GOOD MORNING AMERICA, HOW ARE YOU?
Steve Goodman asks this question in his great song City of New Orleans .
The United States of America is a young country and a work in progress. Jazz and its birthplace have a lot in common. It is always exciting to be part of a something that is trying to figure out what it’s going to be. We are a nation that started out with a pretty good manual on how to proceed, and we have improvised on our original theme ever since. Like a good jazz band we continue to honor our past but seek a new and better direction. We are a country with lots of good people who will figure out where we are going. The Dirty Dog Jazz Café will be closed this week to celebrate the goodness of America and the grit of its people.
IF ITS MUSIC IS AN INDICATOR OF WHERE AMERICA IS HEADING, THINGS WILL BE O.K.
America’s music in 2018 is continuing to show 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. 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 ALWAYS UNDERSTANDING 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 instrument 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
The Dirty Dog will not be open this week so that 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.
The Dirty Dog wishes you a glorious holiday. Enjoy and be safe.
John Osler
NO ONE WILL BE COMING TO THE DIRTY DOG
THIS WEEK
JULY 11 – JULY 14
DWIGHT ADAMS
The fireworks will return to the Dirty Dog when Dwight Adams brings his forceful and imaginative playing and new ideas back to the club. He will likely keep our spirits flying and wake the staff up from their vacation mode..
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