Seattle-based pianist Bill Anschell and I go back to our days fighting the good fights on behalf of jazz and jazz musicians as arts administrators tasked with developing efforts on behalf of service to the jazz community from our respective regional arts organizations – he at Southern Arts Federation in Atlanta, me at Arts Midwest in Minneapolis. Among Bill’s many achievements from that perch were a superb series of CD compilations highlighting the many unsung heroes and s-heroes of jazz in the southeast. Since relocating to Seattle Bill has concentrated professionally on his pianistic exploits, as a successful bandleader and recording artist, where you can find his releases on the Origin label. Always blessed with a keen sense of humor and an ability to spin out various witticisms in print, more recently Bill has been chronicling that wit in a series of “Mr. P.C.” posts on his website. So consider this the first of a multi-part compendium of the wit & wisdom of Mr. P.C.

For more of Mr. P.C.’s wisdom, visit his Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mr-PCs-Guide-to-Jazz-Etiquette-and-Bandstand-Decorum/176989928575?v=wall
To receive each new post directly from Mr. P.C., or to send him your own etiquette question, email him at pcjazz1@gmail.com

Dear Mr. P.C.:
What’s with the joke, “More cowbell”? I got to watch a jazz recording session, and the musicians kept saying it to the engineer, then everyone would laugh. Does jazz even use a cowbell? – David T., New Orleans

Dear David:
Not all jazz is bucolic, but certainly much of the music on the ECM label fits that description. So, while you might not hear a cowbell in the music of, say, John Coltrane’s Impulse years, it would be entirely appropriate in the more pastoral music of Keith Jarrett. For me, his standards trio often evokes imagery of a cow leisurely chewing its cud on a lush green field, its bell gently tolling with the mastication. I’ve often wondered why Jack DeJohnette doesn’t lay down a cowbell groove on some of their tunes, or why Jarrett doesn’t expand the group to a quartet, with a dedicated cowbellist. Or cowbeller. Or whatever. He probably just hasn’t thought of it, so I’ll bet he’d love it if you brought a cowbell to one of his concerts and started jamming along with his solos.

Dear Mr. P.C.:
I wrote you in October telling you about my ankle pain, and asking if it might count as enough suffering to make me soulful. Your answer was, “Only if it can’t be fully controlled by over-the-counter-medication.” That was really helpful, and it sent me on quite a journey.

I tried Advil, Tylenol, Aleve, and traditional aspirin, and none of them helped. Ka-ching! Over-the-counter-medication couldn’t control my pain!!! So I got a prescription for Oxycodone, and it didn’t help either. I figured I needed to increase the dosage, and my bassist was able to hook me up. Now he also sells me Valium to help me sleep. As it turns out, not only does my ankle still hurt, but my life is unraveling. Might I have soul now? — Duane, Detroit

Dear Duane:
I think you’re heading down the right path, but keep in mind that the truly tragic – and soulful – historical figures in jazz would already have added booze to the mix; that’s a no-brainer. And don’t worry about the warnings on the labels, saying not to mix this medication with that, or with alcohol, or with the operation of heavy machinery. They’re written by pharmaceutical lawyers; soulless corporate tools who wouldn’t recognize the Blues if it wore a nametag and had a firm handshake.

Soulless Pharmaceutical Tool: “And what company do you work for?”

The Blues: “I don’t work for a company. I’m an expression of loss and yearning.”

Soulless Pharmaceutical Tool (hiding disappointment): “Ah, well, if you ever need large quantities of labels warning against mixing alcohol and anti-convulsants…” (hands the Blues a business card, heads to the bar for a refill).

And if you want to take it all the way, Duane, why not top off your “soul cocktail” with the most storied self-medication of all — heroin? Jazz lore tells us that no spiritual enema is really complete without it.

Just one note of caution: As I advise all my readers, I recommend you avoid caffeine, red meat, and gluten.

Dear Mr. P.C:
I’m about to travel with my group (a pianist, bassist and drummer), to a gig in a really remote area. I’m wondering: If we somehow get stranded and eventually run out of food — a la the Donner Party — which guy should I eat first? –Chuck D., Seattle

Dear Chuck:
You’re kidding, right? Because, thankfully, most jazz musicians nowadays are vegetarians. But, okay, let’s assume you’re one of the carnivore holdouts. Imagine you’re at the butcher’s, and consider the cut of meat:
Jazz musicians, regardless of instrument, are underfed, overworked, and stressed. One meal off the buffet at a gig (plus whatever they can stuff in their pockets) has to hold them for days. It gives them just enough body mass to lug their heavy gear up steep stairwells, and just enough nourishment to practice frenetically between gigs. They’re gaunt, their flesh dry and stringy. As for the taste: Just think about the smell! At best, a rancid commingling of smoke, alcohol and sweat. No amount of hot sauce would make it okay.

