Barcalounge Skipper - The Rebel Black Bears of the University of Mississippi

I'm a bear.  I'm black.  I'm a rebel.  Grrr.  Please help me.

     I'm not sure there was any way for the University of Mississippi to find its way out of this historical mess.  On Friday, in announcing its new athletics mascot, the Rebel Black Bear, the university has made an awkward step forward from an even more awkward past.

     Now, before some of you start getting riled up about a Northerner (I'm from Maine, originally) offering his opinions on what is essentially a Southern matter, allow me to offer some credentials.  I spent a summer at both Southern Miss and the University studying nothing but William Faulkner.  I have eaten barbecue, fried catfish, fried dill pickles, hush puppies, Delta tamales, and I have drunk moonshine purchased out of the trunk of a 1982 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham. I have gotten up in the morning and hit Highway 49.  My wife and her family are all from places in Mississippi named Duck Hill and Coffeeville and Itta Benna.  We spend a good hunk of time in Mississippi every year. In the tradition of the region, both my sons bear the obscure names of long vanished ancestors, a fact will be proud one day to explain to little Thomas Evan Sutpen Faulkner Sutpen Compson Sutpen Quentin Hayes and his older brother Ingram Compson Compson McCaslin Snopes Sutpen Coltrane Thomas Hayes.  My nephew attends the University.  I know a little about The Magnolia State.  For instance, its nickname is The Magnolia State.

Boys, go win one for the Colonel!

     If it wasn't problematic enough, given that the final stages of the Civil Rights Movement happened over fifty years ago, and given that the University itself was a site of one of the worst incidents of resistance for the Old South, the school held on to its previous mascot, Colonel Reb, until 2003. Let me repeat that: Until 2003.  When I looked through the 2010 football roster, I saw a majority of African American players listed, and I'm sure the phenotypical makeup of the team in 2003 was much the same.  The ironies astound me.  Then again, maybe they don't.  If you've read the Battle Royale scenes in Richard Wright or Raplh Ellison, you'll follow my drift. Sometimes, a gentleman lets others do his dirty work for him.  Dirty work, indeed.

    Then there's the matter of the school's nickname, Ole Miss.  Yankees like myself seemed to think that it's a corn-pone version of "Old Mississippi."  But I've had it explained to me that Ole Miss is actually a bit of an inside joke, running along these lines.  Slaves on the plantation used to refer to the white patriarch of the homestead as "Ole Massa," and his wife as "Ole Miss."  So, rather than use the Latin expression for the college you attended, alma mater ("nourishing mother"), students and graduates referred to the University as Ole Miss.  Because, you know, studying was really hard, as hard as it was for slaves on the plantation.  It's a sort of blackface in word-play.  And we all know word play is funny, especially in reference to 300 years of brutalization, economic exploitation, and dispossession.

     Which brings us back to the Rebel Black Bears.  Apparently, there are such bears in Mississippi.  There are also such bears in Maine (I've seen them).  Interestingly enough, the mascot of the University of Maine -- since 1914 or so, is a black bear.  He goes by the name of Bananas.  For me, the lack of originality from Ole Miss is a strike against them.  And, as a native Mainer, I'm offended.  Get your own damn mascot.  Keep your hands of my Bananas!

     Speaking of bananas, there is also the matter of William Faulkner, of course, whose famous story "The Bear," is read and not enjoyed by thousands of high school and college students every year.  The problem here is that, in part, "The Bear" is the centerpiece of a collection entitled Go Down, Moses, in which the main character, Ike McCaslin, in addition to hunting bear, discovers that somewhere in his past there might just be a dash of incest and miscegenation.  Strike two on the sensitivity count, Ole Miss.  That's why you don't read the Cliffs Notes.

     Now, the Rebel Black Bear is, well, black.  So doesn't that count for something?  Yes, but he's also a rebel bear, so, by some sort of adjective algebra, the rebellion and the blackness kind of cancel each other out.  More clumsiness, and that's strike three.  The Rebel Black Bear can come tailgate in his Grove attire, but nobody's going to talk to him.  He's a walking semiotic Frankenstein monster.  Hang your head, Mr. Rebel Black Bear Guy, and get yourself another branch and bourbon.

