Monday, June 20, 2005

From the mailbag...

Jordan Hirsch writes in response to this post:
The lick Shmiel refers to was perhaps intuited by him, but was around forever, and I remember playing it that way at NCSY events before Shmiel played at YU. It might be worthwhile checking out the old Shema Koleinu record. Shmiel has a sensitive ear for corruption, and one he did not mention was what he once suggested was an adaptation of a Boruch Keil Elyon on a Modzitz album which morphed into the slow version popular in some circles today.

I agree with him about the Od Yishoma change, but for the record, I still play it the old way. Of course, my style owes more to old records of Morty Bass than to some of the other trumpet heroes of today, but, like Shmiel, I am something of a throwback.

If you listen to Neshoma Yeseira, A Heimisha Simcha, not only did Elly Zomick insist on playing the second half the old way, but in the first part of the song, the first two notes are not dotted eighth and sixteenth, as is commonly played and sung, but two straight eighth notes.

Two quotes on Folk Music: My father told me that he heard Leadbelly asked, "What is Folk Music?" Leadybelly responded, "Music that Folks sit and sing." And Louis Armstrong on the same question: " All music is Folk Music. I never heard no horse sing."
Adam Davis contributes a crowd estimate for the Concert in the Park after the Israel Day Parade:
It was hard to tell how many attended- it was so hot that many people gathering under the trees lining the
meadow to keep cool. Many stayed away altogteher. At its height, there were probably between 3-4500 people there. That's just an estimate. The first hour and a half there were under 1,000.
We'd noted some other folks' numbers in "Numbers Game."

D Blank writes:
I came across your blog during a google search and whilst reading the paragraph entitled "More on Plageurism" in the July 2003 archives (ancient I know) I noticed you mentioned the Close every door copy on one of MBD's albums. I happen to be a huge fan of his and you said you were unsure of the album which the song came from. So just for your information it is Track 7 Lechtiger Shabbos on the Just one Shabbos album (one of his finest I think).

Also I think that the song Shir Hashalom on MBD's Neshama album sounds like "Top of the world" by The Carpenters.