MAY 9, 2000 Well.... there's good news and there's some bad news. Good news first. The CD with Tisziji Munoz, Marilyn Crispell, Lukas Ligeti, Mark Dresser, and myself that we recorded last month for ANAMI came out really great. I don't know what Tisziji will decide to use. There are several tracks that I did not play on because I was assisting with the production, and there is some stuff that may be too way out there. We'll see. But it was great to work with Tisziji. He is truly amazing. You could really see and feel him pulling his guitar lines in from outer space or some other dimensional plane. Marilyn and Mark were fantastic, too. As i work with the multi-tracks here, I've been really enjoy soloing Mark's bass track and just listening to him. June 15, at an art gallery that I will post soon, Danielle DeGruttolla and I will be playing improvised duets in front of the specific paintings by our pal Meredith Trombel that inspire us at her art show opening. We'll also make a special CD of improvisations based on MT's artwork that we will sell at this show opening party in San Francisco. Wadada and I are planning to make 2 CDs with he new YO MILES! band this August. I suggest checking out the excellent interview and YO MILES! live samples at www.philzone.com. Look under phil.zone interviews in the right column and find my name under the pull-down menu. Wadada and I will also be recording with Thomas Mapfumo (who's like the Bob Marley of Zimbabwe) in August under Wadada's direction. Now, the bad news. We were "all set" to do YO MILES! with Pete Cosey and myself on guitars at the Chicago Jazz Fest on Sept. 1st. As usual I asked if there was any tobacco sponsorship - since I won't play for advertising tobacco. They told me absolutely not. But it turns out that the lied - they were sponsored by Philip Morris and they were trying to trick us into doing it despite that. That was very dishonest of them to lie that way. But we did find out and we had to cancel. You can read about it in this story from a St. Louis Newspaper here below: JAZZ TALK: ANDREW GILBERT
Tobacco backing scuttles gig
ONE OF THE highlights of last year's San Francisco Jazz Festival was the Yo Miles! concert at the Fillmore, based on the Shanachie album of the same name by innovative guitarist Henry Kaiser and master trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith. Exploring the seminal fusion created by Miles Davis during his oft-overlooked fusion period of the late '60s and early '70, Kaiser and Smith's large ensemble dug into the lean grooves, melding elements of funk, rock and post-bop while taking each piece to a crushing climax.
An extended reprise performance by Yo Miles! at the Fillmore a few months ago made it clear that the concept was no fluke, and the question was where would the project be staged next. A spot at this summer's Chicago Jazz Festival seemed like the perfect showcase, until Kaiser's principles ran smack into some dubious maneuvering by Chi-town officials.
Ever since the mid-'80s, Kaiser has put a clause in all his contracts stipulating that there be no tobacco company sponsorship in any event that hires him. The Chicago Jazz Festival had assured him that this was the case, but when they returned his contract, the "no tobacco" clause had been crossed out. It turns out that Philip Morris is one of the festival's sponsors, which means that Yo Miles! won't be blowing in the Windy City this summer. For Kaiser, it's a simple matter of not taking money from the hand that keeps punching you.
"They benefit much more from associating with these music events than the festivals or artists do," Kaiser said. "All they care about is keeping people addicted. They killed all those jazz and rock musicians. They target the black community. I mean, here they are doing tributes to Miles Davis and Lester Bowie at the Chicago festival, and cigarettes helped kill both of them."
More bad news from Burma. The second refugee camp that I wrote about visiting in a previous journal entry was destroyed and many folks were injured and killed. You can read about that below and see some pictures: Mae Tao Clinic Ramble of April 7, 2000
Dear All,
We regret that this latest Ramble brings with it some sad news.
On April 1, 2000, fighting was reported between the DKBA/SPDC and KNU forces near the Mae La Po Hta camp inside Karen State. Because of the close proximity of the fighting, the people of Mae La Po Hta evacuated the camp. About half (2000 people) fled to Thai soil in an open field, and the others dispersed to unknown locations, most likely in the jungles in Thailand and Burma.
On April 4, 2000, the DKBA/SPDC forces burned down nearly all of the houses in Mae La Po Hta. ÊLand mines have been confirmed in the area. The result is that the people of Mae La Po Hta will not be able to return to their camp in the near future. The known refugees are being moved to a new location over the next few days, although the exact location and facilities are unknown.
Attached to this email are several photographs of the burning camp, some of the injured and killed, and the NGO coordination efforts thus far. Please be advised that some of the photos are rather graphic and disturbing.
The situation for those seeking refuge in Thailand is not good. Most people were able to bring only the clothes on their backs. They have no additional clothes, shelter, medicine, or food.