By contrast, consider opera divas. Confined to small conservatory practice rooms, trotted out only occasionally for concert hall performances, plumped up to fill out the plus-sized bodices of their costumes, they are the veal of the music world. And they’re oh so flavorful, too — always freshly showered, lightly powdered and sweetly perfumed.

If, God forbid, you are forced into cannibalism, don’t eat one of your fellow jazz musicians; eat the opera singer. And if you’re taking a trip through potentially dangerous terrain, be sure to pack her along with your flashlight, blankets, and potable water.

Dear Mr. P.C.:
I can’t figure out what jazz artists are thinking when they play a piece by one of the Great American Songbook composers like Gershwin or Porter. It sounds to me like they play it correctly, then they go crazy for five or ten minutes, then they play it correctly again. That’s two minutes of good music surrounding a much longer bout of insanity, and for me it’s really not worth it. Am I missing something? — Melody, Please!

Dear Melody:
Imagine you were invited to deliver the eulogy at a famous poet’s funeral. You might open by reading one of his or her poems, then extemporize on your own experiences with his or her poetry, then conclude with another of his or her poems.

Well, like that poet, composers of the Great American Songbook are all – for lack of a better word – dead. And jazz artists happen to be a highly reverential lot. Each performance of a “standard” is, in fact, a musical eulogy. The musicians start with a solemn reading, interpreting the dead composer’s melody, sticking respectfully close to it. Then they improvise, spinning original lines within the dead composer’s form and harmony. This “insanity,” as you call it, is actually the jazz artists’ genius, and there could be no deeper, more heartfelt testimonial to the dead composer. Some jazz musicians are so moved by the dead composer’s death that they solo for twenty minutes or longer, screeching and honking with animal noises from deep within, channeling the bereft widow’s heart-wrenching wail as the dead composer’s casket was lowered into the earth many years ago.

Once the outpouring is complete and catharsis achieved, the artists then conclude, more soberly, with a restatement of the dead composer’s melody; a final heartfelt tribute. It’s all really very simple, if a bit morbid.

Dear Mr. P.C.:
I’ve noticed that when a lot of the younger groups rearrange a standard or pop song, they take out a beat here and there. It keeps me off guard and if I don’t count I lose track of the downbeat. But that’s fine. What I’m wondering is: Where do those beats go? — Beats Are Missing

Dear BAM:
It’s horrible to say, but this is simply the thinning of the species; natural selection favoring the beats that matter most, at the expense of those proven to be expendable. Oh, to believe in Intelligent Design, that benevolent fairy tale glossing over the destruction of the weak and defenseless! But, no, my belief system offers no such consolation; these superfluous beats will someday be entirely extinct, thoughtlessly offed by young composers yet to develop a musical conscience.

What does this mean for the future of jazz? 4/4 time will no longer be the standard; first 3/4, then 2/4 will eventually rise to the fore, with sporadic dropped beats continuing to mark the music’s evolution. The brutal process will continue until there’s just one beat left; a powerful and utterly adaptable beat, granted, but one that in itself will appeal to only the cruelest and most simple-minded among us. Which, conveniently, may be the only humans left by then anyway.

Bill Anschell’s latest recording, RUMBLER, on the Origin label…

Like/Comment/Share on Facebook: http://tinyurl.com/j5arucx

Visit Bill Anschell, aka Mr. PC, online at www.billanschell.com For music samples, short stories, and calendar of upcoming gigs.

