From: owner-basia-digest@smoe.org (basia-digest) To: basia-digest@smoe.org Subject: basia-digest V4 #196 Reply-To: basia@smoe.org Sender: owner-basia-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-basia-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk X-To-Unsubscribe: Send mail to "basia-digest-request@smoe.org" X-To-Unsubscribe: with "unsubscribe" as the body. basia-digest Saturday, September 25 1999 Volume 04 : Number 196 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Re: basia-digest V4 #195 [Joanna Lee & Larry Churchill ] Re: Third Time Lucky [Leslie Brown ] Re: basia-digest V4 #194 [Leslie Brown ] Re: basia-digest V4 #195 [Leslie Brown ] (no subject) [JPovlock@aol.com] Re: basia-digest V4 #194 ["Jeff Abrams" ] RE: basia-digest V4 #194 ["Kent Bennett [kbennett@thomaslargesinger.com]"] Re: basia-digest V4 #194 [Leslie Brown ] Bossing those musicians/smooth jazz [Leslie Brown ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 23 Sep 1999 22:50:37 -0700 From: Joanna Lee & Larry Churchill Subject: Re: basia-digest V4 #195 In response to Jim's posting, which also slightly relates to an earlier debate about the epidemic and unfortunate conversion of "smooth jazz" stations to "light rock" stations...KKSF in the SF Bay Area used to give lots of exposure to Basia, from all albums, including TSI when it came out. (In fact, I won the chance to meet Basia & Danny on a promo tour, by calling in when I heard the first notes of "yearning"...but I digress) Since KKSF was bought out by some corporate entity who doesn't give a sh** about music, only "market share," the only Basia tunes I hear them play anymore are "Cruising for Bruising," "Promises," and "Time & Tide." A friend who works for a "quiet storm" station (more soul & R& B tunes) told me that nothing is programmed locally anymore...which has become painfully obvious. I am another person who LOVES, LOVES LOVES!!!!! "Third Time Lucky." I thought I was guilty of a mondegreen (mishearing of lyrics) when Richard quoted "...I know there's a lesson in every false hope" so I checked the lyrics, which are "...in every fall." But, Richards interpretation works quite well, I'd say! (please don't think I'm criticizing you, Richard!) And by the way, where the heck is Ashoke!?! Ashoke, we expect a chronicle from you very shortly expressing your deep thoughts on "Third Time Lucky," and maybe some witty statement about how much longer we are all supposed to wait for Basia's album! Joanna P.S. Ditto what Meg said! Subject: TSI I have always wondered why TSI was virtually ignored (I think) by radio stations in the US. I was originally turned on to Basia by a Dallas radio station called "The Oasis". When they first played a couple of songs from T&T, I was hooked. The station used to play several songs from T&T, and still does occasionally. LWNY was also played when it came out. However, when TSI became available, the station ignored it, which I found very strange since they were still playing songs from the previous CD's. It was as if the station had decided in advance to ignore TSI for some reason. The TSI freeze occurred in Dallas, where I live, and I don't travel much so the situation might have been entirely different at stations in other US cities. Any ideas or feedback? Pardon if this subject has already been discussed. Jim Clary jclary@fastlane.net ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 23 Sep 1999 22:54:09 +0900 From: "Brian Cundieff" Subject: Re: Third Time Lucky From: Jim Clary Date: Thursday, September 23, 1999 2:37 AM Subject: Third Time Lucky >Not quite sure how to interpret this, in particular the central "mortal >coil" line. Some possibilities which have come to mind are: >1. Materialism - give up all material possessions and wander the landscape, >e.g. "Holy Men" of India? >2. Suicide pact? >3. Rapture? Come on! Are there no English literature majors on this list? Basia's been reading Shakespeare, I think. Unfortunately, I didn't bring my Complete Works to Japan or I'd try to find the exact line. The term "mortal coil" is from Hamlet. I believe it means simply this physical body or earthly life. Although the guy in the song seems to apply the term to the Buddhist idea of liberation from suffering through giving up attachments. He wasn't saying he believed we should give up life itself, only that we should not be emotionally attached to worldly things. "...what ties us to this mortal coil we should sever..." At least that's my interpretation. Ommmmmmmm....... - -Brian* ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 24 Sep 1999 07:00:19 -0700 (PDT) From: Leslie Brown Subject: Re: Third Time Lucky > I was going to say Mark Reily Gack! Arrrgh! *choking on the mere thought* Ewww! ;) - --Leslie __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Bid and sell for free at http://auctions.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 24 Sep 1999 07:01:21 -0700 (PDT) From: Leslie Brown Subject: Re: basia-digest V4 #194 > night I told Danny I was going to steal the ending > riff of the solo. He > forgave me. > But don't get me started on my Basia close-encounter > stories. Too late, Jeff. Spill it. :) - --Leslie, the nosy one __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Bid and sell for free at http://auctions.