The Great Blogjam O' 2012

Whew...

Philip Glass at 75

(Village Voice)

Can Music Learn from the "Slow Food" Movement?

(Salon)

Technology and the Avant-Garde

(Quad City Times)

The AACM’s Alvin Fielder Talks Free Jazz, Tricky Dick and Dying

(Houston Press)

Ranking Springsteen Wannbes from Best to Worst

(Flavorwire)

George Duke is a Lot Older Than You. And A Lot More Hip

(West Coast Sound)

eBook Extract: 100 Lost Rock Albums from the 1970s

(The Quietus)

(real)Book Extract: Ninja Tune: 20 Years of Beats & Pieces

(URB)

Dissected: The Doors

(Consequence of Sound)

Etta James: An Appreciation

(Oliver Wang’s Soul Sides)

Johnny Otis, 1921-2012

(JazzWax)

Etta James and Johnny Otis: Jazz Masters?

(Jazz Beyond Jazz)

MicroTrend of the Millisecond: Seapunk

(Chicago Reader)

The Golden Age of Thundercat

(The Revivalist)

Classical Music is Not A Spectator Sport

(On An Overgrown Path)

Gil Scott-Heron: More Than A Revolution

(Pitchfork Media)

Rick Moody on Brian Eno

(The Rumpus)

Hear 10 Seconds of Every Single Song from the ‘90s

(WFMU’s Beware of the Blog)

The Extraordinary Career of a Man Who Managed Jazz Musicians

(NPR’s A Blog Supreme)

Blasting Mozart to Drive Criminals Away

(Washington Post)

Interview with Bill Laswell

(Heavy Metal BeBop)

Podcast: L.A. Hip Hop Appreciation, Pt. 1

(The Hedrush)

Fakin’ The Funk: Cops Create Fake Rap Labels to Entrap Criminals

(Amoeblog)

Morton Laudisen: The Best Composer You’ve Never Heard Of

(Wall St. Journal)

Music Critic Simon Reynolds Chats with Bookworm’s Michael Silverblatt

(KCRW’s Music Blog)

L.A. Jazz Clubs Need More Loud Drunks

(Cult of SOC)

Interview with drummer Matt Wilson

(JazzDIY)

Revisiting Classic Performances from The Sound of Jazz

(Jazz Lives)

Tommy Williams: Extraordianry & Unknown

(Mostly Music)

The Curious Case of Gary Puckett

(La Vie En Robe)

Help Launch the Best Music Writing Series as an Indie Press Pub!

(Kickstarter)

Black Flag: A 12-Step Program in Self-Reliance

(Jay W. Babcock)

Goin’ Up: Space-Age Jazz

(WFIU’s Night Lights)

Universal Music Group Tried to Steal Our Music

(VICE)

Interview with Laurie Anderson

(The Believer)

SAM RIVERS: A Memory

I only got a chance to see Sam Rivers play live once, at the Lighthouse in June of 1979. He was there with Dave Holland Joe Daley and Bobby Battle. I was lightly familiar with his music, but that night seared him into my memory banks from that point on. I think the biggest thing I brought away from that night was that these guys were "music" guys, not just jazz musicians, informed by a myriad of different musics. Composition and improvisation, woven together in a seamless mix.

In searching for the date in question, I ran across a website dedicated to Sam's sessionography, and it is an amazing testament to a long life in music. One thing I brought away from that website was the huge number of self-produced shows that were presented by Sam over the years, at Studio RivBea and elsewhere. It's an inspiration to me to see that kind of tenacity by an artist. To just keep putting it out there no matter what, and try to help like-minded souls present their art in a setting appropriate to such endeavors. Having helped curate the Cryptonight series at Club Tropical with Jeff Gauthier for a mere three years, I now have a bit more of a sense of just what an accomplishment that was.

He passed on December 26, 2011 at 88 years old, and his last gig was on October 22.

David Witham

Pianist/composer/musical director/

neon hunter/host of Portable Universe

Schlafbrunnen, Harry Burkhart

The Beast will be taking a brief, 2-week hiatus for retooling.

So be good.