A Lost Art

Baseball stadium organ players are an endangered species, but in Atlanta one man keeps on keepin' on, and readers of this blog would probably dig him:

His Twitter feed is a must-follow. Even a Marlins fan (I know, I'm probably the first one you know) can like him.

#FollowSaturday

"Jazz is like a bad boil in that no matter how many times you have it lanced, it keeps coming back."

"Fewer things in life with your pants on feel better than listening to Herbie, Ron, and Tony."

"They say you shouldn't shit where you eat, but it's certainly cool to find an appropriate place to do so once you've finished your meal."

"If a taste doesn't exist for what you're trying to sell, you have to create the market for addiction."

"There's no music more sexy than Roy Ayers' 70s jawns."

-Nicholas Payton (@nicpay).

Dude has been on Twitter less than 48 hours and he's already my favorite person on Twitter.

@nicpay = @kanyewest + @jazzfamoose

Mingus Tweets

Charles Mingus left us 32 years ago last week, succumbing to Lou Gehrig's Disease. Sometimes I think of which dead jazz musicians would have been great on Twitter, and if I could pick one person to resurrect solely for the purpose of reading his tweets, it would be Charles Mingus. I'm surely not the first person to wish Twitter had been around during the life of a particular historical figure. The social networking tool can be a gold mine when placed in the hands of the right celebrity or public figure (it can also be an entertaining train wreck or a dull bore, but I digress). A Mingus Twitter account would have been equal parts Angry Keith Jarrett (a fictional account), Cornel West, and Kanye. Why do I think this is the case? I've read Mingus' wild memoir, Beneath the Underdog: His World as Composed by Mingus. Written during the 1960s, the book is structured as a conversation with Mingus' therapist, and covers his sex life, thoughts on race and American society, and his contentious upbringing. The first draft was a 1,500-page manuscript, the published version was edited down to a little under 400 pages.

Below is a sample of what I think @Mingus would have been like. All the quotes are presented context-free, sometimes in more than 140 characters.

• They shouldn't have stopped! They're all wrong--I was right! (p. 31)
• "Fuck all you pathetic prejudiced cocksuckers," he thought. "I dig minds, inside and out. No race, no color, no sex. Don't show me no kind of skin 'cause I can see right through to the hate in your little undeveloped souls." (p. 66)
• I don't ever want to stop thinking, it's the only way I can go forward. (p. 107)
• [Fats Navarro to Mingus]: Jazz ain't supposed to make nobody no millions but that's where it's at. Them that shouldn't is raking it in but the purest are out in the street with me and Bird and it rains all over us, man.(p. 189)
• I tried being a pimp, Fats. I didn't like it. (p. 191)
• White cats take our music and make more money out of it than we ever did or do now! (p. 352)
• Someday one of us put-down, outcast makers of jazz music should show those church-going clock-punchers that people like Monk and Bird are dying for what they believe. (p. 360)

Sunday Reading Material

Something to do between today's World Cup matches:

• Jazz Beyond Jazz blogger Howard Mandel drums up support for the Jazz Journalists Association's Jazz Awards at City Arts. The whole concept seems a little insidery, but it's just an awards show, so what's the worst that could happen? Mandel answers that question when he tells of the time he and Stanley Crouch almost got into a fistfight after the first JJA Awards (which would have been the lamest fight ever had it gone off).
• Our friends at Nextbop are looking to expand their operations and run some new projects, but first they need a little help financing. Chances are most Hot House readers have spent some time listening to the Nextplayer, so please help Seb, Anthony, and the rest of the Nextbop family out. You'll get an immediate return on your investment when you listen to Seb's radio interview with Christian Scott.
• Peter Hum made simple but very effective argument the other day: YouTube is the new DownBeat. The major jazz magazines still do many things well (they are still the best equipped to give us long-form profiles from the likes of David Adler and Nate Chinen), but they have yet to set up websites that are good enough to make me visit more than once a month or so...
• Speaking of jazz media, it's been over four months since jazz.com last posted new material. When it was running strong, jazz.com published some of the best content on the web (see for instance Steve Coleman's epic take on 12 essential Charlie Parker tracks and Chris Kelsey's piece on Ornette Coleman's Blue Note years). I miss it, and hope its days are not over.
• This isn't jazz related, but still worth a read. Roger Ebert offers a spirited and heartfelt defense of Twitter. Since I end up having to defend Twitter to a non-tweeting friend every two months or so, it was nice to see how a better writer than myself does it. Also, if you aren't on Twitter, you could follow only Ebert and still enjoy the service.
• I'll leave you with one final thought. In the early days of jazz it was common to see a slide-whistle used in jazz groups. With that in mind, I would love to see someone use a vuvuzela on their next album.

Review: No More, No Less

Jason Parker Quartet
No More, No Less

Before I review, a disclosure. Jason Parker is a Twitter friend of mine. But then again, if I didn't like this album, I probably wouldn't bother reviewing it, so at least you'll know I'm sincere.

Parker, a seasoned veteran of the Seattle jazz scene, released his second album late last year. Like his self-titled debut, the new album features his regular quartet, which includes Josh Rawlings on piano, Evan Flory-Barnes on bass and D'Vonne Lewis on drums. Alongside Bashert, a Parker original, Parker & Co. tackle a number of standards, including the Sam Rivers classic Beatrice, as well as Nick Drake's Three Hours.

It's one thing to make some bold song choices, but following through with rewarding interpretations of those tunes can be a beast of a task, one at which Parker and his sidemen excel. On Love For Sale, the group sets up a bouncy groove before launching into the melody, giving fresh perspective to a familiar tune. Parker's amalgamation of Summertime and Footprints does the same, with Flory-Barnes and Lewis creating an elastic backdrop for Rawlings, Parker, and guest saxophonist Cynthia Mullis.

Overall, the album has the feel of a mid-60s Blue Note session: swinging and spontaneous while remaining tightly orchestrated. You can name your price for a download of the album at Jason's website. You may be tempted to grab it for free, but after listening to it, you will probably guiltily go back and give him some cash. It's ok, I'm pretty sure he'll be fine with that. Want more Jason Parker? Check out his blog, where you'll find thoughts on promoting his album, being inspired by Dizzy Gillespie, and government funding for jazz, among other subjects.


Track Listing: Bashert; Mance's Dance; Idle Moments; Three Hours; Love For Sale; Beatrice Summertime/Footprints
Personnel: Jason Parker, trumpet; Josh Rawlings, piano; Evan Flory-Barnes, bass; D'Vonne Lewis, drum; Cynthia Mullis, tenor saxophone (2,3,7)