Last December 1 the DC Jazz Festival presented Jason Moran in a solo piano performance at the Embassy of Switzerland before an enthusiastic, (packed) invited audience of festival supporters. Earlier that afternoon, as part of DCJF’s ongoing Meet The Artist series it was this writer’s pleasure to engage Jason in a very rewarding (free & open to the public) lunchtime interview before a rapt audience at the NYU/DC Abramson Family Auditorium. We discussed his growing up in Houston and how that city has developed so many productive musicians of his generation (e.g. Robert Glasper, Eric Harland, Helen Sung, Kendrick Scott and several others); his artistically (and otherwise obviously) nurturing home environment; his subsequent music studies with Jaki Byard; how he, drummer Nasheet Waits, and bassist Tarus Mateen came to establish his 18-year old trio the Bandwagon; the development of he and wife Alicia Hall Moran are going about establishing their Yes records label and a variety of other pertinent topics. View that Meet The Artist interview here:

Watching Netflix revealing 4-part documentary series Hip Hop Evolution a couple months after enjoying director Baz Luhrmann’s exceptionally entertaining 6-part historical drama The Get Down (also Netflix) was somewhat akin to watching FX’s riveting O.J. Simpson murder drama, followed in short order by ESPN’s brilliant and exhaustive O.J. Simpson: Made in America documentary. In both cases you had a finely-executed drama followed in short order by a documentary vehicle that gave you the real deal in a kind of hand-in-glove relationship (no O.J. pun intended!). The documentary film is affably and expertly narrated by its admirably-invested, attitude-free tour guide, the Canadian MC Shad, aka Shadrach Kabango. The fact that he’s Canadian perhaps forgives his youthful naiveté when one of the hip hop pioneers details the formative influence of the early rappin’ comic Pigmeat Markham, an African American community record collection staple in the ’60s and ’70s – in the rack right next to those hilariously blue Redd Foxx and Moms Mabley records our parents forbad us to listen to until we were “old enough” – though we damn sure devoured them when Mom & Dad weren’t home, or when we snuck outta bed to peep their house parties!

The Get Down dramatizes the times and landscape (principally the oft-neglected New York City borough of the Bronx) that gave rise to hip-hop, while The Evolution of Hip Hop, with the gritty mid-70s realities of life in the Bronx in vivid terms, provides even greater context to the people and the atmospheres that gave rise to the dominant force in 21st century pop music culture. The smooth transition from the dramatized version, with its greater emphasis on interpersonal relationships and familial backdrop, works beautifully juxtaposed alongside the documentary, which nails the facts and figures. The doc introduces the viewer to characters heretofore unknown, or otherwise underground (dig the interview with the brother who rapped his basement MC role alongside legendary house party DJ Kool Herc), which gave root to the form’s march through its ongoing, often controversial 40+ year evolution.

Kool Herc’s place in music history is sealed by both the documentary and his depiction in The Get Down, as are such early turntable doctors as Grandmaster Flash. The documentary series provides excellent context for the oft-overlooked importance of sound system technology (particularly turntables) in the development of hip hop. The section of Grandmaster Flash’s interview where he details his childhood fascination with electronic gadgets and circular motion (from the spin of a clothes dryer window, to spinning bicycle wheels, to his dad spinning discs at home), is priceless, including the ‘ah-ha’ moment when he discovers how to separate the break beats he sought to emphasize from the rest of the Lp; and these guys most definitely focused on the long-form of the Lp, as opposed to the singles or 45s preceding generations partied to. The documentary firmly establishes the fact that it was the DJs and MCs who were as important – some might argue more important – to the development of hip hop as the rappers themselves, whose historical importance has been somewhat inflated by human nature’s broader embrace of the human voice over the instrumental and technological influences and innovations in music.

Another fascinating segment of the documentary series comes when hip hop scenester (he was first to bring the form to broadcast television via Yo MTV Raps) Fab 5 Freddy (interviewed in these pages in two parts: : http://www.openskyjazz.com/2011/05/jazz-influence-t…roots-of-hip-hop/ http://www.openskyjazz.com/2011/05/pt-fab-5-freddy-…roots-of-hip-hop/ ) recalls introducing hip hop pioneer DJ Afrika Bambaataa to downtown visual artist Keith Haring and how Haring hatched the idea of inviting Bambaataa downtown from the Bronx to DJ parties, which began to broaden the reach of this burgeoning form, encouraging the immersion of young white kids. Thus introducing Debbie Harry‘s pivotal embrace of early rap, at a time when progressives hungered to loosen disco’s grip on club and dance culture.