Efforts are currently underway to supply food and medicine. Work is being done by following groups:
- MSF (Doctors without Borders) is providing medicine and medical aid, and have sent a sanitation team to assist in water and waste issues.
- MSF and the Thai Public Health are responding to the crisis by providing emergency referral and transport of critical patients to local hospitals.
- BBC is providing shelter, blankets, rice, and salt.
- Mae Tao Clinic is providing supplies and kits to pregnant women and traditional birth attendants, drinking water and clothing.
- KWO (Karen Women's Organization) is providing women's and children's clothing.
- Additional support is being provided by UNHCR, Medics from Mae La Po Hta Clinic, and the KRC.
Dr. Cynthia is working tirelessly to coordinate the NGO response.
Donation would be most helpful at this critical time. Donations of money in any amount can be made in the following way:
Money can be wired or deposited into the account of Father Manat Supalak at the Krung Thai Bank, Mae Sot Branch. Account number 604-1-22304-2
Thank you for your continued support and kind help.
On behalf of Dr. Cynthia Maung,
Tess and Ken
After so much bad news - maybe I will add a couple of positive notes. Even though I should have stayed home and worked on Monday (mixing some the records and that I am behind schedule with) I went diving in Monterey... Carmel Bay... just two nice quiet dives in 6 foot visibility water (most folks don't enjoy that - but I do!) Very green from a plankton bloom so down at 90 feet on Mono Lobo Wall below the thermocline @ 48 degrees F. It was dark like a moonless nite with the visibility opening up to 15 feet and very, very beautiful in the very calm, still, cold water the dim light was very special, no refracted light, just very diffuse, scattered illuminationÊso that your pupils open all the way and you lose depth perception but it's somehow different from a dark night because you can still see things that you focus on with great clarity.... There is a great book about unusual visual phenomena on land: Light and Color in the Outdoors, by M. G. J. Minnaert, that talks about all those sorts of things from rainbows to the green flash to sun dogs to foggy light to etc etc Nobody ever talks much about the unusual perceptual/lighting phenomena that happen with divers, do they? And the recording front Michael Manring and I just did a really nice track together that is a tribute to Pete Cosey and Michael Henderson. This for a benefit "tribute to personal heroes" CD that I will post the details of soon. Finally, I just saw the most recent Gamera film. And I really loved it. It's the best Kaiju (Japanese Monster) film ever. I love Gamera so much! It's cool that he's both a sea monster and a space monster. Chris Larsen of www.girlbrand.com, just made me a cool guitar with a reverse glass painting of Gamera on the top. He will post pix of it at that site soon. To end on a happy note - here's a synopsis that I pulled of the internet of the new Gamera film. G III - The Revenge of Iris - 1999 new movie
Japanese monster movie about attempted "revenge" against Gamera (big flying space turtle) after he kills a young girl's cat and family.....
Two years after the Legion was defeated by Gamera, peace seems to have been restored to the world. A harsh new reality replaces the tranquility when ornithologist Mayumi Nagamine is summoned to a village in the Phillipines--she discovers the decayed corpse of a Gyaos. The return of these fearsome beasts to civilization is just a matter of time... Indeed the struggle of Gamera and Gyaos seems an eternal one as the graveyard of Gamera is found, proof that other generations of the beast had waged the same war.
Meanwhile, in a remote rural town lives a high school student named Ayana. After her parents were killed in Tokyo during the battle of Gamera and Gyaos in 1995, she and her little brother were sent to the town to be raised by her aunt and uncle. Ayana harbors a deep-seated hatred for Gamera, blaming the monster for the death of her parents and her beloved cat, Iris. In a cave long avoided by the locals as a place of evil, Ayana discovers some strange artifacts--a heavy turtle shaped object with a inscribed pictograph of a dragon like creature and a sharp-edged, comma shaped amulet. The ground begins to rumble, and a egg-like object is unearthed.
Emotionally devastated by his experience first with the Gyaos and then with the Legion, former police officer Ohsako now lives on the streets of Shibuya in Tokyo, selling magazines. One night, while drinking with his homeless friends, Ohsako sees a streak of lightin the clouds, against which two all-too-familiar shapes pass in front. Was it really Gyaos?
The answer is quickly forthcoming--from above the clouds comes the scream of the Gyaos, followed by an explosion and a brilliant flash of light. Dropping out of the clouds on an unsuspecting rush hour crowd is the burning body of a Gyaos, slamming into JR Shibuya Station. Gamera whirls down from the sky, chasing after the Gyaos. As the scalding steam from his jets spreads through the rush hour crowds below, killing thousands, Gamera lands and stalks his prey.
