Alberta and Quebec have long been allies in their opposition to the powers of Ottawa. This past election that commonality was shown in the reaction to Harpers Arts and Culture cuts. While pundits focused on Quebec's reaction they overlooked its impact in Alberta. In particular in Festival City; Redmonton.
The defeat of Edmonton Strathcona MP Rahim Jaffer was a direct result of Harpers attack on Arts and Cultural workers. After all Redmonton has a booming arts and culture community, we have the Winspear and the Citadel, the Jubilee, we have arts groups and theatre groups, a major Symphony, Jazz City, the Fringe Festival, an International Childrens Arts Festival, a Buskers Ball, the Edmonton Folk Festival and an International Street Preformers festival, etc, etc.
Edmonton Strathcona itself is one of the cities Arts hub. Known to all as Old Strathcona with its infamous Whyte Avenue at its core, it is the centre of the Theatre community hosting the second largest Fringe Festival in the world. Not only do Edmontonians produce and preform the plays, they are mass of volunteers needed to run the Fringe and the mass of visitors to the Fringe.
Did Harper miss this fact? You bet. When the uproar over his political purging of arts funding mobilized the Arts and Cultural community, it was a nation wide response. Of course the greatest coverage was its impact in Quebec where polls showed Harper's policy led to loss of support for the Conservatives.
But overlooked was its impact here in Redmonton. Harper backpedaled and announced that he had increased Heritage Canada funding, but that of course is tied to politically correct Conservative values, then he annouced increased funding for arts and culture for wait for it....children to take piano and dance lessons. He overlooked the fact that dance classes were already eligable for his childrens athletics tax credit that the government introduced last election. And how does funding piano lessons equate with funding for Symphony orcehstra's, Opera, etc. It doesn't. And so it cost Rahim his job.
Arts voters in Edmonton Strathcona voted strategically. And not only NDP and Liberals but Conservatives as well. When it comes to Edmonton Strathcona which is the Reddest part of Redmonton, we have elected NDP MLA's here. When the provincial Tories run candidates here they have been Red Tories,
Rahim was in a tough fight and he knew it. From the start he did something he has not done in previous elections, put up lawn signs. There were Jaffer signs on my street and my moms street where they had never been before. But like the Liberal signs many were on rental or commercial properties, put their in many cases not by the renters but the landlord.
Linda Duncan ran an excellent campaign, and it was based on building a base through three elections. The NDP made a break through federally in the riding when they ran Malcolm Azania, and broke through the usual two way race between Conservatives and Liberals which had left the party trailing a distant third over the years.
The Azania campaign team stayed on and recruited Linda to run last election. She further consolidated the NDP's second place standing loosing to Jaffer by only 5000 votes, votes that had gone to the non-existant Liberal candidate. In that election it was the Liberals who were the vote spliters.
But this election it was clearly a two way race, and despite his sign campaign Jaffers laziness and arrogance cost him. He did not address the Arts cuts, nor did he distance himself from the Harper arts attacks when Harper insulted all cultural workers and masses of volunteers who support them by calling them elitists. In fact he insulted some of the leading citizens of this city who are proud of the efforts they have put into fund raising for Arts and Culture, including wealth bourgoise like the Winspears who donated to have the Winspear Centre for the Arts built. Opps.
Jafers arrogance was on public display election night when at ten o'clock he got up to announce his imminent victory, which the media mistakenly announced not noticing that their were still 14 polls not counted, polls which included mine which are all strong NDP polls.
He was pulled down from the podium by an aide who told him it wasn't in the bag yet.
When he lost he was at a loss for words for several days, again Jaffer's arrogance was publicly displayed with his refusal to concide the election. He only announced his final defeat the same day he eloped with fellow MP Helen Guergis.
The delicious irony of this is that he appears to be off to Ottawa to live with Helen as her live in Assistant and Helen will have lots of time to spend with Rahim since it is speculated that she is destined for the back bench in the upcoming cabinet shuffle.