"I'll take the over on 'Bama!"

     There had been a movement on campus to name as the new mascot none other star Admiral Akbar of Return of the Jedi (Internet meme: "It's a trap!), but last month Lucasfilm declined to release the rights, no matter how much comeback sauce they were paid.  George Lucas has had his own issues with faintly racist characterizations in some of his films (Jar Jar Binks, among others), so this was probably a wise move on both sides. "Count meesa outta dis one!"



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Reader's Notes - Periodic Table of Super-Powers

From a few months ago, the Periodic Table of Super-Powers, from Comics Alliance.

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PN 133 - Mitch Kaplan of Books and Books

A talk with Mitchell Kaplan, independent bookstore owner and former president of the American Booksellers Association, about a life in the community of reading.

Passing Notes Uncut, the extended version of my conversation with Kaplan, will be available by noon on Saturday -- downloadable through Feedburner and iTunes.

In the meantime, you might surf over to Books and Books or the Miami Book Fair sites.

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Reader's Notes - Ridley Scott Meets 'The Man in the High Castle'

One of my all-time favorite science fiction books is from Philip K. Dick, The Man in the High Castle.  Set in a parallel universe where the Axis powers were victorious in World War II, this provocative, intelligent novel absolutely blew me away when I read it in college, so much so that when I had a chance to teach a course in science fiction, it was on my reading list.  The seniors in my class, fresh off their European and US History courses, found the "what if" themes of the novel deeply engaging and wonderful grounds for many thoughtful discussions.  It appears now that no less than Ridley Scott will bring his own sense of style and intensity to this great dystopian novel in a BBC mini-series.

Here's the story from some days ago in the UK Guardian.

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PN Video Jukebox - Thelonious Monk

This week, the jukebox has a brief two-part documentary from JazzVideoGuy (Brett Primrack) about Thelonious Monk, and five performances from the mid-sixties.  If you haven't had a chance to check out my review of Robin Kelley's 2009 biography, here's the link.  In the meantime, enjoy the pictures and sounds.


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Reader's Notes - Float Magazine

Joan is really this cool.  You try this some time, smart guy.

A quick plug for a former student of mine and a young woman I never had the good fortune to teach -- Joan and Nadia, respectively -- who have started Float, a place for music fans by music fans.  Joan (see the cool pic at left) was impressed several years ago when some of her teachers suggested that yes, if she really wanted to, she could write about things like music and movies and television.  Just be obsessed and keep working at it.  So: remember: Float Magazine.  Why don't you float on over right now?  Here's your challenge: Find the cool picture of Nadia.

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Reader's Notes - National Book Award Nominees

To be brief -- Nominees for 2010 awards from the National Book Foundation have been announced.  See the list below, and read more about them at the NBF's website.




Fiction
Peter Carey, Parrot and Olivier in America (Alfred A. Knopf)
Jaimy Gordon, Lord of Misrule (McPherson & Co.)
Nicole Krauss, Great House (W.W. Norton & Co.)
Lionel Shriver, So Much for That (Harper)
Karen Tei Yamashita, I Hotel (Coffee House Press)

Nonfiction
Barbara Demick, Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea (Spiegel & Grau)
John W. Dower, Cultures of War: Pearl Harbor, Hiroshima, 9-11, Iraq (W.W. Norton & Co.)
Patti Smith, Just Kids (Ecco)
Justin Spring, Secret Historian: The Life and Times of Samuel Steward(Farrar, Straus & Giroux)
Megan K. Stack, Every Man in This Village Is a Liar: An Education in War(Doubleday)

Poetry
Kathleen Graber, The Eternal City (Princeton University Press)
Terrance Hayes, Lighthead (Viking Penguin)
James Richardson, By the Numbers (Copper Canyon Press)
C.D. Wright, One with Others (Copper Canyon Press)
Monica Youn, Ignatz (Four Way Books)

Young People's Literature
Paolo Bacigalupi, Ship Breaker (Little, Brown & Co.)
Kathryn Erskine, Mockingbird (Philomel Books)
Laura McNeal, Dark Water (Alfred A. Knopf)
Walter Dean Myers, Lockdown (Amistad)
Rita Williams-Garcia, One Crazy Summer (Amistad)

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Barcalounge Skipper - 2010 MLB Playoffs - League Championship Series

     Here were my picks for teams advancing all the way through the MLB postseason in the first round, the Division Championship Series.

