Two Genius in one week at Jazz Museum in Harlem

I have had two inspirational days this week at the Jazz Museum in Harlem. On Monday, one of the great minds of our times,STANLEY CROUCH gave a talk about the special Talent of DUKE ELLINGTON ( part of the series "JAZZ FOR CURIOUS READERS") that became a springboard into a wide ranging discussion of the state of Jazz and how the Duke was the right person at the right time who caught the eye of IRVING MILLS who knew in Duke, he had an extremely marketable talent and proceeded to make DUKE the great phenom he turned out to be!.I so admire this great man of letters and have read several of his books which expose a man of true genius and unflintching dedication to the art of telling the truth, which of course, rattles the cage often in this lying world of ours. I also count him as one of my heros because he has a way with the English Language that keeps me begging for more every time I read anything from him or catch him on discussion shows like Charlie Rose. This man is totally Brilliant and I sat with a smile in my heart all evening accross from him just swimming in the aura of his genius. Watching him relay and share his experiences was something special for me in that I could experience how his human gestures and thought process filtered into the air. I always wondered how some great minds actually convey their thoughts in the spirit of the "Live" moment as opposed to crafting their sentences carefully at the paper level and I can say that Stanley is as precise in live discussion as he is on the crafted printed page. At times rolling his closed eyes in thought to make sure that his thoughts had just the right amount of pop and articulate swing. He tended to remind me of the last time I saw the great NORMAN MAILER in a broadcast with CHARLIE ROSE at the "Y". I was bowled over by the precison with which Norman Mailer spoke that evening. Charlie Rose had a special broadcast of that evening as a tribute to the just passed Mailer and there was not one wasted word uttered by Mr. Mailer. I used to walk and talk with Norman Mailer in my neighborhood over the decades as he walked to the grocery store. I would ask him about his current project and he would give me a bit of his thoughts on how it was going. In fact as I got more interested in the art of putting clear thoughts on paper myself, I picked up a copy of the book Mr.Mailer wrote on writing! One of my desires is to take the time to go through that whole book myself this month to improve my own skills since it looks like I will have some bed time to eat up during my hospital stay. Anyway, that Mailer annecdote was meant to illustrate my admiration of how STANLEY CROUCH also commands the English language to supreme articulation and surgeon like thought clarity akin to Norman Mailer and how much I admire such Genius.I was so proud to have picked my butt up to go to Stanley's talk Monday night.I was a little late arriving at the tail end of his reading of the essay he wrote on Duke Ellington, but I was there for the main meat of the evening and that was absolutely brilliant in every way!!! Thank you STANLEY!!!!

Last night,I was honored to have attended the "HARLEM SPEAKS" series enjoying an interview with one of my main teachers, the totally awesome Jazz Legend- PAT MARTINO. I traveled to Pat's home for lessons in the 70's and even had dinner with he and his wife after lessons. It was a time of reaching for the sky for me as I could leave work at 3:30 for a 4:10 train to arrive at my 5:10 or so lesson and I remember how clear things would be to me at the lesson but on the way back on the train, I would review the material and just get lost trying to recover what I had just learned! I still have my hand written lessons for that period. Over the decades, we have remained in contact with each other and I bought just about every bit of teaching material Pat has produced in book form and Video.A couple of years ago, The Guitar Center on 14th street in Manhatten,sponsored a PAT MARTINO workshop that was a "KILLER"! I was stunned in that he had a gig at BRIDLAND that same night yet he had the desire to share his great knowledge with us. At that time I was taking a semester of Jazz Guitar Impovisation with the great Ron Ben-Hur at the Lucy Moses School and bumped into a classmate at the workshop! Over the decades, when Pat was in town for a gig, I would usually be there to hang and talk with him.He has always been so kind and gentle with me and I will always keep this great love and affection I have for him in my heart.

As usual,last night I was seated front row right accross from him and our hearts once again met in our strong love for each other. Pat is a very important person in my life not only as a student/teacher relationship but as two affectionate human beings. He pulled me through a difficult period in 2000/2001 when I was in the hospital due to diabetic complications. His "7 Sketches" cd took me out of a great depression as the doctors could not find the source of my illness no matter how many tests they did. This cd was also a source of healing for him as he recovered from brain surgery and memory loss by composing these sketches on computer.I remember how deeply the music went into my soul as I lay in that hospital bed in the deepest bowels of depression and how he and my dear sweet wife helped me climb out of that terribly nasty hole of woe! I remember how stunned I was at how his compositions nutured me and took that "I don't want to live" feeling away from me because I was there saying to myself - "PAT YOU KNOW! YOU KNOW!".One outstanding ability Pat Martino has is to cleary see how the whole human experience is connected and how we must learn to live in the moment and be able to control only what we can and don't waste time worrying about that which is out of our hands. This 2 hour interview was so deep and moving for me because I again must travel to a hospital, this time to be sliced and diced and I don't look forward to it. Coupled with last night's interview of PATRICK SWAYZE by Barbara Walters, my mental state is on the mend as I type this blog at 1:48 in the morning. I would suggest you check out Pat's fantastic website for Guitar meat to chew on! It is FANTASTIC! www.patmartino.com. Pat will be in town next week for a few days ( Jan 14th - 17th ) at BIRDLAND and I suggest you break your necks to get there one of the evenings as this is a man who continues to shine both as an incredible GENIUS of the GUITAR and warm and sensitive human being. Anyone who has met Pat Loves him! Look how much he gives on his website! I am so fortunate to have such a special human being and supremely creative artist as a friend of mine.It is an honor to know you my dear and worthwhile friend! Thank you PAT!!!