Yes Linda Duncan and her team ran a great campaign. But in the end we have to thank Stephen Harper for attacking the Arts and Culture community, it pushed her over the top. And put a bright orange spot in the middle of Blue Alberta.
And this is no minor break through. It shows that the Harpocrites policy of taking Alberta for granted cost them big time in Edmonton Strathcona. Next election that vulnerability could lead to more defeats for the Harpocrites.
Find blog posts, photos, events and more off-site about:, Linda Duncan, RahimJaffer, Harper, Conservatives, Cabinet, Government, politics, Edmonton, Alberta, NDP, Liberals, Redmonton, politics, , Liberals, Edmonton Strathcona Claudette Roy,
Showing posts with label culture. Show all posts
Showing posts with label culture. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Happy Birthday Catwoman
Well actually a belated happy birthday to the still sexy ultimate femme fatale of jazz Eartha Kitt, she turned 81 last Wednesday Jan. 17. The smoky sultry Kitt-en of pop jazz got a second career start when she starred as Catwoman in the campy Batman TV series replacing Julie Newmar in the role. Her infamous Kitt-en purr growl and sultry femme fatale role has not been matched, neither by Pfieffer nor Barrie.
And she still struts her stuff, I saw her last fall with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra,
and it was an awesome show. She is still in great shape for her age, with legs to die for. As befits someone whose career began as a dancer. Once, Orson Welles referred to Kitt as the most exciting woman in the world.And her infamous smoky growl was used to challenge the White House over the war in Viet Nam. And like the later ridicule faced by the Dixie Chicks over the Iraq war, Eartha faced the outrage of the American Right but unlike the white chicks, the attacks on her were tinged with predictable racism and sexism. So like other great Black American women artists and civil rights activists; Josephine Baker and Nina Simone, she went into exile in Paris.
1968 - Singer Eartha Kitt made headlines, as she got into a now-famous confrontation with Mrs. Lyndon B. Johnson -- wife of the President of the United States -- at a White House luncheon to discuss urban crime. Ms. Kitt told Lady Bird (the First Lady) that American youth were rebelling against the war in Vietnam, linking the crime rate with the war escalation. She had a lot to say and it definitely was not, C’est Si Bon.
In 1968, however, Kitt encountered a substantial professional setback after she made anti-war statements during a White House luncheon. It was falsely reported that she made First Lady Lady Bird Johnson cry uncontrollably when in fact, the First Lady replied very diplomatically. The public reaction to Kitt's statements were much more extreme, both for and against her statements. Professionally exiled from the U.S., she devoted her energies to overseas performances.
Her style of Jazz influenced was influenced by Paris as was that of here contemporary Blossom Dearie. But unlike Carol Channing with her one hit wonder Diamonds Are A Girls Best Friend, Eartha has an astounding set of sultry sexy hits about being the femme fatale that gets the millionaire,that get played over and over again, on jazz stations as well as contemporary soft pop stations, especially of course the seasonal classic; Santa Baby.
Eartha Kitt "Old Fashioned Girl" & "Santa Baby"
SEE:
West Side Story
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Thursday, March 22, 2007
Thick as a Brick.
This blog headline; 23% Of Canadians Are THICK reminded me of this;
Which is one of the finest Concept Rock Opera's of the early seventies.
And considering it won platinum because of Canadian sales, I would say we are.
See: Environment
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Which is one of the finest Concept Rock Opera's of the early seventies.
And considering it won platinum because of Canadian sales, I would say we are.
See: Environment
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Monday, February 26, 2007
Trumpetlingus
The dirtiest song ever.
Don Ellis performing Pussy Wiggle Stomp from his Live At the Fillmore album.
There are no lyrics it's all grunts groans and licking the mouthpiece. Reminiscent of the later grunting orgasms of Keith Jarrett as he plays his piano, or the Japanese Cellist I saw in the seventies play with the Edmonton Symphony, who grunted and groaned playing his cello.
I found it a very funny song when I first heard it, and was suitably impressed with Don Ellis speeded up time signature.