Reds-Phillies - My pick: Phillies in 4.  Actual result: Phillies in 3.
Braves-Giants - My pick: Giants in 5. Actual result: Giants in 4.
Yankees-Twins - My pick: Yankees in 5. Actual result: Yankees in 3.
Rangers-Rays - My pick: Rays in 4. Actual Result: Rangers in 5.

     Watching last night's Rangers-Rays matchup, it was clear that Texas was prepared to take it to Tampa Bay almost from the first pitch, with Elvis Andrus scoring from second base on a quirky groundout to first base.  Texas scored two more runs on plays where the Rays -- particularly catcher Kelly Shoppach -- were caught flat footed.    Shoppach was booed ferociously by the Trop crowd when, with a runner on second, he popped out to short center in the bottom of the seventh.  All in all, the Rangers just went out and took the game -- and the series.  And Cliff Lee is scary good when he's on his game.

     My predictions worked out pretty well for the most part -- three out of four series.  I learned that the Phillies might just hop on Roy Halladay's back and ride all the way to the championship.  Doc pitched a perfect game in the regular season and only the second no-hitter in the postseason.  I don't think the Giants are going to derail that train.  As for the American League, with the unfocused Rays and the spooked Twins out of the running, it appears that the Yankees and the Rangers are pretty well matched.  If CJ Wilson and Cliff Lee keep pitching the way they have, and, more importantly, if Josh Hamilton finds his groove, I think the Rangers can give the Yankees a run for the money.  But there's no do-overs in the prognostication business, so I'm still going with the Phillies all the way to the ring.

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Listener's Notes - Miami Jazz Cooperative

Let me take Tuesday's space to promote the Miami Jazz Cooperative, an organization of musicians, educators, and jazz enthusiasts in the Magic City who have a very clear mission of promoting the music.  More specifically, the mission of the MJC is "to establish and operate a dedicated jazz facility in Miami for the mutual benefit of jazz students, jazz musicians, and their audience. To this end, the MJC is committed to supporting the appreciation of jazz in the South Florida community through education and outreach."
   You can read more about the mission, community, and organizational structure of the MJC at its website, http://www.miamijazz.org/.  You can also follow the MJC on Twitter and Facebook.  Many thanks to Frank "The Walking Encyclopedia of Popular Music" Consola from WDNA for first letting me know about this great organization.

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Listener's Notes - From the CD Stack: Bad Plus, Jazz Folk, Monheit, Degibri, Lee

     We pull a few more CD's than usual from the stack this week, just because material has been piling up as a result of the excellent response to the reboot/return of Passing Notes.  Many days, the mailbox is full, and there's much music to listen to and many books to read.  I will almost always try to write a little -- if not a lot -- about the things I like, and leave the uninteresting stuff (mostly) to silence.

     Maybe the novelty of their sound has worn off a little, but the latest release from The Bad Plus, Never Stop left me frustrated at times, as much as I enjoyed hearing new tunes from the progressive group.  Something seemed unfamiliar about this CD.  In fact, all the tunes on the album are Bad Plus originals, so Never Stop marks a departure from the band's tried and true formula.  What is lost -- those memorably clever, hook-driven covers ("Smells Like Teen Spirit," "Iron Man," "Tom Sawyer") -- no longer overshadow the interesting writing the group had been doing all along. And those who asked that seemingly all-important genre question (Is it jazz-rock or rock-jazz?) can now simply understand that The Bad Plus is a piano trio that plays damn fascinating music of their own design.  Highlights of Never Stop are the tumbling, crashing opener, "The Radio Tower Has a Beating Heart," which closes with a lovely, infectious groove, and "You Are," a dramatic, evolving piece that offers surprises every sixteen bars.  Never stop moving forward, indeed.

