John Edwin Mason: Documentary, Motorsports, Photo History

Running with Raven: On Kickstarter -- And It's Amazing

Never underestimate a tall ditsy blonde.

I've had to learn that lesson two or three times over the last ten years.  My teacher?  Laura Lee Patterson Huttenbach.

College professors have their prejudices.  One of mine has been to not take seriously young women who are tall and blonde and laugh a lot.  So when Laura Lee signed up for one of my African history classes, I figured that she was there for the credits and nothing more.  Turned out, she  was (or became) passionate about Africa, and she was damn smart -- the kind of student who asks questions that you haven't thought of yet.  Lesson one.

The first time I heard from her after she had graduated, she told me about backpacking through Africa, something I've never managed to do.  In Kenya, she met an elderly tea farmer named Japhlet Thambu, who had been an important commander during the anti-colonial struggle during the 1950s.  She was going to write his biography.  Right...  Having never written a book, having no graduate training in African history, she was going to write his biography.  Well, she did it.  I've read the manuscript -- the one that's now sitting on an editor's desk at a major publishing house -- and it's terrific.  I'm not saying it was easy for her to do -- it's been a long road -- but it really is a terrific book.  (And also an important contribution to our understanding of African history.)  Lesson two.

 

 

"Running with Raven," a documentary by Mary Beth and Laura Lee.  [Click on the arrow to play the video.]

Now Laura Lee is free-lancing in Miami, and she's hooked up with Mary Beth Koeth, a photographer and filmmaker, to produce Running with Raven a documentary for which she's raising funds on Kickstarter.  I'm not going to describe the project to you.  In the video above, Laura Lee and Mary Beth do a much better job than I could.  Lesson three.

I will guarantee this...  If Laura Lee's involved, it's going to get done, and it's going to be wonderful.  (And funny.)  I've backed it; I hope you will, too.

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Oh, yeah. Ditsy?  No, it's the wrong word.  Laura Lee is wacko.  As anybody who listens to Car Talk knows, wacko is high praise indeed.

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13 August 2012:  Laura Lee and Mary Beth are posting updates on their Kickstarter website.  The most recent --  "The Sand Feels Like Needles" Running through Hurricane Irene -- is terrific.  It combines an audio recording of Raven talking to Laura Lee about, well, running through Hurricane Irene, with some wonderful video footage of Raven by Mary Beth.  Check it out, here.

By the way, the project is already well in its way to reaching its fund-raising goal.  But it still needs your help.  You can pledge, here.

Funky Friday with Robert Jospe & Inner Rhythm

I love these guys -- Robert Jospe, Jeff Decker, Bob Hallahan, and Randall Pharr.  Living in Charlottesville, Virginia, I'm lucky enough to be able to hear them on a regular basis.  Robert and Jeff teach in the music department at the University of Virginia.  Bob teaches nearby at James Madison University's School of Music, and Randall lives, gigs, and teaches in Richmond.

Yes, they're all connected to universities, but don't let that worry you.  They're not academic players, and this isn't academic music.  It's all way too funkified for that.

 

 

"Blue Blaze."  Robert Jospe and Inner Rhythm.

Robert Jospe, drums; Jeff Decker, tenor sax; Bob Hallahan, keyboards; Randall Pharr, bass.

Kait Dunton, "Mountain Suite."

Slow Music for a Fast Food World

Kait Dunton must know what she's doing.  Either that, or she's ever-so-slightly out of her mind.  Because here she is -- amid of the clutter and noise of the internet age -- whispering.

Mountain Suite, the mesmerizing new album from the LA-based composer and pianist, never raises its voice, never prances or preens, never grabs your collar and demands your attention.  Instead, it quietly invites you into its world for a long, engaging, and ultimately moving stay.

 

 

"Frolic," live recording.  Kait Dunton, piano; Darek "Oles" Oleszkiewicz, bass; Peter Erskine, drums.

