A Historic Performance

This weekend Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis, in cooperation with the Museum of Modern Art, performed Ted Nash's “Portrait in Seven Shades” in a concert called Jazz and Art at Jazz at Lincoln Center.

Dr. Jerome Siegel was there, and he passed this review on to us:

You must try to get to Jazz at Lincoln Center Saturday night, which is the last of the 3 performances about jazz and art. Ted Nash, a very talented saxaphone-clarinet, flute and similar instruments player, composed 7 pieces using art from MOMA, which was projected in the background. It was magnificent. Of course, the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra (which includes Wynton Marsalis) played the compositions. They even had an accordion, violin, tuba and vocalist. You can’t imagine how wonderful it was; Monet, Dali, Chagall, Kandinsky, Van Gogh, Picasso and Pollock. Wow.

You can also check out The NY TImes’ piece on the concert series. Be aware that the article on the Times site requires a subscription to Times Select, but if you have one, the article is good reading.

Give Big Apple Jazz a Hand

I got this email from Gordon Polatnick over at Big Apple Jazz Boutique and EZ’s Woodshed Cafe, New York’s Jazz Day Club and Harlem Jazz Shrine. Located in Harlem’s Jazz District, the club offers daily live jazz performances for all ages. Coffee, pastries, art and CDs are available. Free music daily from 2PM–8PM.

The club is at 2236 Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard (at W. 132nd Street), New York, NY 10027, (212) 283-5299, and it is worth the trip.

They also offer personalized jazz tours, which is a great way to show some guests a memorable evening. Simply put, this is an excellent public service that helps keep the jazz world thriving.

We all now have an opportunity to help keep the music free at EZ’s Woodshed. Sign up for Netflix’s free trial through Big Apple Jazz’s website, and Netflix will subsidize some of Big Apple’s expenses. If you want, you can cancel your Netflix membership after the free trial with no risk or cost, and even enjoy a bunch of DVDs for the month.

Hello Friends, This is a quick note to check in about our 1-year old Harlem jazz shrine, Big Apple Jazz / EZ’s Woodshed, and to have you check out the historic slideshow and goings on at http://www.bigapplejazz.com/ezswoodshed.html. And since my email blasts always include something free for you to claim... ...Now Dig This... We have been given a wonderful opportunity to keep the jazz free at EZ’s for the coming season. And rather than ask you for donations, Netflix is giving us funds every time one of our friends signs up for a Netflix free trial. You will have no obligation to pay at all, so if you don’t want the dvd delivery service that Netflix offers, after the free trial period you just opt out. So in a nutshell, if you click on the free trial link and sign up you will get to watch free dvds from Netflix. If you sign up by the end of February, will you will be helping us out immeasurably as well. click here and follow the link to Netflix: http://www.bigapplejazz.com/freetrial.html Thank you for your support, and if you didn’t like getting this email and would like to be removed from any of our emailings I understand and will respect your wishes. Peace, Gordon Polatnick P.S. If you would like to pass this offer on to others who would value the opportunity to help us out and take advantage of this unusually beneficial offer, please pass it along. We hope to see you Uptown soon.

How Did You Find Us?

Some of you have emailed me very interesting stories about how you happened upon this website and shared your back stories both as musicians and as fans of great music. I find these anecdotes endlessly enjoyable, and would like to share them with the rest of our readers. Please click on the "Leave a Comment" link below, and tell us your story.

How did you find McMahonJazzMedicine? What were you searching for? What do you think of this site? Have you bought any CDs or artwork? Are you in the medical profession, like our many Jazz Practitioners? Are you a musician yourself?

Also, feel free at any time to send me an email at RMcMahon@McMahonMed.com and let me know what we can do to make your experience with our site even more enjoyable. Would you care to write a review for one of our CDs? Is your favorite jazz club listed on our Jazz Clubs page? Tell me why you think it should be, and we'll post your recommendation.

I once heard a hugely successful musician bemoaning how he can now only play gigantic venues and stadiums, and he missed the intimate relationship with the audience he used to enjoy before hitting the big time, seeing the rapture on their faces, giving him instant feedback from his performance.

That's one of the great benefits of a small site like this one. It's personal, and I have the luxury of interacting with visitors and customers. I won't complain too much if somehow this site becomes the next Amazon, but I will always get a thrill from connecting with you guys out in Internetland. Wherever you are.