     For listeners who might want something of a throwback to the old Bad Plus -- and then some -- there's this release from Jazz Folk, Jazz in the Stone Age.  Recorded and packaged in a decidedly low-tech idiom, bassist Peter Scherr, drummer Simon Barker, and pianist Matt McMahon pound out a pleasant mix of covers from Taj Mahal, Lou Reed, Joni Mitchell, Hunter/Garcia, and Beck.  Recorded, mixed, and with liner notes from Scherr all the way from Hong Kong.  Jazz Folk manage, on each song, to pick a particular texture and stay with it, whether it's blues ("Corinna"), jazz ("That Song About the Midway"), or ballads ("To Lay Me Down").  The most remarkable tunes are a version of Reed's "All Tomorrow's Parties," which quickly rises to a loud, driving march and never lets up and the closer, a cover of Beck's "Cold Brains," clattering up from the world of lo-fi, widens into some lovely overdriven piano work, and then disassembles itself.  There's a vision to this release that I see more and more clearly each time I listen.  I'm going back to the stone age, and I think I like it there.  They have good jazz.

     For the more refined and (perhaps) better groomed among us, the new album from Jane Monheit, Home, is a delightful, comfortable collection of jazz standards from the likes of Rodgers & Hart, Schwartz & Deitz, and other notable pairs of names joined by an ampersand.  Perhaps the album could have been called Jane Monheit: Ampersand.  All cleverness aside, this is a great album of slightly off-the-beaten-path standards featuring Monheit's charming, lush voice backed by her usual expert band and a superb guest cast (Pizarelli, Vignola, Magnarelli, among others -- Ciao!).  Particularly appealing is the menacingly sexy "Everything I've Got Belongs To You," and the album's opener, "Shine On Your Shoes," which will encourage much skipping and swinging on lampposts.  Irresistible.  You'll want to take Jane and her new CD home in your pocket to meet the folks.

Anzic records took great care to surround saxophonist Eli Degibri with a first-rate ensemble on Israeli Song. Both drummer Al Foster and bassist Ron Carter have mentored Degibri over the years, and pianist Brad Mehldau commands almost as much respect for his intellect and writing as he does for his musicianship.  Degibri is a wonderful saxophonist who has worked with first rate groups all over the world since graduating from Berklee and the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz and going directly into Herbie Hancock's group.  Every song on the album is balanced and thoughtfully played, and although Mehldau seems at times like he might overwhelm the proceedings, Degibri shifts gears often and with enough confidence and presence to stay in command the whole time.  I enjoyed most of all a wonderful duet between Degibri and Carter on "Somewhere Over The Rainbow," where the tenor holds back to let his former teacher's amazing playing share the song.  The title song, a soaring duet with Mehldau, in the end has the reed player and the keyboardist on equal footing.  In the end, Israeli Song sounds very much like the work of a mature musician among equals.

Finishing up the listening for this week is a notable set of compositions from bassist Scott Lee: Leaving.  Playing with old friends Billy Drewes on on reeds, Jeff Hirshfield on drums, and Gary Versace on piano, Lee's group's approach to improvising on his tunes goes a bit beyond the eight-bars-at-a-time approach.  Instead, they might lock in to a few bars in a song for an extended vamp, or the drummer might choose to change time signatures within a solo.  At the start, Lee's compositions start in familiar places, but travel in unexpected directions, although the band's been playing together for so long that they never seem to go too far out of earshot.  The best example of this occurs on "Old Friends Talking," which is an entirely free improvisation between Lee and Drewes, and makes for a simply lovely exploration of the full range of tones and effects from their respective instruments.