The mutilated Gyaos screams defiance from the wreckage of the station, and Gamera lets loose with a plasma fireball, obliterating the Gyaos as well as the surrounding area. The second Gyaos now swoops down from the sky, attacking Gamera with his supersonic beam, slicing the 0101 building in half and gouging a wound into Gamera's shoulder. Oblivious to the city around him, Gamera responds by wildly firing plasma fireballs at the elusive Gyaos, in the process exacting a devastating toll of human casualties. Finally, Gamera blasts the enemy from the sky, its burning corpse raining down on a fleeing populace. Gamera flies off leaving Shibuya a blazing inferno as a child sobs, "Why is Gamera doing this? I thought he would protect us!"
The destruction caused by Gamera brings Ayana's bitter feelings to the surface. Now feeling drawn to the cave, she finds that the egg has hatched a small tentacled creature. She names it Irys after her pet cat which had been killed along with her parents. Despite the protestations of Moribe, a local boy who is fond of Ayana and who is aware of the forbidden nature of the cave, Ayana decides to take care of the infant. Irys displays a disturbing power, using its knife-tipped tentacles to absorb its food...
Mayumi finds Ohsako cowering on the streets of Shibuya and offers him a chance to regain his dignity and rejoin her on her quest to investigate the mystery of the return of the Gyaos. Ayana finds that the Baby Irys has disappeared from its cave, and fearing for its safety she searches the surrounding forest. At the sight of the baby lying limply in the brush, Ayana rushes to its side without noticing the dried up carcass of a woodland creature nearby. The baby perks up at Ayana's presence, and her pendant begins to glow. Suddenly, Irys begins a transformation, taking an upright posture and sprouting several more tentacles. Feeling one with the creature, Ayana willing accepts the embrace of Irys' tentacles, and an unholy union takes place...
Mayumi investigates the meaning of a strange CD-ROM which she receives from a computer game specialist named Kurata. The CD contains a map which charts the levels of what the programmer calls Mana, or earth's life energy, around the world. Particularly in Japan, the levels are quite low, and coincidentally, this is where the greatest concentration of Gyaos first appeared. Around the same time, Mayumi receives a call from Asagi, the girl who was had a psychic connection to Gamera. No longer joined with Gamera, Asagi had sought to escape her memory of Gamera by attending school overseas. But in the course of her university studies, Asagi researched some of the ancient writings of Atlantis and discovered the concept of earth's life energy. Asagi meets with Mayumi and begins to fit all the pieces of the puzzle together for her.
The ancient legends of Atlantis discovered years earlier at the arrival of the first Gyaos indicated that Gyaos would appear when the environment was threatened. Asagi confirms that environmental damage by pollution would drain earth's life energy. Furthermore, Asagi witnessed Gamera tapping into huge reserves of earth's life energy in order to defeat the Legion, so the world's life energy levels were dangerously low, especially in Japan. So now the Gyaos were appearing around the world--in Singapore, Mexico, and the United States. Gyaos was now on the rise. And without Asagi's human connection to Gamera, the monster was unconcerned with humans in its attacks on the Gyaos. Unknown to Mayumi and Asagi, the low levels of Mana had also released a much greater threat.
Moribe notices Ayana's absence from school the next day and fears for her safety. Returning to the cursed cave, he finds a terrible sight--Ayana's body is being enveloped by a strange organic cocoon, tendrils lodged into her back. He cuts her free and takes her away as a huge serpentine head watches. Hearing of the strange events in Ayana's village, Mayumi and Ohsako go to investigate any connection with the Gyaos. What they find is unlike anything they have previously encountered, but Mayumi takes samples of the cocoon material for analysis. Ayana's home is found destroyed and her uncle, aunt and cousin's bodies are discovered drained of life. In the meantime, not far away, a young couple on an outing in the woods is suddenly confronted by a huge tentacle which grabs the young girl. Her body, sucked dry of life, is deposited at the feet of her horrified companion. The gigantic form of Irys rests in the forest.
Mayumi makes an unsettling discovery--DNA from the cocoon is nearly identical to that of Gyaos, except for a small split of the DNA strand at its edge. When Mayumi and Asagi go to the hospital to visit Ayana, they find that the girl has been taken away at the government's orders and without the knowledge of her family. Mayumi angrily insists on knowing where the girl was taken, eventually winning the information. Her quest takes her to Kyoto where Kurata and Ms. Asakura, the government intelligence official in charge of the Gyaos countermeasure program, are holding Ayana. Asakura is more than just a bureaucrat--in private she is also a former priestess with Altlantian ancestry. She believes it is her destiny to join, as had Asagi years before with Gamera, with a legendary beast that will someday emerge against Gamera. She senses that this creature has arrived, but since Ayana has been joined with the beast, Asaukura will try to use her as a conduit for directing the beast.
