Glowing review of "Ode to a Tenor Titan" in jazz blog Marlbank
Stephen Graham, a founding editor of the UK's Jazzwise magazine and currently based in Ireland, filed this review of "Ode to a Tenor Titan: The Life and Times and Music of Michael Brecker" in his daily jazz blog Marlbank:
There are so very few truly great jazz authors out there, meaning those who really ''get'' their subjects and can tell their story warts and all – in all empathy. And Bill Milkowski is one of these. To me he is one of the few heirs of Joe Goldberg whose book Jazz Masters of the 50s is what jazz writing in a journalistic style that actually values words and imagery is all about without being at all fancy for the sake of it or stuck in a dusty museum and out of touch. In other words you believe the authorial voice completely because the writer is speaking not just to you but for you as a reader as a there but not ego-there interpreter who sort of cues us in to it all. He is renowned for the classic Jaco: The Extraordinary and Tragic Life of Jaco Pastorius.
Ode to a Tenor Titan is a worthy successor and the story of a very different man. The best parts of the book are on the wild Seventh Avenue South years. And beyond you get a strong narrative which points to Brecker's perfectionism, his love of pranks, star soloist power harnessed by Paul Simon and many more, interest in technology, ability to turn around his life by dealing with his lifestyle choices and mentoring his band members when they too needed help. Dennis Chambers is a characterful presence in the book in tales of pranks on the road and Adam Nussbaum has some of the best one-liners. The ''Joe Hen'' details are also fascinating particularly how much Brecker idolised Joe Henderson and knew he played in the great tenorist's spirit as much as Coltrane even when things between them went a little sour at a distance.
It was cruel when illness cut short Brecker's life and Milkowski deals with this empathetically and without over-sentimentality. It seems that Brecker was the bridge between the Coltrane generation through jazz-rock, funk and free jazz to navigate his own sound and inspire particularly saxophonists who came after him and like Chris Potter who continue to carry the message and high creative and technical standards forward.
When Brecker actually played with McCoy Tyner and separately with Elvin Jones you get that sense of a circle that has expanded and still expands in our consciousness today when you listen to the classic records that Brecker was involved with and that also was manifested when he played with Dave Liebman and Joe Lovano taking Trane on the ultimate threeway sax sky ride.
There is strong input from Michael's brother Randy particularly in the earlier parts of the text and lots of testimonials at the end from a who's who of players who bring up new points not touched on so much in the main text. There's plenty of humour too. And believe me you will be hunting down jingles that Brecker was on even such as the 1970s Toyota ad 'You asked for it, you got it!' he's on with David Sanborn, Randy and the baritone icon Ronnie Cuber. An excellent book. I spent happy hours and more than that in dreaming, thinking and listening time with the book breaking off to listen to Brecker on numerous records and examples. Because listening is what it's all about and Milkowski sends you there right to the heart of it all. -- Stephen Graham
What draws my attention to building connections through Grabow community projects is the possibility of making an unfamiliar subject feel closer to everyday life. A shared project can bring together people who know different parts of a town's story. It gives me a more concrete starting point for thinking about Grabow community learning. I do not have a settled view yet, but this seems like a good place to slow down and look more closely. How can students make a community project useful beyond the classroom?
Mình vừa đọc bài review về “Ode to a Tenor Titan”, phần khiến mình chú ý là cách tác giả nói về giọng ca chứ không Ww88 chỉ liệt kê điểm số. Mình không rành jazz, nhưng đọc đoạn mô tả về ca từ và nhịp thở trên sân khấu thì thấy có cảm xúc rõ ràng. Dân nhà mình có ông anh thích nghe nhạc cũ, thỉnh thoảng cũng nói tới mấy cái tên mà người nghe bình thường ít khi nhớ, giống như cách một nền game bài đổi thưởng chỉ được nhắc lại trong nhóm nhỏ. Bài viết giúp mình hiểu thêm cách người nghe chuyên sâu đặt vấn đề.
Bài viết khiến tôi nhớ tới cảnh nghe nhạc jazz vào một buổi chiều mưa, khi chỉ cần một giọng ca mạnh là mọi thứ quanh mình dường như chậm lại. Tôi từng nghe nhắc XOSO66 vài lần trong những câu chuyện Game bài đổi thưởng của người quen lúc rảnh, nhưng chưa từng tự tìm hiểu nên không thể nói gì. Điều làm mình ấn tượng ở bài này là cách lời khen dành cho một giọng nam cao vẫn giữ được sự cụ thể, không biến thành lời tán dương chung chung. Với tôi, một bài đánh giá hay là bài để lại ít nhất một chi tiết để người đọc tự hình dung âm thanh.
I find introducing young readers to Baczynski's poetry easier to think about when there is a concrete question to start from. A single image in a poem can open a discussion about memory and personal experience. I would use that point as a starting question when considering Baczynski poetry education. A short discussion of an everyday example would make this easier for me to connect with, especially as someone still learning about the subject. Which classroom activities help students respond to poetry in their own words?
There is something approachable about discussing understanding fair play in Android games through situations people can actually picture. Learning a game's controls and mechanics can be more satisfying than looking for shortcuts. Seen this way, Android gaming tips becomes a topic to explore rather than something to sum up too quickly. I would probably come back to this question after trying to work through one concrete example rather than deciding immediately. Which beginner tips make the biggest difference without spoiling the challenge?