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Grooming Notes - It Goes To 11 and Has Electrolytes

The hair's getting long and unruly again. My wife came back from the store today having purchased a giant tube of hair gel, and she enjoyed making fun of the label.  We note several features:

• Not satisfied with 10, this gel goes to 11.
• It is activity-proof , which is fortunate, because it is apparently marketed to marathoners, who, as I seem to remember, are somewhat active at times, and, surprisingly, fret the entire race about the state of their hair.
• It's got electrolytes, which hair needs.
• The bubbles in the gel don't move when you shake the container. This is the kind of control I need.
• If you look at the clock in the background of the label, the gel may actually last only nine minutes. Nobody has ever run a marathon in nine minutes, although some have come close.  But their legs exploded.

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Eater's Notes - Mobile Cravings

Got a taste for authentic street food? My friend and fellow foodee Carl (AKA James C. Corn, motto: "He doesn't care") posted this amazing website that somehow takes advantage of API stuff (don't ask me how it works) to let you know if there's a food truck, lunch wagon, sandwich cart, roach coach, call it what you will in your part of town.  Always seem to be missing that guy with the churros who comes by the corner by your office only on certain mornings.  You know, Churro Guy!  But you never seem to know when he's going to be there?  A website called Mobile Cravings will take care of that for you.  Just don't run out into the street too fast. Happy eating.

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PN Unscripted - Talking About Cab Calloway with Alyn Shipton

An extended conversation with jazz historian Alyn Shipton about entertainer Cab Calloway -- his influences and influence, his standing as a musician and bandleader, and the arc of his career as a superstar swing entertainer, musical theater performer, and honorary Blues Brother.  Shipton's new biography of Calloway, Hi-Di-Ho, has just been published by Oxford University Press.

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Classroom Notes - 'Teach: Tony Danza' - Season 1: Episode 2, "Tested"

     When Hollywood Tony is talking about Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men, the lesson seems to still be more about Tony than it is about Lenny and George and the students in Danza's 10th grade English class.  Not much seems to have changed from the first episode, when everyone just wanted Hollywood Tony to stop talking so much.  As the class tackles Of Mice and Men, familiar problems appear. Some students don't read, some claim they can't understand the material, while the ambitious and bright Monte dismisses the novel as being "a seventh grade book," and makes it clear that he doesn't want to be held back by a teacher.  He's got plans.
     To address the issue of students not reading -- always the primary impediment to any lesson in literature, Hollywood Tony decides to give a quiz over the first two chapters.  As he puts it, "my first quiz.  It's not even on the curriculum, I just threw it in." If you watched last week, you know that when Hollywood Tony  is on stage, it's not going to end well.  When half the students fail the quiz, they feel horrible (although many of them are to blame), and the emotional and professional repercussions just about drive Danza out of the job.  he feels the responsibility. Even Monte, who does well on the quiz, is concerned that, for him, it was too easy. Everybody's failing in one way or another.
     At this point, the professionals step in.  The problem of insufficient effort and incompatible learning styles is addressed immediately by Danza's instructional mentor, David Cohen: "This is the struggle that most of the teachers in the school are up against."  Cohen also adds that when students who have been tested and confirmed as having learning disabilities ask to go to the resource room, they must be allowed to go.  When Hollywood Tony brushes off the issue as a matter of effort, he is quickly passed up the chain of command, coming to rest in Principal Linda Carroll's office.  She reminds Hollywood Tony that he would be wise to follow the advice of professionals and to follow school policies.  Don't mess with the law, Mr. Danza.  And, she adds, "You don't get the title of teacher until your students are learning."
     As a teacher myself, it's comforting to see people sticking up for the difficulty of the profession and dealing honestly with the limits of how far pep and positive thinking will get you.  One really feels bad for Danza, who is obviously a guy with a huge heart -- and you can see him trying to connect with the students.  But sometimes, it isn't always a matter of effort, and often, it takes a very long time to reach young people.  One must have patience and persistence and humility and flexibility.  Hollywood Tony's need to be liked and win people over is his worst enemy, but his emotional accessibility is his greatest strength.

     When Danza is at the breaking point, a very compassionate administrator finds him at his desk, defeated, weeping.  You're allowed to be emotional, she says.  This is an emotional business that we're in.  We've all been there.  And you can see the professional teachers picking up Danza in his most teachable moment -- when the Hollywood Tony persona is gone -- and telling him he can do it.  Because everyone knows he has the heart.  Finally, we see Mr. Danza make an appearance in Act 5: "I guess I'll have to adjust my thinking."

