Paul Read News

It is amazing how much music is literally at our fingertips these days through digital distribution. I make use of it myself on a regular basis. Think of something – look it up on eMusic or iTunes (or…) and minutes later, for a little cash (much less to the creators of the music) you have the tracks on your hard drive. If you are EXTREMELY lucky you might get a pdf file with liner notes. (Rivers by Herbie Hancock is an example – but should be the norm instead of a rarity). What is promoted by these sites seem to be lists based on previous purchases or the purchases of the masses. Its usually easy to tell for me, since my tastes seem to run into the paths less followed. I wonder how the “What’s Hot” or “Featured” lists play into the purchasing of most people.

For those of us looking for less popular fare – like maybe the greatest hits of Sly and the Family Stone, or Ornette Coleman’s Atlantic recordings, or even Michael Brecker records (which you would think would be more towards the top of the pile) – it is amazing and wonderful that you can find so many things. But I can’t help but wonder what is going to be the shape of iTunes or other digital distributors, in 40 years or more. Will the mountain of music (growing exponentially) just continue to grow and grow. How then, will my grandson (or his children) be able to find Miles Smiles (in my opinion one of the great recordings in the last 50 years). Or will they even be interested? Or should they be? My thought is that Miles Smiles (a pinnacle of achievement) should be well known and well preserved by that time. Of course, what does a 61 year old jazz musician in 2009 know? Wayne Shorter is Wayne Shorter though. And by that I mean: genius is genius. And masterworks should inform the future while they reflect the past. At any rate, I am thinking this and I have a blog, so I am writing about it. What is astonishing to me (and encouraging) is that we read each other’s thoughts and take them to heart, at least some of the time.

Thanks for stopping by

Paul

Haven’t written an entry for some time. For those who check the blog for health updates: I am doing great! Have been getting some writing work in and am playing saxophone with increased pleasure recently. It is good to be back to the land of reed soaking (and reed seeking). My jazz orchestra project (PRO) is very much on my mind these days and I am giving the matter of recording the band some serious consideration for the fall (and will be assisted by the Canada Council for the Arts). I have some new music nearly finished and am looking forward to having it played.

This winter and spring I have been involved in programs involving meditation and mindfulness. The practice of both has been very beneficial from many perspectives. Currently I am taking a course taught by Dr. Jackie Gardner-Nix who at one point studied under Jon Kabat-Zinn who wrote a well respected book called Full Catastrophe Living. Dr. Gardner-Nix (Dr. Jackie) is a physician who is involved in chronic pain management (referring to pain in the broadest of its definitions). Her course has been very beneficial so far and I will continue to be a member of her class until the early part of the summer.

I’ll write more soon….no really….I will.

PR

I’ve been listening to some serious large ensemble music the past week or so and can highly recommend Joe Lovano’s Symphonica (with arranger, Michael Abene). This is a BEAUTIFUL recording (live) and Joe’s playing is inspired. The arrangements and the playing are top notch and I have really been drawn back to this CD over and over.
Also, I have been listening to John Williams’ Five Sacred Trees, a concerto for bassoon and orchestra written for the wonderful Judith Leclaire. I have been looking over the piano reduction of the score to this one and love the playing and the writing.
As the leader of a large ensemble (well, largish compared to the full orchestral forces in the aforementioned recordings), I find myself baffled by the problems facing us in presenting our music in this format. A trio or duo makes so much more sense when you consider the economics, challenges of finding performance opportunities in a suitable environment, recording, and on and on. Perhaps the biggest challenge is always money, but in order to produce music that meets high standards on a consistent basis, the ensemble has to rehearse. Consider the challenges that poses when our bands are often made up of the busiest and best musicians around.
So why do it? Because, very simply, there are great rewards for a composer who wants to speak with this type of voice. When the music is well composed and orchestrated, and the playing is personable, skilled and refined, the sound is intoxicating. Hard to imagine a world without large ensemble jazz, and yet musicians shy away from this form for a great number of reasons. This means that as a composer, band leader, I have to find the right people, who are interested in my music, willing to commit and to prepare. And those willing to withstand the economic vacuum that seems to go hand and glove with involvement in bands of this size.
Enough musing. The advantage of having your own blog is that you can indulge yourself with journal type entries of this kind. You can also be political if you wish. To whit: VOTE LIBERAL.

Every once in a while a recording surfaces that I can’t stop listening to. I think there is something near or at perfection (defined personally of course) in these achievements. Art Pepper Plus Eleven is one of those recordings that falls in this category. Many many more, including the obvious: Kind of Blue, Milestones, Blue Train, The Real McCoy, Bitches Brew, In a Silent Way, Return to Forever, and on and on. A new recording from tenor saxophonist, Joe Lovano, Symphonica, is a case in point. Michael Abene’s arrangements, the quality of the live recording, the beautiful SOUND of the album and Joe’s incredibly individual way of playing (plus his compositions and choices of standards) make this a standout.
Michael Abene: 10/10
Joe Lovano: 10/10
Production: 10/10
Performances by secondary players 9/10 (there is one alto player that doesn’t knock me out).

TREAT YOURSELF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hi everyone
Breaking several months of silence. Here it is August and things are going well. Hope they are with you too. I am back to playing a bit and writing. Hope to have some new things in due course. The jazz orchestra (PRO) is playing at the REX in Toronto on September 20. If anyone reading this would pass the word along and perhaps consider coming out and hearing these fabulous musicians, that would be greatly appreciated. Visit the orchestra website for details.
See you soon
Paul