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 24 Sep 1999 07:14:46 -0700 (PDT) From: Leslie Brown Subject: Re: basia-digest V4 #195 > Since KKSF was bought out by some corporate entity > who doesn't give a > sh** about music, only "market share," the only > Basia tunes I hear them > play anymore are "Cruising for Bruising," > "Promises," and "Time & Tide." > A friend who works for a "quiet storm" station (more > soul & R& B tunes) > told me that nothing is programmed locally > anymore...which has become > painfully obvious. To me this was a big warning sign of what was to come in the state of contemporary jazz radio: One of their flagship artists comes out with a long-awaited new album, and they virtually ignore her? Thanks to the new national pre-programming (Broadcast Architecture and the like) you all across the country have to suffer through the same blandness. I know we in Detroit do. It would be a cold day in hell before we ever heard Basia on the radio. I don't know enough about this to make further comment without sounding half-baked (plus I'm at work ;) ) but this has been an ongoing discussion at contemporaryjazz.com, in their Forum, and since many broadcast professionals contribute to it I suggest you all check that out for further perspective. I'll I can say is that I used to love that genre, but in the past five years the style has made me want to run for the hills. And I was a big fan. Sorry to say, but you see the same type of production in Peter White's work, which I used to love before he hooked up with Paul Brown. The first two albums were just great (Danny cameo and all). I understand the man needs to be paid, and the stuff's alright, but I know he's a better artist than that. Of course he's selling bazillions of records now, so who am I to say? > And by the way, where the heck is Ashoke!?! Ashoke, > we expect a chronicle > from you very shortly expressing your deep thoughts > on "Third Time > Lucky," and maybe some witty statement about how > much longer we are all > supposed to wait for Basia's album! Yeah! Get your butt back here or we will have to call/page you on every one of your 5-10 phone numbers. ;) Seriously, we miss you, man. > P.S. Ditto what Meg said! Yeah! - --Leslie __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Bid and sell for free at http://auctions.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 24 Sep 1999 12:19:59 EDT From: JPovlock@aol.com Subject: (no subject) <<>> Thank you Leslie, I couldn't agree more. "Smooth jazz" was a great idea when there was variety being played. Like most stations these days, it's the same old bland stuff. It was great when a musician would challenge my ears with a clever arrangement, but that happens so infrequently. I've always found Peter White to be much much better when he is working with someone else, as opposed to making his own music. I find he does real tasty solos, but is boring as a composer. I think he certainly could do much better than he has. His one CD of remakes was a very poor effort. Since you mentioned Peter, I have a question. I am curious as to how Basia and especially Danny work with other musicians. Does Danny "tell" Peter what or how to play something? And if not, why does Peter not receive any writing credits? For example, From Now On, certainly a guitar song, gives Peter no credit. Does anyone have any thoughts or info on this? Jim P. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 24 Sep 1999 12:27:23 -0400 From: "Jeff Abrams" Subject: Re: basia-digest V4 #194 > Too late, Jeff. Spill it. :) > > --Leslie, the nosy one Aw, do I gotta? OK... My connection with Basia is a long and tenuous chain of happy coincidences. I first heard "From Now On" on a station that used to be a New Wave station, WBMW 106.7 here in DC (It is now WJFK, BTW) in the Summer of 1987 as I drove down I66 into town. Was it Sade? No, the pitch was too good. An Astrud/Jobim type tune that obviously wasn't (Stan Getz-esque solo not withstanding). I had to find out who this was. Fortunately, this was not difficult, I just called Serph (the DJ) and he clued me in. The next June, Basia came to the now defunct Bayou club in DC. The beauty of the Bayou, for those of you who don't know, it that it only seats about 150 people and most of those are right against the stage. I spent the whole evening within 3 feet of Basia and Danny. (the 'highlight' of the evening, for me, was a mistake actually. Danny was doing the runs at the beginning of "Run for Cover" and his foot slipped off of the sustain pedal. He got a tad flustered and botched a few notes on the way down. His eyes met Basia's eyes and the were 'locked' for a sec; he - probably thinking "aw shit!", she - probably thinking "keep ... it ... together!" I, being a pianist myself, was right in line with the keyboard and after Danny broke off his staring contest with Basia, found himself locked in a similar contest with me; he - probably thinking "gimme a break!", me - thinking "oof! I've been there!") At the end of the night we caught up with the band (minus Basia) outside of the Bayou getting into