     My favorite moments in the series so far have been when Danza encounters parents -- first in the last episode at a Friday football game, and in this episode in two parent conferences.  One parent of a stubbornly uninvolved student meets with Danza in conference and gives him permission to stay on her, and also makes the suggestion of providing students and parents with an assignment sheet so parents can help make sure kids are doing assignments.  I'll try it, says Mr. Danza.  But, this being a television drama, there must be a cliffhanger, and bright, articulate Monte (you knew it) has asked his grandmother to come in and talk to Hollywood Tony.  Last week, she tells Danza, Monte said you earned a 6 out of 10.  This week, you get a 4. Fade to black.

     After two episodes, the broader purpose of the show is becoming clear -- that is, to show the real, agonizing drama that is inherent in the public school system.  The profound moments of 'Teach' are built around the tensions between innovation and bureaucracy, between bright students and struggling students, between passionate teachers and apathetic teachers, and between the expectations of school and the demands of the world outside.  As a character study and reality drama, it's getting better each time the new guy down the hall starts crying at his desk.  Hollywood Tony has got to go if Mr. Danza's -- and his students -- going to have a chance.

Notes on Season 1: Episode 1, "Back to School"

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PNodcast - Alyn Shipton's 'Hi-De-Ho: The Life of Cab Calloway'

A conversation with jazz historian Alyn Shipton about Hi-De-Ho, his new biography of bandleader and entertainer Cab Calloway.  If you enjoy this download of the WDNA broadcast, you might want to check out the Unscripted version of the PNodcast, which will be available via Feedburner and iTunes by midnight on Friday (today). Stretching things out a bit, Alyn and I talked about Cab's full career, his influence and influences, and even had a little stormy weather in the mix.

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Reader's Notes - Vargas Llosa Wins Nobel Prize in Literature

Allow me to point out that I (sort of) predicted that Mario Vargas Llosa would win this year's Nobel Prize in Literature.  As much as I am half-right, I am also half-wrong, as Margaret Atwood did not win.  Wait until next year!  Award news is all over the place this morning, but here are links to stories from the New York Times and National Public Radio.  Here in Miami, as one might expect, there is always a particular community-wide pride when a Spanish-language author receives such notable recognition.  You might peruse a historical list of winners and draw your own conclusions.

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Reader's Notes - That's A Stabbin'!

Flaming hat: Perfectly acceptable.

From the wilds of redneck New England -- hey, I grew up there -- we have the slightly funny but mostly awful story of an actual stabbing of a Yankee fan by a Red Sox fan at a restaurant named -- wait for it -- the Chowder Pot in Branford, Connecticut.  Now, those of us in Red Sox Nation (the real fans, not the Pink Hats) know that most Yankee fans are obnoxious, unimaginative, front-running wankers, but do we really need to go and get all stabby on a guy?  (The answer, for those of you in the Nation who can't quite work it out for yourselves, is, "No.  No it is not acceptable to stab a Yankee fan.  Not with a knife.")  Check out the Chowder Pot website for the awesome tunes and jumping fish -- wait, isn't that Nemo?  And Dorrie?

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Review of David Bixler & Arturo O'Farrill - 'The Auction Project"

David Bixler & Arturo O'Farrill - The Auction Project (2010 Zoho)

     In an unexpected musical crossover, Arturo O’Farrill and David Bixler make a fully successful blend of the Irish and the Afro-Cuban.  Call it Irish-Afro.  Call it world jazz.  Call me sentimental, but I’ve been to my homeland of Ireland and I’ve been known in a pugnacious moment to cite my Celtic roots; call me provincial, but I like living in Miami and I’ve been known, on a good day, to distinguish a triple-pulse son clave from a rhumba clave. When the press kit arrived for The Auction Project, as much respect as I have for Arturo O’Farrill and the Chico O’Farrill Afro-Cuban Orchestra, I have to admit that I was skeptical about this release.  But it works.  Whatever you call the music on The Auction Project, it’s good, and it swings more than a sheleighly keeping time on a timbale.

