Everything you always wanted to know about jazz...

[musicmessenger]

Q. What is the difference between a pizza and a Jazz musician?
A. A pizza can feed a family of four!

What is it about Jazz that makes a Jazz musician stick to a form of music that A&R managers have scientifically and suspiciously proven to be a musician's surest route to death by starvation?
One good reason would be the fact that Jazz allows me to be myself as opposed to Pop that wants me to be Madonna. I would rather be me than strut onstage wearing conical jocks. I remember a male indipop album released by some genius A&R manager, titled 'mai bhi Madonna' (i'm Madonna too). Jazz as you will see, and if you've heard about 'mai bhi Madonna', helps me retain my individuality and what's left of my sanity in this big mad world of music marketing. Jazz, the most open, alive and evolving form of music, is the medium i choose to communicate and express myself musically. I know a lot of people in the audience may not understand my intense shoobee-doo-wop, shoobee-doobee-doo-wop and emotive twidlee-didlee, didlee-doo-dah along with some sensitive chaka-chaka, shaka-dish-boom-thaak. But there's always the few who can 'feel' what they can't figure. Most of the time the message i communicate may read 'hey brother, how about a loan..i'm broke again' but when i have someone in the audience enjoying my music, i become a millionaire.
Colin D'Cruz
http://www.justjazz.8m.com

[Dennis Gonzalez]

Thank you for the heartfelt positive words, Colin. I can only imagine the difficulties involved in just keeping a jazz gig or a jazz audience in a city like Goa. It's quite hip these days for people to say, "I love jazz", and quite another to actually knuckle down and live the life of the jazz musician. That's, hopefully, what Jazz Corner is all about.

Thank you for posting and giving us a hint of what's going on in your corner of the world!

[jessicajones]

I give up, where's goa?

[mtaylorjazz]

Originally posted by jessicajones
I give up, where's goa?

hey jessica,

Goa's a district in India on the coast. i believe it was once colonized/occupied by the Portugese or Spain (please correct me if i'm wrong).

http://www.mapsofindia.com/maps/india/h3i00.htm

it's one of the "stops" on the Jazz Yatra festival and an extrememly beautiful place. i went there with Abdullah Ibrahim in 90-something (91?) right after i moved to NY and again with Threadgill in about 94 i think.

m

btw - had a great time on the session. let me know how the tapes turned out!

my site

[Dennis Gonzalez]

Originally posted by mtaylorjazz

Goa's a district in India on the coast. i believe it was once colonized/occupied by the Portugese or Spain (please correct me if i'm wrong).

You can see if you go to musucmessenger's site that most of the surnames are Portuguese in origin...you're pretty close to the truth, Mark.

[mtaylorjazz]

Originally posted by Dennis Gonzalez
...you're pretty close to the truth, Mark.

better cover up! the sky might fall!

m

[Dennis Gonzalez]

I've heard you play...you're almost there!

[mtaylorjazz]

Originally posted by Dennis Gonzalez
I've heard you play...you're almost there!

almost at the truth or about to make the sky fall (either of which would be acceptable!)

btw i was just checking out your website and saw you had a project with Andrew Lamb on there. man! he's great to play with isn't he? we just recorded with drummer/percussionist Warren Smith and had a lot of fun!

you'll have to pardon me, i still get flabbergasted when anyone says they've seen or heard me play. when was it?

m

ps: thanks...i think