In a tribute to "cool school" jazz in the 50's, 60's, and 70's, often considered the height of the jazz era, wind-meister Brother Jim expresses his love for the genre and enormous respect for these great musicians (credited under each track) by exhaling (rather forcefully) onto a reed, which is attached to a mouthpiece, which is in turn attached to his beloved Selmer-Paris tenor saxophone.
We hope this album brings back as many pleasant memories for you as they did for us.
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THE DRAINING OF AMERICA'S SOUL
Some say it started right after WWII, which makes some sense, since it was after our participation and victory against Germany that began to make our technological and manufacturing ego swell. They prevailing attitude was that our "shit don't stink", it was the birth of American exceptionalism.
In my humble opinion, that tendency intensified greatly in the 1970's. Corporate and establishment Americans were terrified of the anti-Vietnam war movements and demonstrations taking place across the country; it threatened there paradigm both economically and socially. The infamous "Powell Memo" is a worthy marker as it was essentially a corporate driven "declaration of war" against these progressive and establishment-threatening forces.
Big Biz, organized by and through such organizations as the Chamber of Commerce and the Business Roundtable took on an aggressive offense posture to stamp out the growing movement towards peace, social justice, and equality. Music, art, and alt philosophies and spiritual practice became their enemy, as they fostered thinking "outside the box", a paradigm that, in their eyes, would make the citizenry all the more difficult to control by the ruling elites and business establishment
DUMB, IN DEBT, DIVIDED, KEEPS THE POPULACE MALLEABLE
Racial, economic, and religious division was promoted and encouraged to keep our society disparate. A militarized police force grew through federal funding and legislation to keep these now angry and warring factions from disturbing the mechanization's of industry and capitalism.
With the election of Ronald Reagan, who heartily endorsed the Powell Memo, their power was magnified. Slowly but surely, over the course of several decades, free thought and a sense of social coherence were successfully oppressed and replaced by divisiveness, individualism (read atomization of the human spirit), oppression, surveillance, and an overall fear of our own government. We became a country without a social and cultural identity. Jazz, one of the few truly American art-forms, and other forms of art and music that identified as being "American", became a target and a victim.
By the 1990's, the transformation was complete. Somewhere in that decade, is "The Day the Music Died". America had lost its soul.
credits
released December 19, 2019
The Day the Music Died
Lyrics
A long long time ago
I can still remember how
That music used to make me smile
And I knew if I had my chance
That I could make those people dance
And maybe they'd be happy for a while
But February made me shiver
With every paper I'd deliver
Bad news on the doorstep
I couldn't take one more step
I can't remember if I cried
When I read about his widowed bride
Something touched me deep inside
The day the music died
So
Bye, bye Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry
And them good ole boys were drinking whiskey and rye
Singin' this'll be the day that I die
This'll be the day that I die
Did you write the book of love
And do you have faith in God above
If the Bible tells you so?
Do you believe in rock and roll?
Can music save your mortal soul?
And can you teach me how to dance real slow?
Well, I know that you're in love with him
'Cause I saw you dancin' in the gym
You both kicked off your shoes
Man, I dig those rhythm and blues
I was a lonely teenage broncin' buck
With a pink carnation and a pickup truck
But I knew I was out of luck
The day the music died
I started singin'
Bye, bye Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry
And them good ole boys were drinking whiskey and rye
Singin' this'll be the day that I die
This'll be the day that I die
Now, for ten years we've been on our own
And moss grows fat on a rolling stone
But, that's not how it used to be
When the jester sang for the king and queen
In a coat he borrowed from James Dean
And a voice that came from you and me
Oh and while the king was looking down
The jester stole his thorny crown
The courtroom was adjourned
No verdict was returned
And while Lennon read a book on Marx
The quartet practiced in the park
And we sang dirges in the dark
The day the music died
We were singin'
Bye, bye Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry
Them good ole boys were drinking whiskey and rye
And singin' this'll be the day that I die
This'll be the day that I die
Helter skelter in a summer swelter
The birds flew off with a fallout shelter
Eight miles high and falling fast
It landed foul on the grass
The players tried for a forward pass
With the jester on the sidelines in a cast
Now the half-time air was sweet perfume
While sergeants played a marching tune
We all got up to dance
Oh, but we never got the chance
'Cause the players tried to take the field
The marching band refused to yield
Do you recall what was revealed
The day the music died?
We started singin'
Bye, bye Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry
Them good ole boys were drinking whiskey and rye
And singin' this'll be the day that I die
This'll be the day that I die
Oh, and there we were all in one place
A generation lost in space
With no time left to start again
So come on Jack be nimble, Jack be quick
Jack Flash sat on a candlestick
'Cause fire is the devil's only friend
Oh and as I watched him on the stage
My hands were clenched in fists of rage
No angel born in Hell
Could break that Satan's spell
And as the flames climbed high into the night
To light the sacrificial rite
I saw Satan laughing with delight
The day the music died
He was singin'
Bye, bye Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry
Them good ole boys were drinking whiskey and rye
Singin' this'll be the day that I die
This'll be the day that I die
I met a girl who sang the blues
And I asked her for some happy news
But she just smiled and turned away
I went down to the sacred store
Where I'd heard the music years before
But the man there said the music wouldn't play
And in the streets the children screamed
The lovers cried, and the poets dreamed
But not a word was spoken
The church bells all were broken
And the three men I admire most
The Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost
They caught the last train for the coast
The day the music died
And they were singing
Bye, bye Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry
And them good ole boys were drinking whiskey and rye
Singin' this'll be the day that I die
This'll be the day that I die
They were singing
Bye, bye Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry
Them good ole boys were drinking whiskey and rye
Singin' this'll be the day that I die
Brighton, UK duo craft soulful soundscapes influenced by the sweeping, romantic film soundtracks of the ’60s and ’70s. Bandcamp New & Notable Oct 26, 2022
