Hump Day Notes: The GOP

Ok, why did Rep. Phil Gingrey(R) of Georgia apologize for the comments he made criticizing Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh. In response to the right wing TV and radio hosts’ attacks on the republicans in the House and Senate, Gingrey said, "I mean, it’s easy if you’re Sean Hannity or Rush Limbaugh or even sometimes Newt Gingrich to stand back and throw bricks,"…. You don’t have to try to do what’s best for your people and your party." It seems to me he was telling the truth, however he drew a lot of fire from his constituents in the conservative NW corner of Georgia. I have nothing against conservatives but they better catch up with the changing landscape. Right now, they are as last century as the PLO. Their heroes (Hannity and Limbaugh) are clowns and their convention looked like Bingo night.
It isn’t good for any of us to see the GOP fail. As it is, we only have two “viable” political parties in our country. If one goes under what a disaster that would be…

Thursday Night @ Deity: Twilight Sessions

This Thursday night at the lovely lounge Deity, from 8pm until...DJ Selly and the Ubiquita Family will be hosting their Thursday night Twilight Sessions party. Please come down and experience excellent music in one of Brooklyn's premier venues.

I wish i was there...

Right now, at this very moment, I wish I was on the beach! And I bet now you do too. Not just any beach however. I wish I was in Santa Teresa, Costa Rica.

Santa Teresa is located on Costa Rica’s northern Pacific coast on the edge of the tropical jungles. It’s kind of remote and there are no paved roads but a cheap rented SUV will suffice or there are shuttles that regularly leave the Puntarenas ferry dock. http://www.nicoyapeninsula.com/general/boat.html

I traveled there a couple of winters ago and fell in love with the most beautifully, natural place I had ever been. The Santa Teresa Surf camp is made up of a number of beach front cabanas, all with their own kitchenette and shower. The hammock on your front porch is perfect for just kicking back in the early evening and just soaking it all in
The surfers, who made the journey, would wake up at 5am to surf as the sun rose. Most would then sleep until late in the afternoon, waking up in time to surf at dusk, which was the next high tide. After the last session of the day, everyone would eat and drink through the early evening and then turn in early to repeat the cycle. I was impressed at the spiritual nature of the true surfer lifestyle and how at peace they were with nature and themselves.

Fatou on Paris

Views from both sides

No matter where you reside on the political sphere, the loss of innocent life should bother you. I would like to think that we as humans have not totally lost our "humanity", where ideology and fundamentalism is more important than life. The majority of us have not, however it is not a good sign when you hear the actors justifying the killing of innocent children. One side claims they have no other way to fight the enemy’s oppression while the other side claims they have a right to defend themselves by any means. Maybe I am naïve but I have to believe that there must be a better way. Maybe, we have left both sides to their own devices long enough. The international community must intercede against the wills of the warring factions when the conflict starts to affect the broader world. Lets not kid ourselves, 9/11 was an indirect result of the Israeli/Palestinian situation if nothing is done, and this is eventually going to be the flashpoint to a much larger battle that may end everything.

The unrest in the Middle East is so complicated that it is hard to see it ever being resolved by normal diplomatic methods. The thin line between who is right and who is wrong seems to be too blurry.

Here are points of view from both sides.

E-Interview: Jaleel Shaw

We got a young lion of Jazz, Jaleel Shaw, to talk about his latest album as well as other things in a recent email conversation...

LCF:Let me ask you something…What are you presently listening to?


JS:Right now I'm listening to alot of Sonny Rollins. Mostly bootlegs of live recordings actually. To me, he was one of the greatest improvisers of all time. I'm also listening to alot of Keith Jarrett, JDilla, and Qtips new album Renaissance,

Knowing you for practically your whole life, I know you have had many musical influences. What musical or life experiences influenced your latest work, "Optimism"?


Well, for this album I basically drew from all of my influences from many genres... So I can say everything from the music of John Coltrane, Wayne Shorter, and Andrew Hill, to music by J Dilla, A Tribe Called Quest, Radiohead, and the music of West Africa.


Since you have been playing with jazz great Roy Haynes, what is the most valuable bit of knowledge has he offered you concerning your technique?


Roy always wants to make sure I know the right melody for the songs we play. Many times if he asks me what I want to play before we go on, he'll ask me to play the melody. If I make a mistake, we'll go over it until I get it right... Sometimes he even asks me to sing the lyrics...

Ok man, this is my last question! If you could put together your dream ensemble for just one gig, who would you include and what would be the venue?? That's a hell of a last question, huh??


That's difficult... there are a couple bands I'd like to play in... One would be a Quartet with Mulgrew Miller, Christian McBride, and Brian Blade. I would also like to play with Herbie Hancock, Steve Nelson, Dave Holland, and Brian Blade in a quartet.


To be honest, I love playing with my band... Lage Lund on guitar, Johnathan Blake on Drums, Ben Williams on Bass, and Aaron Goldberg or Aaron Parks on Piano
I also play trio sometimes with Dwayne Burno and Johnathan Blake or Nasheet Waitts on drums... Those have been some fun gigs... Sometimes we play with Mark Turner on Tenor too.



(haha! Part 2 of the last question) And why?


These are all some of my favorite musicians. I've been a fan of Steve Mulgrew and Herbie for years. They are extremely melodically creative musicians that I know I could learn so much from and have so much fun playing with.
Blade, Johnathan Blake, and Nasheet Waits are 3 of my favorite drummers. I think Blade is a very sensitive player. His sense of dynamics is immaculate. He's always listening. Johnathan Blake is like a brother to me. We've been playing together for over 15 years, so he knows my every move, swings hard and supports me. Nasheet is a very creative drummer that is also very supportive and also swings hard...
Lage, Aaron and Aaron are some young great players that I love to play with.. They're all very creative musicians that are carrying on the tradition of the music and are also pushing it forward. Dwayne Burno and Christian McBride and Ben Williams are 3 of my favorite bassists... And they can all SWING. Mark Turner.. has been a big influence on not only my musical life, but my personal life too. He's an extremely humble, focused musician... I'd say he's one of the strong innovators of jazz music today.

Thanks a lot Jaleel!!!

More information on Jaleel Shaw, please visit: http://www.jaleelshaw.com & http://www.myspace.com/jaleelshaw