education – Simon Purcell

“The hippest thing you can do is not play at all. Just listen!” Lennie Tristano

“The hippest thing you can do is not play at all. Just listen!” Lennie Tristano… Sage advice to all improvisors, myself included. This reinforces the view that the practice of improvising is so close to that of mindfulness/presence and attention. Regardless of our private and personal views regarding religion and faith traditions, our musical practiceContinue reading ““The hippest thing you can do is not play at all. Just listen!” Lennie Tristano”

Rate this:

Krishnamurti… and also John Dewey

Thank you Liam Noble for alerting me to this video… Consider the notion of embracing difference in learners, an absence of comparison and the centrality of experience. Krishnamurti’s profound philosophy of education is in direct opposition to the current industrial model of education than not only works against differences in learners/people but has also systematicallyContinue reading “Krishnamurti… and also John Dewey”

Rate this:

American jazz educator Charlie Banacos – quotes and more

I was surfing the website of David Valdez and came across the tributes to and Ph.D about the American jazz educator Charlie Banacos. This man was a very significant figure and worth investigating if like me, you are unaware of his work (see CasaValdez for more information)… Just for starters some of the saying attributed to him: “IfContinue reading “American jazz educator Charlie Banacos – quotes and more”

Rate this:

If Music be the Food of Love…

If Music be the Food of Love, a response to Phil’s Robson’s FaceBook post. Kate Williams is right in her comments on Phil Robson’s original post, it is definitely a political issue. It is a matter of values, and as artists we are in the “values business”. We assign so much of our energy andContinue reading “If Music be the Food of Love…”

Rate this:

Thelonious Monk on How to Play Jazz

Everybody has their opinion about how to play the music. Monk was a one-off, a totally individual and realised artist, but he thought about it, in his own way too. This manuscript is freely available on the web (I found it at Sean Driscoll’s excellent blog – check it out). Makes a change from chords andContinue reading “Thelonious Monk on How to Play Jazz”