“Eat the rich!”

 

Welcome back Dear Reader; and Happy August to you. While I have long maintained that happiness (as in: “the pursuit of...”) is highly overrated, I do sincerely hope that you are now and have been playing it cool... all the way; and I submit this small buffet of thought.

 

A quarter of a century ago, the phrase, “eat the rich” first entered my consciousness by way of a song which was written and recorded by one of America's truest originals.…

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“Then who can be saved?” was the priceless reaction of the

disciples of Jesus.



Well... just when I first thought, then you, that we were safe from the things in my head... the earth shakes. (Truth be told, I had the intention of enjoying the "day off" and not posting.)



Nevertheless... barely off my heels and; there is a need for so much healing. I'm grateful to say: I healed myself. What's next? More knowledge... desire... and quiet. Intention. Attention! There… Continue

“Extremely high!”



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[From the Dept. of Corrections] There is no reference to: optisimo, or optissimo in the Harvard Concise Dictionary of Music. But I'm glad that I was sent there by Mr. Barker, nevertheless. My copy of Forsyth's, Orchestration needed dusting off, and still no such term to describe, the extremely high register in which Louis Armstrong enjoyed playing in. (Mr.… Continue

Danny Barker took pride in speaking to the Xavier Students, regarding Louis Armstrong and his impact in our history. I take pride in bringing you this excerpt (from a cassette annotated: Oct. 22th '77 Oct. 25th) Mr. Barker's emphatic attempt to sum up, for a "young lady," in a few sentences, Armstrong.



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“...a slum section.” One hundred years from his life as such, we would now call… Continue

Steal away, steal away. Steal a way to freedom.



Greetings Dear Reader; Peace be unto your house. It is beautifully alive morning in downtown Orleans Parish. It is a good thing that we have rest today as it is already 88 degrees (and feels somewhere near there in degrees of humidity,) as of 10:00 a.m.



As many of you already know, this is the date that Louis Daniel Armstrong marked as his birthday; the year he declared was 1900. Scholarship (and capitalism) has altered this… Continue

What does 100 years of one man's life and legacy mean? America and it's music has already witnessed the centennials of three significant “Immortals.” Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, and Count Basie all arrived on Earth within a span of five years, just at the dawning of a new mass produced century. Their music, respectively and collectively has changed the world. Forever will their lives be represented in their work and words – their sounds and images and thoughts resonating for generations of… Continue

Love your enemies. This is the one that seemingly everybody has an issue with. Nevertheless, I'm one of those cats who has a tendency to stick his neck out. So I ask you: When was the last time you heard someone say: “God bless... and, May you turn the other cheek." But check it out... Jesus was hip to the natural law of attraction. Like seeks itself. If someone... anyone, at any given moment desires to bring into existence: hatred, greed, and/or thievery then, perhaps the most, or only… Continue