The United States of America is a young country and a work in progress. It is always exciting to be part of a something that is trying to figure out what it’s going to be.
GOOD MORNING AMERICA, HOW ARE YOU?
Steve Goodman asks this question in his great song City of New Orleans .
IF ITS MUSIC IS AN INDICATOR OF WHERE AMERICA IS HEADING, THINGS WILL BE O.K.
America’s music in 2017 is showing the world its best face. Country music is sharing the stage with hip hop, jazz is blended with electronic, zydeco accordion is inserted into funky renditions of standard tunes, etc. etc. Everything is possible and everything is accepted and everything is added. Layers are being placed on top of layers, creating magnificent wholes. Musicians are respecting other musicians’ stories and finding ways to make someone else’s ideas better. This is a surefire formula for greatness.
MUSIC IN AMERICA continues to follow the examples of our brilliant founders, who asked us to be:
THOUGHTFUL, INCLUSIVE, SHARING, SUPPORTIVE, EXPANSIVE, INQUISITIVE, ALWAYS SEARCHING FOR SOLUTIONS, GOOD LISTENERS, STRIVING TO DO OUR BEST, INVESTING IN THE FUTURE, RESPECTING OUR PAST AND TO ALWAYS UNDERSTAND THAT OUR STRENGTH IS OUR GOODNESS
RATHER THAN OUR GREATNESS.
LETS CELEBRATE OUR BIRTHDAY WITH MUSIC
AMERICA’S MUSIC: JAZZ
“Jazz is about freedom within discipline, usually a dictatorship like in Russia and Nazi Germany will prevent jazz from being played because it just seemed to represent freedom, democracy and the United States.” Dave Brubeck
” Jazz is a very democratic musical form. It comes out of a communal experience. We take our respective instument and collectively create a thing of beauty.” Max Roach
“The bottom line of any country is, ‘What did we contribute to the world?’ ….We contributed Louis Armstrong.” Tony Bennett
Louis Armstrong always claimed he was born on the fourth of July and celebrated his birthday on the holiday.
Louis said: “If you have to ask what jazz is, you’ll never know.”
Here he is with the national anthem.
Wynton Marsalis ” As long as there is democracy, there will be people wanting to play jazz because nothing else will ever so perfectly capture the democratic process in sound. Jazz means working things out musically with other people. You have to listen to other musicians and play with them even if you don’t agree with what they’re playing. It teaches you that the world is big enough to accommodate us all.”
Here is Wynton’s brother Saxophonist Branford Marsalis
LET US ALSO CELEBRATE THE LIFE OF A GREAT AND GOOD AMERICAN:
GERI ALLEN
Photo by Rob Davidson
Geri Antoinette Allen was born June 12, 1957 in Pontiac, Mich. Her father, Mount V. Allen, Jr., was a principal in the Detroit public school system. Deeply rooted in Detroit, she was encouraged to take up the piano at age 7, she went on to graduate from Cass Technical High School and importantly she also became a protégée of Detroit trumpeter Marcus Belgrave,
Allen was a virtuoso pianist who played with some of jazz’s greatest rhythm sections, As NPR wrote: “She was a musical partner with prodigious ears, motivated by the percussive energy of the avant-garde, the elusive unified spark of straight-ahead swing and the expressive truth of piano balladry”.
Geri’s legacy is assured through her recorded music and her passion for passing on her gifts as a teacher. She taught for 10 years at the University of Michigan and was the artistic director of the Carr Center in downtown Detroit.
Detroit will miss Geri Allen who was a friend and a partner as well as being recognized as one of jazz’s most influential musicians.
The Dirty Dog will not be open this week so they can celebrate the birthday of our country. There will be a break in the music, giving the staff some deserved time off after so many consecutive big acts. Gene Dunlap will bring the place back to life on Wednesday July 12 through July 16. The Dirty Dog wishes you a glorious holiday. Enjoy and be safe.
John Osler
COMING THIS WEEK TO THE DIRTY DOG
THE DIRTY DOG JAZZ CAFÉ IS CLOSED TO CELEBRATE AND TO TAKE A A WELL DESERVED BREAK.
JULY 12 – JULY 16
GENE DUNLAP
The fireworks will continue as Gene Dunlap brings a genuine mix of old and new ideas that will keep our spirits flying.
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