their limo (a van actually) Danny was pretty quiet, but Kevin and one of the back-up girls were pretty boisterous, looking for a bar or someplace to go. We sent them up into Georgetown, but who knows were they actually went. I walked over to the Four Seasons (a block or two away) to say hello to a friend in catering. Guess who was coming in the door as I was waiting. I didn't want to be to 'stalker-ish' but I did want to congratulate her on the show. I had her sign my program (which I still have: http://users.erols.com/doctorpc/basia1.jpg ) and we chit-chatted for the 30-40 sec it took for the elevator to come and said goodbye. I remember thinking how slight she seemed, especially for such a husky, deep voice. From that day on, every time I greeted her after a concert, she knew me by name! Sometime later, she was appearing at a theatre (can't remember the name right away) outside of Baltimore (which is also now defunct). I caught her show two nights in a row there and then again in Philadelphia, Oslo Norway (both times coincidental - I was working in those cities and there she was) and Atlantic City. Each time backstage was more like a reunion than a fan meet. The Atlantic City concert was particularly good for me: I was good friends with the sound and light guys (ShowCo and Maryland Sound). I noodled around with the equipment, played the Praelude and Fugue in Cm from Bach's 1st book of the Well Tempered Clavier on Danny's Yamaha electric grand [it was all that came to mind at that moment] and sat at the board all night instead of in the theatre (the sound is always the best at the board). I slipped back stage during intermission to the monitor board so that I could be around when everyone left the stage at the end. This turned out to be a hassle because they whisked Basia away in a different direction and I had to run around to catch back up. Once again, after the same warm greeting, we parted for what seemed like a century: I wouldn't see Basia again until Nov 14th, 1994 at the Neil Simon Theatre. I was just in N.Y.C. for business when I decided to take a walk in the theatre district. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw Basia's name on the marquee. I called my hotel to arrange to stay 1 more night and I bought scalped tickets for that night's show. Wasn't too bad of a scalping, actually. I paid what the door was charging. I ended coming back the next week on Thursday so my tech-friend Mike could hook me up at the board there. That concert and the following night were compiled in the "Live on Broadway" CD. You can probably hear me hooting after the trumpet solo in "Copernicus". At the end of the concert on the 14th, a bunch of people were waiting around the "stage door" hoping for a glimpse. Knowing from past experience with this theatre, I knew they would actually be coming out a different door around the corner. Only two other people figured this out, so it was pretty quiet back there. Annick, Veronique and Dee came out first so I had them sign the program first ( http://users.erols.com/doctorpc/basia2.jpg ). Then Danny http://users.erols.com/doctorpc/basia3.jpg ) and finally Basia who bubbled up and said "You again!". She gave me a kiss on each cheek, signed the program with her full name ( http://users.erols.com/doctorpc/basia4.jpg ) and became, for me, yet another fond (and now distant) musical memory. - -- Jeff Abrams doctorpc@erols.com I have six locks on my door all in a row. When I go out, I lock every other one. I figure no matter how long somebody stands there picking the locks, they are always locking three. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 24 Sep 1999 13:22:58 -0400 From: "Kent Bennett [kbennett@thomaslargesinger.com]" Subject: RE: basia-digest V4 #194 Hey Jeff, those were good stories, especially for those of us who've never seen her live. It gives us hope. Kent in Toronto > -----Original Message----- > From: Jeff Abrams [SMTP:doctorpc@erols.com] > Sent: Friday, September 24, 1999 12:27 PM > To: basia@smoe.org > Subject: Re: basia-digest V4 #194 > > > > Too late, Jeff. Spill it. :) > > > > --Leslie, the nosy one > > Aw, do I gotta? OK... > > My connection with Basia is a long and tenuous chain of happy > coincidences. > I first heard "From Now On" on a station that used to be a New Wave > station, > WBMW 106.7 here in DC (It is now WJFK, BTW) in the Summer of 1987 as I > drove > down I66 into town. > Was it Sade? No, the pitch was too good. An Astrud/Jobim type tune that > obviously wasn't (Stan Getz-esque solo not withstanding). > I had to find out who this was. > Fortunately, this was not difficult, I just called Serph (the DJ) and he > clued me in. > The next June, Basia came to the now defunct Bayou club in DC. > The beauty of the Bayou, for those of you who don't know, it that it only > seats about 150 people and most of those are right against the stage. I > spent the whole evening within 3 feet of Basia and Danny. (the 'highlight' > of the evening, for me, was a mistake actually. Danny was doing the runs > at > the beginning of "Run for Cover" and his foot slipped off of the sustain > pedal. He got a tad flustered and botched a few notes on the way down. His > eyes