Mountain Suite began to come together when Dunton attended a workshop at the Banff art center in the Canadian Rockies.  While she was there, she told me a few weeks ago, she began to write pieces that were "more adventurous, without an obvious form."  Over the next few years, some of the tunes "kept hanging around."  As Dunton worked with them, she realized that they formed "part of an arc," and she decided to complete it with newer pieces, "keeping the concept in mind."

The concept -- that arc -- is a journey, an abstract journey that for Dunton has both physical and emotional associations.  It connects the glorious mountain scenery of Banff and to journeys of the mind and the heart.

Dunton emphasizes that Mountain Suite is very much a suite -- a series of related short compositions that are meant to be heard as a whole.  She says that the various movements reflect the stages of a journey -- its excited, yet apprehensive beginning, its moments of enchantment and jubilation, its disappointments and confusion, and, in this particular case, its triumphant revelations and quiet return.  To my ears, the suite is an inward journey, and a deeply emotional one, at that.

 

 

"Day One," live recording.  Same performers.

Dunton is still in her twenties, but there's no doubt that she's already developed a distinctive compostitional voice.  Her style mixes angularity with emotion, and rhythmic complexity with melodic grace.  Even though she's already released a debut album -- 2008's Real & Imagined -- Mountain Suite is her real coming out party as a composer.

As you've gathered from the videos, Dunton is working with a number of collaborators on this album.  The two that appear in the videos are drummer, Peter Erskine, and bassist Darek "Oles" Oleszkiewicz.  On the album, as in the videos, the interplay between piano, bass, and drums is marvelous to behold.

Dunton's piano playing on Mountain Suite, even at its most exuberant, has a serene quality, as though she were painting with pastels rather than primary colors.  Erskine, especially, is with her all the way, often relying on his cymbals rather than drums to propel the music.  That's going to surprise people (like me, to be honest) who will forever associate him with the high-powered athleticism he displayed when playing with Weather Report.  It shouldn't.  He's a wonderfully tasty cat who's played with everyone from John Abercrombie and Diana Krall to Steely Dan to Linda Ronstadt.

 

 

"Path," live recording.  Same performers.

Saxophonist Bob Mintzer and trumpeter John Daversa, who appear in the video directly above, also show up on several of the album's tracks.  (Oh, yeah, Dunton has put together a damned impressive band.)  Even though the none of the movements turns into a blowing session, they both do a lot more than providing another set of colors, as you can hear.  Like Erskine and Oleszkiewicz, they're in tune with Mountain Suite's moods and contribute subtle, intricate, moving solos.

(In a wonderful coincidence, Dunton told me that Mintzer also performed her very first composition.  It happened in 2005, when she was an undergraduate at the University of Virginia, and Mintzer was in town to perform with the university's jazz ensemble.  I wonder if he remembers the dark-haired piano player with the blazing talent.)

I started out by suggesting that Dunton is either a genius or a little bit crazy.  I imagine you've figured out which side of the fence I fall on as far as that question is concerned.

It also seems to me that Dunton has more than her share of courage.  Not every young artist would be prepared to make her second album one that makes demands on the listeners.  This is music that asks for your time and your concentration.  It should be heard whole -- as the suite that it is -- and it rewards careful, sustained attention.  It takes guts to release an album that's neither iTunes-friendly (it would make little sense to download isolated tracks) nor iPod-friendly (it would make even less sense to put the tracks into a shuffle mix) in 2012.

As slow music in a fast food world, it's never going to be popular music.  Most Taylor Swift fans or Beyonce fans probably wouldn't be interested.  But some of them would be, if Mountain Suite somehow came their way and if they stopped to listen.  Here's hoping that they have the chance.

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Mountain Suite is avaiable from cdbaby and, yes, iTunes.

If you're in Los Angeles or Berlin, you can catch Dunton live in July.  On Sunday, the 8th, she and her trio will be playing in LA at the Honor Bar, in the South Beverly Grill, from 6:00 to 10:00.  (Free admission.)  And, on the 28th, she and the trio will be in Berlin, performing at Noyman Miller, at 8:30.

