Following yesterday’s post, blogger Richard Kamins of Hartford, Connecticut, forwarded a Facebook message from one of his readers, whose name is Sarah Lee. The video that accompanies the message is of Ana Grace and her brother Isaiah. The 6-year-old daughter of saxophonist Jimmy Greene was one of 26 people shot and killed in Friday’s school massacre in Newtown, Connecticut.
♥RIP Ana Grace Márquez-Greene…Ana’s mom Nelba was part of my masters program. They just recently moved to the States. She has asked that this video be “Shared far and wide. Let the world know the victims – not the shooter.”♥
The nonagenarian pianist presented de Barros with every biographer’s hope, unrestricted access to his subject’s personal papers and nearly unrestricted access to her private thoughts. He made the most of it, turning exhaustive research and hundreds of hours of interviews into a true story with the sweep of a novel. From the early discovery of McPartland’s musical gift through her wartime service, her ecstatic and stormy marriage to Jimmy McPartland, her growth as a pianist, her deep affair with Joe Morello, and the radio show that made her a national figure, she has had a fascinating life. It makes a splendid read.
Mulligan’s Concert Jazz Band had three fewer musicians than most big jazz outfits. Its size permitted precision, flexibility and subtlety, yet the band had the power of sprung steel. In this concert from a half century ago, the CJB is as fresh as yesterday. Arrangements by Mulligan, Bob Brookmeyer, Al Cohn and Johnny Mandel set standards to which big band writers still aspire. Bassist Buddy Clark and drummer Mel Lewis inspired Mulligan, Brookmeyer, Conte Candoli, Gene Quill and Zoot Sims to some of the best soloing of their careers. This beautifully produced issue of the complete concert is a basic repertoire item.
Thank you for the post, Doug. As much as it breaks my heart to see this short clip, I hope this is a wake up call. Thanks again.
This is not an exclusively US-American tragedy: It’s a worldwide spreading disease! Our society is changing rapidly, everywhere. Respect for other humans’ lives doesn’t seem to matter anymore.
Disturbed young men are madly shooting innocents, be it children, their teachers, or their own mothers. We all have to reflect here: In what kind of society do we want to live?
Communication, *real* communication, let’s get back to it. The internet isn’t the tool we need. It’s the face-to-face talk we need. — “Hello! Is there somebody? Somebody out there? What are you thinking?” — There must have been warnings ahead. Also before the shootings in Germany, in Erfurt and Winnenden.
Parents: What are your children doing? Take care. Take them off Facebook. Take them off the internet at all!
Kill all the redundant distractions. Talk to your children! Let ‘em learn a musical instrument. A boy who is learning to play a saxophone has no time for extremely addictive games like … (no ads here!).
It’s all about love, true love and about understanding. Where there is an open ear, there will be someone who is talking to you.