met Basia's eyes and the were 'locked' for a sec; he - probably > thinking "aw shit!", she - probably thinking "keep ... it ... together!" > I, > being a pianist myself, was right in line with the keyboard and after > Danny > broke off his staring contest with Basia, found himself locked in a > similar > contest with me; he - probably thinking "gimme a break!", me - thinking > "oof! I've been there!") > At the end of the night we caught up with the band (minus Basia) outside > of > the Bayou getting into their limo (a van actually) Danny was pretty quiet, > but Kevin and one of the back-up girls were pretty boisterous, looking for > a > bar or someplace to go. We sent them up into Georgetown, but who knows > were > they actually went. I walked over to the Four Seasons (a block or two > away) > to say hello to a friend in catering. > Guess who was coming in the door as I was waiting. > I didn't want to be to 'stalker-ish' but I did want to congratulate her on > the show. > I had her sign my program (which I still have: > http://users.erols.com/doctorpc/basia1.jpg ) and we chit-chatted for the > 30-40 sec it took for the elevator to come and said goodbye. I remember > thinking how slight she seemed, especially for such a husky, deep voice. > From that day on, every time I greeted her after a concert, she knew me by > name! > Sometime later, she was appearing at a theatre (can't remember the name > right away) outside of Baltimore (which is also now defunct). I caught her > show two nights in a row there and then again in Philadelphia, Oslo Norway > (both times coincidental - I was working in those cities and there she > was) > and Atlantic City. > Each time backstage was more like a reunion than a fan meet. > The Atlantic City concert was particularly good for me: I was good friends > with the sound and light guys (ShowCo and Maryland Sound). I noodled > around > with the equipment, played the Praelude and Fugue in Cm from Bach's 1st > book > of the Well Tempered Clavier on Danny's Yamaha electric grand [it was all > that came to mind at that moment] and sat at the board all night instead > of > in the theatre (the sound is always the best at the board). > I slipped back stage during intermission to the monitor board so that I > could be around when everyone left the stage at the end. This turned out > to > be a hassle because they whisked Basia away in a different direction and I > had to run around to catch back up. > Once again, after the same warm greeting, we parted for what seemed like a > century: I wouldn't see Basia again until Nov 14th, 1994 at the Neil Simon > Theatre. > I was just in N.Y.C. for business when I decided to take a walk in the > theatre district. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw Basia's name on > the > marquee. > I called my hotel to arrange to stay 1 more night and I bought scalped > tickets for that night's show. Wasn't too bad of a scalping, actually. I > paid what the door was charging. I ended coming back the next week on > Thursday so my tech-friend Mike could hook me up at the board there. > That concert and the following night were compiled in the "Live on > Broadway" CD. You can probably hear me hooting after the trumpet solo in > "Copernicus". > At the end of the concert on the 14th, a bunch of people were waiting > around > the "stage door" hoping for a glimpse. > Knowing from past experience with this theatre, I knew they would actually > be coming out a different door around the corner. Only two other people > figured this out, so it was pretty quiet back there. > Annick, Veronique and Dee came out first so I had them sign the program > first ( http://users.erols.com/doctorpc/basia2.jpg ). Then Danny > http://users.erols.com/doctorpc/basia3.jpg ) and finally Basia who > bubbled > up and said "You again!". She gave me a kiss on each cheek, signed the > program with her full name ( http://users.erols.com/doctorpc/basia4.jpg ) > and became, for me, yet another fond (and now distant) musical memory. > > > -- Jeff Abrams > doctorpc@erols.com > > I have six locks on my door all in a row. When I go out, I lock every > other > one. I figure no matter how long somebody stands there picking the locks, > they are always locking three. > > > ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 24 Sep 1999 11:48:42 -0700 (PDT) From: Leslie Brown Subject: Re: basia-digest V4 #194 > The beauty of the Bayou, for those of you who don't > know, it that it only > seats about 150 people and most of those are right > against the stage. What I would've given to be of age at this time period! (I was 10 when T&T was out ;) ) To get the small venue years... > pedal. He got a tad flustered and botched a few > notes on the way down. His > eyes met Basia's eyes and the were 'locked' for a > sec; he - probably > thinking "aw shit!", she - probably thinking "keep > ... it ... together!" Hey Ray, what's Polish for 'oh shit!' ? LOL > At the end of the night we caught up with the band > (minus Basia) outside of > the Bayou getting into their limo (a van actually) > Danny was pretty quiet, shocker.. ;) > but Kevin and one of the back-up girls were pretty > boisterous, looking for a > bar or