The documentary segment detailing how Sugarhill Gang came to record the earliest hip hop hit, “Rapper’s Delight” is one of the film’s touchstones. Tellingly some of the early OG’s of the form patently dismissed the mass popularity of “Rapper’s Delight” in the same manner hardcore jazzers dismissed the smooth jazz heyday of the 1990s. Sugarhill Gang was viewed by hip hop’s early hardcore as largely flukey perpetrators, the group having been birthed by R&B record executive Sylvia Robinson. Jazz historians might easily analogize Sugar Hill Gang as The Original Dixieland Jazz Band of hip hop. ODJB made history’s first jazz record in 1917 largely because black musicians, as legend has it like trumpeter Freddie Keppard, who turned down the opportunity. And why’d he decline overtures to make that first jazz record? Because they thought someone might steal their licks! The same was apparently true of early hip hop proponents who missed the same boat Sugarhill Gang seized, supervised by Sylvia Robinson. And the series does indeed make that analogy with early black jazzers, via the distinguished black pop writer Nelson George.

Perhaps owed to its production by an otherwise laudable Canadian firm the only even slight bobble in The Evolution of Hip Hop is the total absence of one important historical factoid that helped compel the birth of hip hop. Historical footage in the documentary shows Ronald Reagan’s now-infamous foray into the Bronx, back when the borough was truly “burning”. What was missed was the impact his draconian economic policy known as Reaganomics had on the subsequent Reagan years (1980s) development of hip hop. Jazz grandmaster Max Roach, was a keen observer of hip hop’s early development, principally through conversations with his godson Freddy Brathwaite, known as Fab 5 Freddy. Max often spoke of Reaganomics’ drastic cuts to public education being at the root of hip hop’s development.

With those cuts in public education funding, among the first thing administrators slashed was public school music education. This observer came along at a time when all you had to do is choose which instrument you wanted to play if you desired to learn music; every school had its share of old instruments ready to be resurrected from whatever closet they were kept at school. Those Reaganomic cuts, and in most cases outright elimination, of public school music education, didn’t dampen kids’ desire to somehow make music; so instead they chose turntable technology and wordsmithing.

But ultimately that was a small overlook on the part of this otherwise excellent and highly-recommended Netflex documentary The Evolution of Hip Hop, a must-see no matter your interest in or position on the form. In its four parts the Evolution of Hip Hop takes the viewer geographically from the Bronx to South Central L.A. as its end point. Thankfully we are spared the many dollar-driven, two bit, narcissistic hip hop charlatans that have emerged in subsequent years. Ultimately, this report recommends ordering your viewing ala the O.J. saga – drama (The Get Down) first, followed by the reality check (The Evolution of Hip Hop).

In our continuing series of conversations with musicians who have determined to take full ownership of much of their artistic resources, we turn to the resourceful bassist MIMI JONES. Not only is Mimi an exceptional bassist, she is also quite the businesswoman – continuing to evolve as a bassist-composer and bandleader, hatching new performance projects, developing her own record label (Hot Tone Music), recording fellow-traveling artists of her choosing, and building her own performances, including running a weekly jam session. Clearly some questions were in order for this 21st century renaissance woman.

(Photo by Tyrone Kenney)

Mimi Jones, where are you from and how did you come to play this music?
Im a native New Yorker born and raised, spent most of my life in the Bronx. I’ve been listening to music since I was in the womb, my parents were big jazz fans, Miles, Trane, Cannonball, Nancy Wilson, Monk, and others like James Brown, Kenny Rogers, Simon and Garfunkel, Earth, Wind and Fire… the craziest mixture, what the hell… My parents tried to get me to stop listening to LL Cool J, and Michael Jackson and listen to kind of blue, and I’d always try and run away, lol. This went on until my 3rd year of high school, when it hit me how incredible that music really was.

What have been some of your biggest challenges as a musician?
One of my biggest challenges was finding my own voice and realizing that I am significant. I spent a lot of time being hard on myself about my playing not being good enough and missing out on how awesome it is to be a bass player; learning how to enjoy and appreciate the process, and have patience for good things to come was terribly hard.

Why did you decide to start your own record label – Hot Tone – and how have you gone about developing your label?
I started the Hot Tone Music label because I began to realize that humans take you more seriously when you have a family, or backup. Also I needed a safe platform to experiment and manifest my ideas from. I found that I could spend hours on end producing music, in production and post production, and have an eye for design… so a lot of the necessary skills were already there. Right now as most music seems to be freely streamed on the internet, as a label owner I am interested to see what comes next.

Talk about some of the artists who have recorded for Hot Tone Music.
Well there was Ms. Camille Thurman, an amazing vocalist, amazing saxophonist, Flutist, and composer. We recorded Origins and Spirit Child with Camille, crazy and fun times. Shirazette Tinnin, drummer and percussionist extraordinaire and composer, recorded “Humility: Purity of my Soul,” and “How the Groove stole Christmas” for the label. Again crazy and fun times! Luis Perdomo, an incredible pianist & composer, recorded “Montage,” which has a mixture of free, original, and traditional musical selections and was his first solo piano recording, and “Twenty Two” featuring his trio project the Controlling Ear Unit, an exciting, unusual piano trio.

