedom, credibility and forum. From that mixture, fate then intercedes and legends are forged.

This role doesn’t need to end in the ultimate cost of mortality. Look at Lou Reed. An underground poet laureate who was anointed as such by Andy Warhol, Reed could also arguably be called the godfather of punk — a genre which ultimately influences popular music to this day — who then became a Rock-&-Roll Animal before settling into married life and relative tranquility. He’s a writer-cum-musician who returned the value of word economy to lyrics (the Ramones owe a huge debt to him), who lionized the shadowy annals of altered states and culminated it by allegedly shooting heroin on stage. Somehow, the nihilistic creator of Sweet Jane, the opiate chronicler of White Light/White Heat, the dark playwright of Berlin, managed to survive. I’m sure no one is more pleased with that result than him.

Morrison, on the other hand, never seemed to care.

His obsession was with a mystic dimension that seemingly co-existed with visceral reality and his determination was to channel it. This endeavor has been well-accounted both in Danny Sugarman’s book, ‘No One Here Gets Out Alive,’ and Oliver Stone’s cinematic version of it, logically entitled, ‘The Doors.’

Morrison did Break on Through to the Other Side and became The Lizard King. His lifestyle and lyrics served as a catalyst for both new age and outrage. The Doors framed his visions in catchy tunes that were a cornerstone of their era. Their music worked for breezy listening, for intense audiophilia and for all levels in between. When Morrison would sing, “I woke up this morning and got myself a beer,” there was no doubting his presence in the original Hard Rock Café and that breakfast was going to be his lightest meal of the day.

With a legacy like that, I guess it’s no surprise that rumors circulated about the French authorities wanting to evict him from such an esteemed cemetary as Pre Lachaise. However, during my visit, I was told by a watchful gendarme that the graves were purchased in perpetuity, so he and his colleagues would man many a midnight patrol to monitor the Morrison mourners. From what I saw and have come to know, that is a full-time nocturnal posting.

Even at the late hour, I was one of around a dozen who surrounded Morrison’s headstone. Someone’s ghettoblaster churned through a litany of Doors songs, candles and flashlights provided an eerily appropriate atmosphere, and even though a strong waft of 60s-ish aroma was ever present, the constables kept their distance as long as the tokers kept themselves discreet. The composition of the entourage was constantly changing; the comings and goings were hardly acknowledged. Instead, the conversations were perpetual and free-form. On occasion, someone would recall a personal memory involving a Doors song, but preferred topics were more along the lines of the consciousness Morrison seemed intent on raising. Lyrics were analyzed and musical passages were toasted. All of this was done in hushed tones, not necessarily out of respect, but because no one wanted to upstage the ghettoblaster’s ongoing soundtrack.

I was there for two hours. No one exchanged names or details. There were different points of view expressed, but no arguments. Literary references and musical influences peppered the dialog with a subtle intensity that would have made him proud. The effect of everyone’s comments seemed both thoughtful and theraputic, as they put Morrison’s escapades and compositions into deep personal perspectives; there was no doubt he had indeed, in some manner, become an extension of each of their lives and they felt they were enriched because of it.

My lasting memory of that night was the notion that Jim Morrison probably would have preferred being the focal point for those introspective testaments rather than for the massive din of a Doors concert.

If so, maybe that meant he finally got what he wanted. In a way, then, so did we.

Copyright 2006 - The Longer Life Group

J Square Humboldt is the featured columnist at the Longer Life website, which is dedicated to providing information, strategies, analysis and commentary designed to improve the quality of living. His page can be found at http://longerlifegroup.com/cyberiter.html and his observations are published three times per week.

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