New Music Alert! 10 years or so ago I was asked to come jam by a lanky fellow named Rory. I didn't know what to expect. Would we play Stones tunes? Jazz standards? Funk? Blues? To my surprise Rory – a drummer - just wanted to play. Free jazz. A beloved idiom but not one... Continue Reading →
On June 3,1989 I spent the better part of three hours onstage at Alice Tully Hall in New York's Lincoln Centre alongside Gunther Schuller, John Handy, Wynton Marsalis, John Abercrombie, George Adams and literally dozens of other legendary jazz musicians in what was called by the New York Times, “the jazz event of the decade.”... Continue Reading →
This is the fourth in a series of new posts that explain how you can apply the lessons of jazz to collaborate successfully. * Never Say No “It’s impossible for me to feel like there’s only one way to do a thing. There’s nothing wrong with having one way of doing it, but I think... Continue Reading →
This is the third of a series of new posts that explain how you can apply the lessons of jazz to collaborate successfully. * Make Room "Only play what you hear. If you don't hear anything, don't play anything." Chick Corea A collaboration is a set of relationships and as in any relationship both parties... Continue Reading →
This is the first of a series of new posts that explain how you can apply the lessons of jazz to collaborate successfully. Respect “Music is my mistress and she plays second fiddle to no one.” Duke Ellington Jazz - like any collaborative process - is rooted in respect. Respect for oneself. Respect for others.... Continue Reading →
Thanks Max. Thanks Phil. Max is Max Middle, poetic curator, and Phil is Phil Minton, veteran vocal confabulator from the land beyond the sea and maestro of Ottawa's briefly resplendent Feral Choir, which I was part of, one of 25 growling, howling vocalists in sensible shoes. (Nikes in my case. Phil wore Chinese slippers.) We... Continue Reading →
Hi. This post lists and links to my first 50 posts on this blog, indexing 50 brief critical essays on contemporary media culture. Topics include The Leveson Inquiry, Occupy Wall Street, Privacy, Music, Food, Economics and more. Try one. 1. Happy Birth Day! my blog is born 2. Gifts and Books, Books and Gifts books as... Continue Reading →
Been gigging steadily lately. April gigs included a wedding with my awesome soul band The Funktion, a punk show at Babylon with my rowdy noise-trio Caymans and another gig with The Funktion last Friday at The Rainbow. All were excellent, if exhausting. March gigs included Montreal's Coolfest and Treehouse Talks in Toronto. Next up is... Continue Reading →
A few weeks ago I gave a talk at the Toronto Reference Library as part of an excellent series called Treehouse Talks. It was a lovely event, attended by about 100 people and held in the spectacular 5-story atrium of the library. I gave an updated version of the talk that I call Know Your... Continue Reading →
Back in 1991 I was hired to write and perform a poem about television for the opening of Moses Znaimer's 3-hour history of television called TVTV. We shot an amazing sequence in front of MuchMusic with my Poetry Band, which at that time featured trombonist Tom Walsh, drummer Paul Fitterer and bassist Ben Carlsson. Looking... Continue Reading →
YOU ARE YOUR MEDIA 