The Sullivan Crisis at UVA: A Visual Diary

Just before noon on Sunday, June 10th, Helen Dragas, the University of Virginia's Rector and head of its Board of Visitors, send an email to the university community to say that the president, Teresa Sullivan, had agreed to step down.  In fact, the Board had fired her, and it was a colossal mistake.

The news came out of the blue.  There had been no discussion and debate, no rumors or gossip that would have lead anyone outside of the Board to suspect anything was wrong.  Students, faculty, staff, alumni, and friends of the university were stunned.

And then they were angry -- angry about the secretive process that lead to Sullivan's dismissal and angry about the weak and misleading statements that justified it.  The result was a rebellion that united the university community as never before and lead to Sullivan's reinstatement on June 26th.

I kept a visual diary of these events, using the sketchpad of our time -- the iPhone.  There's nothing comprehensive or objective about this diary.  It's simply the way that the last two weeks looked to me. 

 

June 17th, Faculty Senate Meeting:

The university's Faculty Senate held an open meeting to confirm its vote of "no confidence" in the Board of Visitors and its call for President Sullivan's reinstatement.

 

[All photos copyright John Edwin Mason.  Click on any image to see a larger version.]

Hundreds of faculty members attended to show their support for the senate's actions.

 

 

June 18th and 19th, Rally and Vigil at the Rotunda:

3,000 students, faculty, staff, alumni, and friends (along with members of the local and national media) attended a rally and vigil at the Rotunda that coincided with a special meeting of the Board of Visitors.  They were they to demand President Sullivan's reinstatment.  The Board's meeting lasted until nearly 3:00 am.  Scores of Sullivan supporters maintained the vigil until the end.

 

 

Former University of Virginia President John Casteen attended the rally, having earlier criticized the Board's actions.

 

 

Opposition to the Board's actions united the university community as never before.  Frat boys and hippies, student Democrats and student Republicans, town and gown all joined hands.

 

Julia and James spent part of their honeymoon protesting the Board's decision.  Yes, they'd been married all of one day.

 

The Board's meeting dragged on, while the media waited.

 

Sullivan supports watched and waited.

 

 

As you can see, I stayed to the bitter end.  At about 3:00, after the Board members had slipped away into the night without speaking to the Sullivan supporters, I was interviewed by a Daily Progress reporter.  I can hardly remember what I had so say, but I do know that I wasn't a happy camper.  You can read the article (and my quotes) here.

 

June 20th, Dean Carl Zeithaml, First Press Conference:

During its meeting on the 18th and 19th, the Board decided to appoint an interim president -- the dean of the McIntire School of Commerce, Carl Zeithaml.  (His term would begin when Sullivan officially left office.)  At a press conference on the 20th, Zeithaml called the process that led to Sullivan's ouster "flawed," but said that he felt obliged to serve the university in its time of need.

 

 

June 20th, Witness on the Lawn:

On the same day as Zeithaml's press conference, Sullivan supporters briefly gathered on the Lawn.

 

 

June 22th, Dean Carl Zeithaml, Second Press Conference:

At a second press conference, Dean Zeithaml announced that he was "stepping back" from all activities associated with being interim president-designate.  He had come to realize that he would have no legitimacy as interim as long as there were serious doubts about the dishonorable way that the Board had acted in removing Sullivan.

 

 

June 24th, Rally for Honor:

University students organized a Rally for Honor.  Speakers representing faculty, students, staff, alumni, and elected officials condemned the Board's decision and called for Sullivan's reinstatement.  Perhaps sensing that the momentum had shifted away from the Board and toward Sullivan's supporters, the rally had an almost festive atmosphere.

 

 

 

 

Kenneth Elzinga, the Robert C. Taylor Professor of Economics, calls for Sullivan's reinstatement.

 

Students and alumni who couldn't attend were represented by their photos.

 

My colleague, Peter Onuf, the Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation Professor of History, calls for Sullivan's reinstatement.

 

The names of people and organizations that supported Sullivan's return.

 

People at the rally were invited to add their names to the banner.

