In This Moment

What better way to kick off the new year than to post on the ongoing white wing circus also known as the GOP nominating contest?  After the results, here is my take:

Apparently, David Stern has now torpedoed NBA fans chances of seeing Chris Paul passing to Blake Griffin, on the heels of seing Chris Paul passing to Kobe Bryant. Sad, because as far as a corporate fat cat goes, his politics are very good and he has been especially good on issues of race. However, he is, like Gingrich, all too well cast visually and oratorically as a smug corporate paternalistic fat cat, the kind of professor we all HATED in school, the kind of person you want to bitch slap as soon as you hear him speak.

FWIW, I think you can make a direct correlation between the gutting of music (and art and drama) in the public schools in the past 35 years and the corresponding diminished audience for jazz...let's face it. Anyone who actually has tried to play an instrument for any length of time knows how challenging it is to get good at it. It is like baseball or basketball - try to hit a curveball or hit a 3-pointer with a hand in your face and you will be blown away at what pros can do. Same goes for jazz.