Practice Makes Perfect

We've added yet another medical professional to our growing list of Jazz Practitioners, Adam Dachman, DO.

Adam has been called a healer. His music considered to be from a realm of peace and possibility. Interestingly, he happens to be a well trained general surgeon. And while medicine has received much of his focus over the years, music has been on his mind since childhood. Trained classically, Adam quickly became his teacher’s prodigy and competed nationally.

As the years passed, he became interested in composing his own music. Formal training in theory, jazz, improvisation, orchestration and production led to a seasoned young composer who still had to mature. So what better place to do it than in medical school. A graduate of the class of 1990 Adam went on to complete a surgical residency and set up a practice near Madison, WI. He released “Echoes In The Canyon” in 1998—his first solo CD. In 2002 he released “Center of My Heart.” In 2005 he released “Keys of Hope.”

Adam was recently interviewed on Bernie Siegel's Webcast show on HealthyLife.net. He and Matthew Zachary discussed Steps For Living, their groundbreaking organization devoted to music and cancer survivorship. You can listen to the archived segment here.

Jazz and Presentation

Garr Reynolds over at Presentation Zen has an article on Jazz and the art of presenting that you should check out. His area of expertise is in teaching people in business how to do effective presentations. But like the basic idea behind Jazz Medicine, he writes that jazz “still inspires me in my professional life as well as in my personal/spiritual life” and he points out that “it's lessons can be applied to other aspects of life, even the art of presentation.”

Or medicine.

He goes on to list a number of inspiring quotes from some of the greatest jazz musicians in history that apply to more than music. A few examples:

• “The most important thing I look for in a musician is whether he knows how to listen.” (Duke-Ellington)
• “It’s taken me all my life to learn what not to play.” (Dizzy-Gillespie)
• “Anyone can make the simple complicated. Creativity is making the complicated simple.” (Charles Mingus)
• “A great teacher is one who realizes that he himself is also a student and whose goal is not to dictate the answers, but to stimulate his students creativity enough so that they go out and find the answers themselves.” (Herbie-Hancock)

Check out his site for more.

North to Alaska!

One of our Jazz Practitioners recently left for the Alaskan frontier to practice medicine and music for three months. Dr. Patrick Plunkett, cruising in his huskie powered ambulance—Alaskan dog sled—recently relayed back to base and said:

“Bethel, Alaska, is 10 degrees below....  most, if not all, of my patients have traveled hundreds and hundreds of miles to be treated, so, I'm seeing fractures that are a few days old. The Native Eskimos can only communicate through their children who are their only translators... this is truely an amazing experience!”

Patrick went on to say, “Music is really alive up here too! Especially Celtic music given the Irish holiday this month. In Anchorage, I went to a sold out performance of Irish music and dance at the Anchorage Museum—standing room only. This is only one of many packed performances supporting live music and entertainment... as you all know, this is great food for the soul and the spirit!”

What's Up Docs?

The Jazz Practitioners page is expanding wildly now. Hot on the heels of Wolfgang Ellenberger, MD, we've just added neurologist Henry Lee, MD, from San Luis Obispo, California, and San Diego pharmacist Mario Olivares, PharmD.

In the "Art, Books & Sculpture" department, we've recently added the photography of Dr. Barry Slaven, which you can purchase from the site, matted and signed by the artist.

There is a lot more in the pipeline right now, so check back constantly to see what's available, or sign up for email updates, and we'll keep you abreast of the latest.

Doctors' Hobbies

We've added concert pianist Wolfgang Ellenberger, MD, to our growing list of Jazz Practitioners.

Dr. Ellenberger, who resides in Buchen, Germany, is the president of www.DoctorsHobbies.com, an association that promotes the music and hobbies of healthcare professionals, including physicians, nurses, pharmacists, veterinarians and many other professions.

There's a doctor who plays the glass harp, one who composes tangos, a magician, a ballerina and an Iron Man triathlete. It includes medical professionals with such pursuits as skydiving, sailing, fireworks and fencing.

Check it out!

Join Fats Domino in Saving New Orleans' Music Culture

We were all worried during Hurricane Katrina that New Orleans legend Fats Domino was among those lost in that devastated city. But Fats, we later learned, is alive and kicking, and doing his part to revitalize what was a major center of the Jazz Universe.