However what was really funny was to hear him make dirty with what trumpet players do everyday, that is warm up their lips blowing into their mouthpieces before they even begin to practice with their horn.
Don Ellis was a unique product of the sixties, he mixed jazz, rock, electronica, classical and world music before anyone else in jazz. As the Sights and Sounds documentary on Don; Electric Heart, points out.
As a trumpet player myself, Ellis was a breathe of fresh air, and was as radical as Frank Zappa, and as underrated.
Until Ellis trumpet even when it was solo or big band, Miles or Herb Albert, was not a lead instrument, the source of the sound, with the band in the background. Ellis did for trumpet what great rock guitar soloists of the sixties did for that instrument.
In that wonderful world of blog syncronicity I find that there is a revival of sorts around Don and his music with last summers re-release of Pieces of Eight and Don Ellis Band Goes Underground.
But as I discovered years later writing this article and realizing I have no Don Ellis CD's . But I do have vinyl albums. So as a result of this article I ordered some Don Ellis from my pal Peters store; South Side Sound.
I made a special order mistakenly of Don Ellis Live At Monterey, which does not have Pussy Wiggle Stomp on it. But is does have 33 222 1 222 which after listening too I realized was the musical basis, sub structure tonality for Pussy wiggle Stomp.
Listening to this break through Live album I realised that I had never heard it before. And suddenly it was all fresh. Why and what I remembered of Don Ellis, and what made him and his band unique. They were a band, and they went beyond cutting edge in sound not only for their time, for their moment in history, but beyond. And for a white jazz big band. They dared, they broke boundaries.
And for me as a young trumpet player, who had been forced to pick an instrument to learn, because that's what you do to keep up with the Jone's. So I picked trumpet as it broke through in pop music with Herb Albert and the Tijuana Brass.
But it was Don Ellis that really turned me on as to what a trumpet and a modern big band could do.
In the post modern Jazz world of the seventies, Don broke open a dam, and the flood created the new jazz, including the urban funk of Miles as well as the popularization of Jazz fusion of Chick Corea. It was the new sound of classic rock meeting classic jazz.
Thanks to Don Ellis.
Ellis encouraged Falzone to begin writing and invited him to join his orchestra, for which he was to serve as performer, composer, and road manager from 1965-1976. The Don Ellis Orchestra not only was one of the most exciting and persistently innovative large jazz ensembles of the time, but also attracted a large and enthusiastic following. Falzone was frequently featured as a soloist ("Salvatore Sam" on Live at the Fillmore, "Pussy Wiggle Stomp" on Autumn) and composer/arranger ("Get It Together" on Tears of Joy, "Go Back Home" on Soaring, "Put It Where You Want It" on Connection).
Don Ellis at Fillmore
by Don Ellis
Sale from
$13.81
This is a crazy and consistently riotous two-disc set that... More features the Don Ellis Orchestra at its height. The 20-piece orchestra (with trumpeter Ellis doubling on drums along with a regular drummer and two percussionists) often used electronic devices (such as ring modulators) at the time to really distort its sound. When coupled with odd time signatures and such exuberant soloists as Ellis, trombonist Glenn Ferris, tenor saxophonist John Klemmer (showcased on the remarkable "Excursion II"), guitarist Jay Graydon, altoists Fred Selden and Lonnie Shetter, and tenor Sam Falzone, the results are quite memorable. Highlights of the date include "Final Analysis" (which contains a countless number of false endings), a bizarre rendition of "Hey Jude," and an often hilarious remake of "Pussy Wiggle Stomp." In 2005, the Wounded Bird label reissued this session on CD for the first time. Unfortunately, no bonus tracks were available. ~ Scott Yanow & Al Campbell, All Music Guide
Don Ellis on YouTube
Favorite Oddball Song Titles
Jazz Blogs
A group of Jazz blogs that rip music and do reviews of the hot jazz period of the late sixties and early seventies.
