Author Archive: jimidurso
Another jam w/ ThereminPlayer!
Friday, October 1st, 7pm EDT, Twang! jams online w/ ThereminPlayer! All improvised music! Frippish guitar loops w/ theremin on top. You can observe it here: Twitch
Special Indian music event this Sunday May 16th!
@ 5pm EDT, I’ll present “Indian Music Played Wrong”, a series of alaaps played on very non-Indian instruments. It will be broadcast on both Twitch, and on FaceBook. You can find out more here: Indian Music Played Wrong.
Hindustani Music on the String Bass!
While in quarantine, I’ve has been working on an album of North Indian Classical music, played mostly in the string bass (there’ll be some guitar, and even kalimba on it). My teacher, Pandit Kinnar Seen, has graciously offered to contribute tabla and sitar to the album. Keep checking here to find out more about when …
a Listening Experiment
I recently read that the means that the music industry uses to create interest in their products is repetition. The idea that if you hear a song more than a half-dozen times you’ll find yourself liking it, no matter how awful it is (this could explain why people find themselves singing songs to themselves that …
Correlation
I’m reading two books: the Coltrane book by Ben Ratliff and “Latin Jazz” by John Roberts. In the first Ratliff says one of the reasons the modal thing caught on in the early 60s was because jazz musicians were tired of the restrictions of playing over so many chord changes, and reveled in the freedom …
Promotion?
There a Buddy Hackett joke, presented here in abridged version: I’m playing roulette, and after losing the guy next to me tells me to spread my bets more. I lose again, and he says to make sure I’m evenly spread across red and black. I lose again, and he tells me to make sure I’m …
What are you, really?
Someone recently asked me a question, one I’ve been asked quite often, and it always confuses me. This person (who may even be reading this blog), having witnessed me perform on guitar as well as bass, asked me if I was a guitarist or bassist. I replied that I consider myself proficient on both, and …
Authenticity
I recently read an interview w/ Marcus Miller where he said “the worst thing you can do is try to out-authenticize somebody’s native music.” and I thoroughly agree, but I feel that it’s deeper than that. Just ‘cos someone grew up in, for instance, Thailand doesn’t mean they should try to play “authentic” Thai music. …
Symbiosis
I recently read (and commented on) a Facebook post by the mandolinist Buddy Merriam. He was making a plea for support of his music. Now, to me, Buddy is a bluegrass icon on Long Island. The idea that he has to ask for support seems utterly ridiculous. But thinking about it more carefully, I feel …
Hugh Laurie and the state of music
I saw Hugh Laurie being interviewed, and he had put out an album of old blues and swing tunes. Asked why, he said that these old songs mean so much to him that he doesn’t want them to be lost to history. This created some mixed feelings for me. On one side, I also feel …
Mechanics of Coincidence 