Holiday Recomendations, cont.

I guess my last few posts are kind of holiday recommendations. I'm not down with the all-pervasive commerciality of the holiday season, but nonetheless I find myself recommending ways to spend money (at the movie theater, buying a TV show on DVD, buying books). Oh well, here's another one. What can I say.

Noted scholar and jazz critic John Szwed recently sent me a copy of his book, So What. I had heard about when it came out in 2003 and just hadn't been reading much in the way of music biography at the time, so it slipped through the net. His engrossing "meditation" on Miles is balanced and myth-debunking, equal parts celebratory and thoughtfully critical. Highly recommended.

Dexter's not too bad

If you've got some time to kill, check Dexter out. The Shield its not, The Wire it definitely isn't, but as cop shows go its not bad. Its not really a cop show. Well, it sort of is...

Actually worth the $12

Saw No Country for Old Men last night in a theater. First time I've been to a movie theater in a while, and boy was it worth it. If Roger Deakins doesn't win every award out there for cinematography for this film than he'll have to win it for another that I look forward to seeing over the holidays home with the family in Toronto. Talk about a career year!

Pretty much uniform praise for NCFOM at Meta Critic.

NY Times reviewer A.O. Scott makes the good point that “'No Country for Old Men' is purgatory for the squeamish and the easily spooked. For formalists — those moviegoers sent into raptures by tight editing, nimble camera work and faultless sound design — it’s pure heaven."

Colour me a formalist.

HAPPY 99TH MR. CARTER

HAPPY 99TH BIRTHDAY ELLIOT CARTER!

December stuff

First day off in awhile! Time for a post:

At work on a new site with web designer, guitarist, composer, sound artist, crit nonpareil Noah Phillips. Feedback would be most welcome.

Check out the new home page here. Should be up in January at some point.

Interesting gigs coming up:

December 9
Sara Schoenbeck/Jason Kao Hwang/Ken Filiano/Harris Eisenstadt
Jimmy's, 7pm, 43 E 7th st., NYC, NY, $10

December 16
Harris Eisenstadt's Canada Day
with Chris Dingman, Matt Bauder, Nate Wooley, Eivind Opsvik
The Living Theatre, 8pm, 21 Clinton Street, NYC, NY, $10

Martin Puryear, Edward Albee, Bill Pullman

Sara and I took in a couple amazing events this weekend while the folks were in town.

If you're in New York, get to MOMA before the Martin Puryear retrospective closes. Jaw-dropping (mostly) wood sculptures!

Saw a powerful play by multiple Pulitzer prize-winning playwright Edward Albee called Peter and Jerry. Starred the father of one of my former students in LA, the wonderful Mr. Bill Pullman. Great to catch up with him and great to see him kick ass on the stage! Spaceballs/Lost Highway/Independence Day this was not. There's a great Q&A about the play with Bill here.

tonight

Nov21 10 PM at The Stone
Dave Ballou - Trumpet
Ben Gerstein - Trombone
James Ilgenfritz - Contrabass
Harris Eisenstadt - Drums