someplace to go. We sent them up into > Georgetown, but who knows were > they actually went. You sent Kevin Robinson bar-hopping. I am not worthy. ;) LOL > From that day on, every time I greeted her after a > concert, she knew me by > name! Now that's cool. I love her for stuff like this. Whoever it was on the ML, I remember them relating the story that they gave her a birthday card during a song and she set it on the speaker or something, and forgot it momentarily. Then afer the show she ran back out to retrieve it. Just 'folks', see. I like that. No diva, here. > Sometime later, she was appearing at a theatre > (can't remember the name > right away) outside of Baltimore (which is also now > defunct). I caught her > show two nights in a row there and then again in > Philadelphia, Oslo Norway > (both times coincidental - I was working in those > cities and there she was) Either that or she would think, "Sheesh, and I thought I'd lost him in Stockholm!" ;) > I noodled around > with the equipment, played the Praelude and Fugue in > Cm from Bach's 1st book > of the Well Tempered Clavier on Danny's Yamaha > electric grand Okay, now I am definitely not worthy. - --Leslie __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Bid and sell for free at http://auctions.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 24 Sep 1999 14:19:02 -0700 (PDT) From: Leslie Brown Subject: Bossing those musicians/smooth jazz > Thank you Leslie, I couldn't agree more. "Smooth > jazz" was a great idea when > there was variety being played. Like most stations > these days, it's the same > old bland stuff. It was great when a musician would > challenge my ears with a > clever arrangement, but that happens so > infrequently. *sigh* It's all the same these days. Besides, I don't know how anyone can seriously call something 'smooth jazz.' It sounds really schmaltzy (is that a word?). "Yeah, I'm gonna go see some great *smooth jazz*". Gack! > I've always found Peter White to be much much better > when he is working with > someone else, as opposed to making his own music. I > find he does real tasty > solos, but is boring as a composer. I think he > certainly could do much better > than he has. His one CD of remakes was a very poor > effort. I remember being really geeked about Promenade, then I listened to it. So I have the first two, and the latest two (to be honest, it was the Basia song and the bonus CD of alternate versions of Moonlight Montreal and Danny Bianco" that sold me on those) but that's it. No disrespect; he is an excellent musician. But... > Since you mentioned Peter, I have a question. I am > curious as to how Basia > and especially Danny work with other musicians. Does > Danny "tell" Peter what > or how to play something? And if not, why does Peter > not receive any writing > credits? For example, From Now On, certainly a > guitar song, gives Peter no > credit. Does anyone have any thoughts or info on > this? I don't know, but I can give an analogy. I'm an art assistant at a magazine. I work with an art director and a senior art director who basically call the shots on how the overall design will look. So I may assemble something, but I have to run it by the AD, then we modify it. Then we run it by the senior AD, and then it's further modified. When all is said and done, it's not really "my" design, as in not really purely my invention. I was only a component, but I was needed for the whole thing to work. What? you may be asking. Well, I see a session musician as a comrade of sorts, they are very important, yet they play a diluted vision of what they would compose themselves. They have to please the band director (Danny) and the senior AD ;), Basia. Chances are, it's just, "here's some music, play it." (but for what we know about Basia's music, that isn't always the case) Or flip it to this: I had to come up with a series of ads. I came up with a concept, copy, etc., but after a few run-throughs with the ADs and the other assorted honchos that wanted a piece of it, it was quite different. Yet my idea was the foundation of the whole thing, and remains, although it visually was more designed by the AD, in the end (for the record, we both have credit on it, for now) So say, as in the case of 'An Olive Tree,' the 'drummer's suggestion' to add the coda at the end was a foundation which Basia and Danny and possibly Kevin built upon. But the guy (I'm assuming Richard Bull) didn't create the music. Yet I'm sure he left his mark on it, just as if someone gave me a pure execution to do (not involving thought), I'd have to tweak the type face or something. Now, on the fateful day Kevin added the chorus, it was so much his creation that he would have to get credit on it, just as we have to credit a photographer or illustrator even if we told them what to do (and rightfully so). So he added style to something he composed as he played it, while Peter in 'From Now On' for example added style to something that already existed. Just a thought! ;) - --Leslie __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Bid and sell for free at http://auctions.yahoo.com ------------------------------ End of basia-digest V4 #196 ***************************