|
|
|
|
FRIDAY September 11, 1998 Meeting With A Record Label The band met at 2:30pm today with a rep from this PARAS record label. I got the impression that they are definitely new and just starting out as a record label, but they say they've done major distribution to all the major outlets. The band's been looking, shopping around, rather, for a record label. The problem is, most of the big labels are reluctant to take on a swing band for fear that the swing movement will just be another fad. Supposedly, this guy from PARAS says he wants to sign us, and stick with us for at least four albums projects, and stresses that fact that he's looking to keep solid acts and not just show a passing fancy. Okay, we'll definitely keep our fingers crossed, but we are very skeptical, especially since that whole Glenn Larson deal. Assessing The Lists I've been debating whether or not to unsubscribe from the lists I've been on. There's just too much mail to have to go through, especially the barflies list. I mentioned to everyone on the barflies list that I planned on checking 'no mail', but I received a lot of emails both private and through the list, all about wanting me to stay on. Well, with all the response I received, I just had to stay and duke it out. Melancholia I've been feeling very melancholy lately... not really knowing why. I listened to Brahm's Symphony No. 3, especially the third movement, the sad, romantic slow movement. Every time I hear it I want to cry, it's so beautiful. I wonder if other music lovers hear the same things I hear when I savor a work of art such as the Brahms Symphony No. 3. For something composed in the mid-1800's, this work sounds like it's from a romantic european foreign film. I treasure Brahm's third. I think of him and his life. How he was in love with Schumann's wife, the great concert pianist Clara Schumann. When Robert Schumann suffered from a devastating brain tumor, Brahm's and Clara had this affair, a very long romance, which began before Robert Schumann showed signs of deterioration. Well, with this melancholia, I get into these moments when I just break down and cry, overwhelmed by this flood of emotions. I feel like I'm having a nervous breakdown, but after a few moments I'm okay. I listened hard to Keith Jarrett's La Scala album again. The beautiful way he expresses all these thoughts on the piano, he's pure genius. A lot of pianists followed his cue and produced all these 'new age' efforts that simply do not compare with Jarrett's improvisational genius. That fact that he spontaneously produces these melodies and harmonies confrims his genius. The Chucho Valdes CD is incredible. That's why I've been listening to and studying this CD for weeks now. He is another brilliant pianist, and his version of George Gershwin's 'But Not For Me' is such a beautiful melody (and melancholy, probably why I've been in this mood lately) set against this mambo groove. Excellent!!!! CDs Played Today:
Peter Gabriel - So Keith Jarrett - La Scala Fourplay - The Best of...
|
|
|