My articles on music:
Before MTV
Find blog posts, photos, events and more off-site about:
jazz, world music, rock, Don Ellis, Don Ellis BigBand, jazz fusion, Pussy Wiggle Stomp, trumpet, music
Don Ellis performing Pussy Wiggle Stomp from his Live At the Fillmore album.
There are no lyrics it's all grunts groans and licking the mouthpiece. Reminiscent of the later grunting orgasms of Keith Jarrett as he plays his piano, or the Japanese Cellist I saw in the seventies play with the Edmonton Symphony, who grunted and groaned playing his cello.
I found it a very funny song when I first heard it, and was suitably impressed with Don Ellis speeded up time signature.
However what was really funny was to hear him make dirty with what trumpet players do everyday, that is warm up their lips blowing into their mouthpieces before they even begin to practice with their horn.
Don Ellis was a unique product of the sixties, he mixed jazz, rock, electronica, classical and world music before anyone else in jazz. As the Sights and Sounds documentary on Don; Electric Heart, points out.
As a trumpet player myself, Ellis was a breathe of fresh air, and was as radical as Frank Zappa, and as underrated.
Until Ellis trumpet even when it was solo or big band, Miles or Herb Albert, was not a lead instrument, the source of the sound, with the band in the background. Ellis did for trumpet what great rock guitar soloists of the sixties did for that instrument.
In that wonderful world of blog syncronicity I find that there is a revival of sorts around Don and his music with last summers re-release of Pieces of Eight and Don Ellis Band Goes Underground.
But as I discovered years later writing this article and realizing I have no Don Ellis CD's . But I do have vinyl albums. So as a result of this article I ordered some Don Ellis from my pal Peters store; South Side Sound.
I made a special order mistakenly of Don Ellis Live At Monterey, which does not have Pussy Wiggle Stomp on it. But is does have 33 222 1 222 which after listening too I realized was the musical basis, sub structure tonality for Pussy wiggle Stomp.
Listening to this break through Live album I realised that I had never heard it before. And suddenly it was all fresh. Why and what I remembered of Don Ellis, and what made him and his band unique. They were a band, and they went beyond cutting edge in sound not only for their time, for their moment in history, but beyond. And for a white jazz big band. They dared, they broke boundaries.
And for me as a young trumpet player, who had been forced to pick an instrument to learn, because that's what you do to keep up with the Jone's. So I picked trumpet as it broke through in pop music with Herb Albert and the Tijuana Brass.
But it was Don Ellis that really turned me on as to what a trumpet and a modern big band could do.
In the post modern Jazz world of the seventies, Don broke open a dam, and the flood created the new jazz, including the urban funk of Miles as well as the popularization of Jazz fusion of Chick Corea. It was the new sound of classic rock meeting classic jazz.
Thanks to Don Ellis.
 |
Don(ald Johnson) Ellis was a jazz trumpeter, drummer, bandleader, touring performer, recording artist, composer, and arranger. Born in Los Angeles in on July 25, 1934, he died of a heart attack at his home in North Hollywood on December 17, 1978. Ellis studied composition at Boston University (BMus 1956) and spent a year as a graduate student at UCLA, where he later taught. Ellis played with a variety of prestigious big bands and jazz groups, including those of Charlie Barnet, Sam Donahue, Maynard Ferguson, Lionel Hampton, Woody Herman, Ralph Marterie, Ray McKinley, Stan Kenton, George Russell, and Claude Thornhill. He also led big bands, jazz orchestras, trios, quartets, and other small combos of his own. He performed with the National Symphony Orchestra of Washington, DC, under the direction of Gunther Schuller, the New York Philharmonic under the direction of Leonard Bernstein, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic under the direction of Zubin Mehta.