Having stayed behind in the village, Ohsako finds Moribe and consoles the boy. Moribe insists he must help Ayana, so Ohsako agrees to take him to Kyoto. Moribe believes that the wooden sword stored at the cave's entrance as protection from the evil within, will help him to release Ayana from the fate which has befallen her. The military surrounds the immobile form of Irys, ready to strike. Still in a coma, Ayana's eyes open and Irys begins to move. The army's attacks are utterly useless, and Irys takes to the skies towards Kyoto. Mayumi and Asagi insist on returning Ayana to her home, and they are accompanied by Asakura and Kurata to Kyoto Station. All train service has been suspended as a strong typhoon bears down on Japan. As torrential rains pelt down on Kyoto, an unknown object is detected by JSDF radar approaching the city. Fearing it is Gamera, fighter jets are sent to intercept, but they instead find a new creature. Irys is poised to destroy the jets when a fireball streaks past the jets and jolts Irys. Gamera has arrived to do battle with Irys. After a fierce struggle in the skies, Gamera is knocked into the huge storm clouds by a barrage of JSDF missiles.
Irys lands in Kyoto, causing massive panic to grip the city. Watching from Kyoto Station, Ayana's mental link with Irys helps the monster anticipate and deflect Gamera's attacks. Fueled by Ayana's hatred for Gamera, Irys buries its spear-like arm into Gamera's chest, the appendage piercing even through Gamera's shell. Sensing this as her moment of destiny, Asakura grabs the pendant from Ayana and urges Irys on, but the two monsters crash into the station, killing Asakura. Irys withdraws the spear, and Gamera falls in defeat.
Its enemy vanquished, Irys turns its attention to a mesmerized Ayana. Watching from the background, Moribe throws caution to the wind, determined to save Ayana from again uniting with Irys. He rushes forward and hurls the antique sword at the monster. The weapon harmlessly bounces off of Irys, but it grazes Ayana's cheek as it falls, snapping her out of her trance. To her horror, Irys blasts Moribe aside. Suddenly afraid, Ayana tries to get away, but Irys is not to be denied...Ayana is absorbed into Irys' abdomen. Once inside Irys, Ayana become aware of everything, including Irys' murder of her second family. She becomes filled with regret, but is helpless to resist her fate.
Unexpectedly, Ayana is freed from Irys--Gamera revives and thrusts his hand inside Irys' chest, clutching at its human prize. Unable to break away without losing Ayana, Irys immobilizes Gamera by impaling his hand against the wall of Kyoto Station. The battle appears at a standstill....until Irys begins sucking the plasma energy from Gamera's body through the spear piercing his hand. Irys raises its tentacles, and plasma fireballs begin to form at their tips. About to be destroyed by his own energy, Gamera faces a desperate situation.
Facing certain death, Gamera makes a critical decision. Gamera uses a plasma blast to sever his hand, breaking Irys' vampiric hold. Irys fires the two plasma fireballs at Gamera, but Gamera absorbs them into the stump of his hand and in return, fires an enormous plasma blast that destroys Irys. Gamera releases the lifeless form of Ayana to Mayumi and Asagi, and Mayumi frantically tries to resuscitate her as Gamera looks on. The effort seem useless until Gamera emits a mighty roar; suddenly Ayana begins to stir. Mayumi silently wonders if she really succeeded, or was Gamera somehow responsible?
JSDF defense headquarters receives a report that Gyaos from all over the world are now swarming on Japan. The defense priority now turns from Gamera to the Gyaos. As a huge flock of Gyaos approach, a badly damaged Gamera plods out of the station and into the fiery ruins of Kyoto, ready to do battle once again...THE END.
Paintings and Drawings by Meredith Tromble On view June15-July 19, 2000
Genevieve Gallery1360 Mission Street, Third Floor (at 10th Street)San FranciscoGallery hours: M-F 10-2 or by appointment (415) 626-0453x120
Reception for the artist Thursday, June 15, 6-9
Danielle DeGruttola (cello) and Henry Kaiser (acoustic guitar) will play improvised duets inspired by the paintings. A very limited edition CD of their music created in response to the art will be available.
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I thought that I'd try writing something every week or so to let visitors to the website know what I've been up to. I also plan to report on each gig and recording session after the fact. I plan to be pretty minimal with this: so don't expect a lot of verbiage.