 

 

This sign refers to the probability the the PR firm that Rector Helen Dragas hired wrote a lengthy statement, justifying the Board's decision to fire Sullivan, that was issued under her name.

 

 

Student organizer Suzie McCarthy closed the rally.

 

June 26th, President Teresa Sullivan Reinstated:

Having come under tremendous pressure from students, faculty, alumni, staff, donors, and elected officials, the Board met to reconsider its ouster of President Sullivan.  While the Board met, a large crowd of Sullivan supporters waited to hear its decision.  In the end, it voted unanimously to reinstate her.

 

 

 

 

Rector Dragas' PR firm takes some heat.

 

President Sullivan on the Rotunda's portico, waiting to address the crowd, after her reinstatement.

 

President Teresa Sullivan addresses a joyful crowd..

 

President Sullivan joins members of UVA's University Singers, administrators, faculty members, and staff to sing "The Good Old Song," the university's de facto alma mater.

 

The Daily Progress interviewed me, again, as the jubilant crowd was going home.  You can read the article (which about Sullivan's reinstatement -- I'm quoted) here.

You can find a timeline of the events related to President Sullivan's ouster and reinstatement, here.

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Tech notes:  All photos were shot on an iPhone4, using the ProCamera app.  They were processed and resized with the Photogene2 app.

Funky Friday: Warren Wolf, "One for Lenny."

Warren Wolf, a tremendously talented young vibes player, is in town to play a concert with the University of Virginia Jazz Ensemble, on Saturday night, and to lead a masterclass, on Saturday afternoon.

This is great news.  I was lucky enough to hear Wolf and the jazz ensemble rehearse last night, and I can tell you that it's going to be a terrific concert.

 

Warren Wolf, rehearsing with members of the University of Virginia Jazz Ensemble, 26 April 2012.  [Photos copyright John Edwin Mason, 2012.  Click on the images to see larger versions.]

Wolf released his first album last year.  (You can hear a track in the video below.)  He says that he's "trying to bring forth what most cats did back in the day, coming out right at you swinging, nice and hard, not a lot of hard melodies or weird time signatures.  I like to play really hard, fast and kind of flashy. I like to take it to a whole other level."

Also on the album are bassist Christian McBride (who co-produced the recording), pianist Peter Martin, drummer Greg Hutchinson, alto and soprano saxophonist Tim Green, and, on two tracks, trumpeter Jeremy Pelt.

 

 

Warren Wolf, "One for Lenny."  From the album Warren Wolf.

It doesn't surprise me that the university's music department has a lot of good things to say about Wolf.  In the jazz world, he's making a name for himself.

Warren Wolf is a multi-instrumentalist from Baltimore, Maryland, who has recorded two albums under his own name and performs internationally with jazz greats like Wynton Marsalis, Mulgrew Miller, Christian MacBride, Jeff "Tain" Watts, and Esperanza Spaulding.  His cutting-edge work as a leader has included some of the most forward looking up-and-comers in the genre including Darren Barrett on the trumpet and saxophonist Walter Smith.  [His] a luminous talent... combines mastery of vibraphone/marimba, drums, and piano with a unique compositional style.

 

Warren Wolf talking shop with University of Virginia Jazz Ensemble drummer Kendrick Smith, 26 April 2012.

Tomorrow night's concert will be the first time the Jazz Ensemble has hosted a vibraphonist.  Wolf will be featured on compositions by John Coltrane, Thad Jones, Pat Metheny and Kenny Dorham, among others.  The evening will also include two compositions by the jazz ensemble's director, John D'earth.

But wait, there's more.  Three student vocalists will perform in a variety of styles.  Gracie Terzian will sing her original lyrics to the Wayne Shorter classic, "Iris," from Miles Davis' groundbreaking album, ESP.  Adrianna Foster will revive the Billie Holliday classic "Fine and Mellow."  And Emily Voreas will appear with the band for the third time singing a new D'earth composition entitled "We Shall See. "

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Warren Wolf and the University of Virginia Jazz Ensemble, 8:00 pm, Saturday, 28 April 2012, Old Cabell Hall, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia.  More information, here.