This is from the Tipitina's Foundation website:

The Tipitina’s Foundation has announced that legendary R&B and rock ’n’ roll singer, songwriter and pianist, Antoine Dominique “Fats” Domino Jr., is donating proceeds from his new album “Alive and Kickin’” to the Tipitina’s Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to music education, music business development, and preserving Louisiana’s unique musical cultures.

“Alive and Kickin’” is Fats Domino’s first new release since “Christmas Gumbo” in 1993. “Fats was looking for a meaningful way to give back to his hometown after Hurricane Katrina,” said Tipitina’s Foundation co-founder Roland von Kurnatowski. “He made it very clear that he was making this donation to us because he felt it was important to support the Foundation in its efforts to rebuild the New Orleans music community.”

In a scene that played out on television screens around the world, on September 1, 2005, the 77-year-old Domino was rescued from the roof of his flooded home in New Orleans’ Lower 9th Ward by a Coast Guard helicopter. After spending time in a shelter and apartments in Baton Rouge, the Domino family returned to New Orleans in October to begin rebuilding their home.

“This album is a soulful musical message from Fats to his millions of fans around the world that he, the people of his beloved city of New Orleans, and its vibrant musical community are ‘Alive and Kickin’” said Bill Taylor, Director of the Tipitina’s Foundation. Eleven of the album’s 13 tracks were recorded over the decade prior to Hurricane Katrina, but the effort took on a renewed sense of urgency for Fats as his hometown has pulled together to rebuild.

Fats Domino’s “Alive and Kickin’” is only available online at tipitinasfoundation.org. A CD can be obtained by making a donation to the Tipitina’s Foundation. All Foundation proceeds will go toward helping save and rebuild the New Orleans music community. By supporting musicians who have suffered devastating losses from displacement, homelessness, and a lack of jobs and instruments, Fats Domino and the Tipitina’s Foundation are ensuring that New Orleans’ unique musical heritage will be preserved.

Go. Donate. And enjoy the music.

Harry Allen Countdown

It's an exciting time for Harry Allen fans. We're less than two weeks away from the release of Harry's “Jazz for the Heart” CD, the “Two Tenors & a Piano Player” concert, where Harry's quartet will team up with John Bunch and Carmen Leggio, and the Jazz Masters Class, where Harry will give personal saxophone instruction.

For some background on the new release, check out our press release on MarketWire.

For McMahon Jazz Medicine readers, we will be providing some exclusive video footage of Harry and the band rehearsing and recording in the studio. Check back over the next few days.

Nightlife Awards 2006

We are pleased to announce that McMahon Jazz Medicine recording artist Harry Allen won the 2006 award for Outstanding Jazz Combo, presented at the New York City Nightlife Awards at Town Hall to a sold-out audience of over 500 attendees. The Harry Allen and Joe Cohn quartet featured Harry Allen on Tenor Sax, Joe Cohn on guitar, Joel Forbes on bass and Chuck Riggs on drums.

Other winners in the Cabaret and Jazz categories included Elaine Stritch (female vocalist), Sandy Stewart and Bill Charlap (duo/group cabaret), Hank Jones (jazz soloist), Freddy Cole (male jazz vocalist), Paula West (female jazz vocalist), and Eartha Kitt nightlife legend honoree).

A total of 27 critics selected 16 different winners, and the highlight of the evening was the live performances in lieu of acceptance speeches.

Look for the Harry Allen Quartet’s new album “Jazz for the Heart,” which will be released on April 8, 2006, at the McMahon Jazz Medicine 3rd Annual Jazz Concert in New York City. Two sets, 6:30 and 8:00. Order advance tickets on line at www.mcmahonjazzmedicine.com or call Althea Maynard at (212) 957-5300, ext 200.

Click on these links to read two interesting reviews on Harry Allen, from “Jazz Connections” and “All About Jazz.”

Harry Allen Quartet Interview

McMahon Jazz Medicine has an exclusive interview with the Harry Allen Quartet, filmed at the studio where they are putting the finishing touches on their upcoming album Jazz for the Heart.

To watch this video, click on the play button above. The interview can be viewed as a podcast by subscribing to the feed at: http://feeds.feedburner.com/JazzMedicinePodcasts