DRUMMER SHIRIZETTE TININ HAS RECORDED TWICE FOR HOT TONE MUSIC

This year I recorded my own projects with the Mimi Jones Band “Feet in the Mud”, a tribute to great music legends, my ancestors and the process. I also recorded “Balance” in 2014, and “A New Day” in 2009 for the label.

Would it be an accurate assessment to suggest that Hot Tone Music is somewhat of a woman-centric label?
Hot Tone Music is not centric to any gender… just great music!

As we enter this new year 2017 what other enterprises have you got coming up?
The Lab Session [her regular] Experimental Jam Session just moved to Smoke Jazz Club on Monday Nights. The project Next Stop Harlem will be performing at the Pollack Theatre in NJ on Feb 4th, 2017… The performance features a jazz septet, including a tap dancer, spoken word and dialogue depicting a story based around the journey of a couple traveling from the South to Harlem during the great migration and the Harlem renaissance. It is a mini musical. Truly exciting, informative and fun.

The D.O.M.E. Experience is a multimedia project co-created by myself and pianist ArcoIris Sandoval that includes dance choreography, cinematography
and original composition. The project is created to bring an awareness to current social and environmental issues globally, with the hope that the exposure will stimulate the viewers to get up and do their part to make the world a better place. This large orchestra ensemble project can range from a cast of 20 to a cast of 45 people depending on the budget. It features jazz luminaries like Steve Wilson, David Gilmore, Claire Daly, Bob Stewart, Tia Fuller, many more.

Stay tuned to the Independent Ear for an update from Mimi on The D.O.M.E. Experience performances.

*The 2016 edition of the WPFW Jazz Programmer’s Poll considered all new releases and reissues received between Thanksgiving 2015 and Thanksgiving 2016. Read below for details on WPFW’s eclectic mix of jazz programming and programmers (each of whom produce one 2-3 hour program per week) – one of the most robust jazz menus in terrestrial radio.

Top Ten
ARTIST/BAND ALBUM TITLE LABEL
Gregory Porter, Take Me to the Alley, Blue Note
Catherine Russell, Harlem on my Mind, Jazz Village
Joey Alexander, Countdown, Motema
Orrin Evans, Knowingishalfthebattle, Smoke Sessions
Rene Marie, Sound of Red, Motema
Herlin Riley, New Direction, Mack Avenue
Wadada Leo Smith, America’s National Parks, Cuneiform
Charles Lloyd & The Marvels, I Long to See You, Blue Note
Miles Davis, Freedom Jazz Dance: The Bootleg Series Vol 5, Legacy
Jack DeJohnette/Ravi Coltrane/Matt Garrison, In Movement, ECM

Honorable Mention
Cecile McLorin Salvant, For One to Love, Mack Avenue
John Scofield, Country for Old Men, Impulse
Nels Cline, Lovers, Blue Note
Larry Young in Paris, The ORTF Recordings, Resonance
Warren Wolf, Convergence, Mack Avenue
Lori Williams, Behind the Smiles, Pacific Coast Jazz
The Cookers, Call of the Wild and Peaceful Heart, Smoke Sessions
Abbey Lincoln, Talkin’ to the Sun, HighNote
Cuong Vu Trio meets Pat Metheny, Nonesuch
Henry Threadgill, Old Locks and Irregular Verbs, Pi

*Broadcasting from the nation’s capital, WPFW 89.3FM is the “Jazz & Justice” station in the DMV; streaming live at www.wpfwfm.org. WPFW programmers host once-weekly programs and each brings his/her own music; our station does not maintain an active music library. Jazz on WPFW is aired in the following timeslots: Sundays 9am-6pm; M-F 5am-8am; M-F 3pm-5pm (eclectic mix incl. jazz); M-F 7pm-10pm; M-Th 10pm-midnight; T-Th midnight-2am; M-Th 2am-5am.

Next Week: WPFW Jazz Programmers’ extensive list of other new releases and reissues from 2016 receiving votes in the 2016 WPFW Jazz Programmer’s Poll.

…SCROLL DOWN FOR OUR INTERVIEW WITH WINTER JAZZFEST PRODUCER BRICE ROSENBLOOM…