     Bixler, in the liner notes, describes his interest in how his Julliard trained wife was studying Irish fiddling.  “Irish music,” he writes, “was like jazz in a lot of ways, except people liked it.” In truth, Irish folk music, like jazz, is part of an aural tradition. In O’Farrill’s section of the liner notes, he is very gracious when he talks about Bixler, whose “swarthy Hispanic side” is evident almost exclusively in his playing.  The sense of fun between the members of the group is clear in these words, and it’s even more clear from the music they produce.  But make no mistake – The Auction Project is clearly Bixler’s handiwork, as the 8 of the 10 compositions or arrangements on the album come from the saxophonist, supported, of course, by O’Farrill on piano, by Heather Martin Bixler on violin, along with Carlo Derosa on bass, Vince Cherico on drums, and Roland Guerrero on percussion.  The musical heavy lifting is done by these last four, who supply the more overtly “Irish” and “Cuban” sides of the matter.

     The opening tune, “June 26^th, 07” (the date when the Bixlers’ son graduated from high school) begins as a twisting, major/minor exercise, featuring Bixler’s alto winding through the progressions and polyrhythms, but when Martin Bixler’s violin joins the group after the first third of the tune, the texture changes radically, as husband and wife have a manner of playing together that, at times, sounds like a entirely new and different instrument.  Bixler backs off the attack of his horn, and Martin Bixler has such a fine control of vibrato, she manages to stay perfectly in phase with the sax.  O’Farrill and Derosa have fine solos on this number, as well.  But we’re not really in Irish territory yet.

     We reach the Isles with the next song, “The Chicken Went To Scotland” a traditional jig arranged by Bixler, who takes advantage of the fact that these melodies originally lacked harmonic structures, casting the tune in the setting of a dramatic, deep and chromatic progression of chords.  The chicken is moving at a pretty steady pace at the top of the chart, but before we know it O’Farrill and Cherico are swinging the poultry all over the place without losing the essential jig of the song.

Green Target, Jasper Johns

     “Green Target,” a composition to which we are treated two different versions of, was inspired by a Jasper Johns painting, and its fine melody is evocative of a tango – by way of abstract expressionism – and both takes feature fine but very different sets of solos from members of the group.  “She Moves Through The Night,” another Bixler arrangement, offers some of my favorite playing on the album, although I suspect that this version is more through composed than some of the other tracks.

     Standing out easily of all the excellent music is “Banish Misfortune” where Martin Bixler and the percussionists really make the most of the playfulness melody, then give way to a droll solo from O’Farrill, followed by a slowly building and melodic statement from Bixler.  Dynamic, layered, and exhilarating, I found myself listening to this track over and over and wanting to simply get up and dance.

     “Heather’s Waltz, Parts I and II” takes the listener on a voyage from a very traditional-sounding fiddle tune – in 9/8 time, no less – with the lightest possible accompaniment from O’Farrill, into a swinging jazz waltz that showcases again the Bixlers uncanny sense of unified sound, all in the midst of a truly swinging waltz.  It’s a very complex performance that sounds easy in the hands of this group.

     The final two tracks on the release fit well enough given the personnel, but seem adapted for the concept.  “Heptagonesque,” a Bixler composition originally performed by the Anica Saxophone Quartet, is a solid tune that would find a home on almost any jazz album.  “Worth Dying For” is notable for displaying Bixler carrying the weight of a song forward with only drums and percussion to back him, and the alto’s strong sense of melody serves him well, even when he seems to be playing a bit “outside” the original structure of the song.

     The Auction Project is a strong release from first note to last, with no weak spots and offering music that is not only interesting and innovative, but absolutely entertaining.  David Bixler's musicality runs through this work, but he’s also very fortunate to have such a remarkably adept collaborators – not the least of which is his own wife, Heather Martin Bixler

Personnel

David Bixler – alto sax

Arturo O’Farrill – piano

Heather Martin Bixler – violin

Carlo Derosa – bass

Vince Cherico – drums

Roland Guerrero - percussion

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