Ellis is perhaps best known for his unusual and complex meters, amplified trumpet, electronic distortion, and quarter-tone melodic structures. He often used 9/4, 5/8, 7/8, 9/8, and 19/4 time signatures. He played a quarter-tone trumpet with four valves, which gave subtlety and microtonal effects to his music. In later years, he played a "superbone," a combination valve and slide trombone. Ellis received Grammy nominations for Live at Monterey (1967), Electric Bath (1968), The New Don Ellis Band Goes Underground (1969), Don Ellis at Fillmore (1970), and "Theme from The French Connection" (1972). "Theme from The French Connection" won the Grammy for "Best Instrumental Arrangement" in 1972.
Don Ellis Web Archive
DonEllisMusic.com -- Dedicated to the Music and Life of Jazz ...
Before his untimely death in 1978 at the young age of 44, Don Ellis was one of the most creative and innovative jazz musicians of all time. In a career span of less than 25 years, Don Ellis distinguished himself as a trumpeter, drummer, composer, arranger, recording artist, author, music critic, and music educator. However, Don Ellis is probably best remembered for his work as a big band leader. His orchestra, which was active from 1966-78, achieved enormous popular appeal at a time when the influence of big band music was noticeably fading.Don Ellis - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Don Ellis: Information from Answers.com
CD Baby: SAM FALZONE: A Family Sweet
While employed as a school teacher in 1965, Falzone met Don Ellis who was in residence at the University of Buffalo - a meeting that would rechart Sam's life for the next twelve years.Ellis encouraged Falzone to begin writing and invited him to join his orchestra, for which he was to serve as performer, composer, and road manager from 1965-1976. The Don Ellis Orchestra not only was one of the most exciting and persistently innovative large jazz ensembles of the time, but also attracted a large and enthusiastic following. Falzone was frequently featured as a soloist ("Salvatore Sam" on Live at the Fillmore, "Pussy Wiggle Stomp" on Autumn) and composer/arranger ("Get It Together" on Tears of Joy, "Go Back Home" on Soaring, "Put It Where You Want It" on Connection).
Don Ellis at Fillmore
by Don Ellis
Sale from
$13.81
This is a crazy and consistently riotous two-disc set that... More features the Don Ellis Orchestra at its height. The 20-piece orchestra (with trumpeter Ellis doubling on drums along with a regular drummer and two percussionists) often used electronic devices (such as ring modulators) at the time to really distort its sound. When coupled with odd time signatures and such exuberant soloists as Ellis, trombonist Glenn Ferris, tenor saxophonist John Klemmer (showcased on the remarkable "Excursion II"), guitarist Jay Graydon, altoists Fred Selden and Lonnie Shetter, and tenor Sam Falzone, the results are quite memorable. Highlights of the date include "Final Analysis" (which contains a countless number of false endings), a bizarre rendition of "Hey Jude," and an often hilarious remake of "Pussy Wiggle Stomp." In 2005, the Wounded Bird label reissued this session on CD for the first time. Unfortunately, no bonus tracks were available. ~ Scott Yanow & Al Campbell, All Music Guide
DON ELLIS THE FINAL ANALYSIS
A miscellany of quotes made over the years by and about Don Ellis ... The late Leonard Feather once prophesied that Don Ellis would become the Stan KentonDon Ellis on YouTube
  | As a huge fan of Don Ellis it's really special for me to get a chance to play his music this one in particular is one of my favorite tunes. It combines Don's "out there" writing and monumental trumpet lines reminiscent of Maynard Ferguson o (more)    |
 | This is Don Ellis playing the song "New Horizons" |
Don Ellis MP3 Downloads - Don Ellis Music Downloads
Favorite Oddball Song Titles
Jazz Blogs
A group of Jazz blogs that rip music and do reviews of the hot jazz period of the late sixties and early seventies.
My articles on music:
Revolutionary Music Flashback
Happy Birthday Mozart
Soul of a CityBefore MTV
Nazanin
Happy Birthday Bob
Daniel Barenboim's Dream
Rich Man's War
Classical Rock
Ennio Morricone A Fistful of Composer
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jazz, world music, rock, Don Ellis, Don Ellis BigBand, jazz fusion, Pussy Wiggle Stomp, trumpet, music
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