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Great show last night at Douglass Street Music Collective: Mike Pride's From Bacteria to Boys, the Nate Wooley Quintet, even though you're only 9. It was very jazzy - "jazzy" - whatever. I mean, composed pieces that swing occasionally and involve chords that are in some way interpreted by soloists. Speaking broadly, I can't stand "modern" jazz, I really like most things recorded before 1975, I only play jazz with close friends, etc.

Every once and a while, something pops up that really makes me appreciate Twitter. Today, one of those, from cable news phenom/occasional heartthrob Anderson Cooper:

@andersoncooper: From ac: it was a bit surreal

This can be taken two ways, either as hilariously vague and unhelpful or as maybe the one most relevent piece of journalism to come out of that country...

Next Sunday, Jan 31: MASTODON LIFESTYLES

From Bacteria to Boys // Nate Wooley Quinet // even though you're only 9

Had the rare opportunity to improvise with a fish yesterday. I went to my friend David Moré's house to play with him and Jeff Kimmel, and we plugged his gnathonemus petersii, Alex, into her amp to make a quartet. Alex is an elephantnose fish from Western Africa that emits a weak electrical field to figure out where she is in relation to food, objects, and other fish.

I will not be performing the score THIS IS IT any more. Don't be fooled by my calendar, which refers to all improvising gigs (well, there are only three left) as THIS IS IT. I am sick of the piece and have a feeling it is somewhere between condescending and outright stupid. It is something I feel funny/uncomfortable asking improvisers I know and respect to play, and therefore it is something I should not ask anyone to play. I don't agree with it anymore, I don't think, and I would like to be free to improvise with whomever without the specter of this piece looming above our heads. I think it generally ends up invalidating or trivializing its own performance, which is not something I want to be doing, at least not anymore. I really like improvising, and I think the way that group improvisation instantly creates community is really exciting - in fact, it is this very thing that I like about music. I don't care about virtuosity, I care about community. I don't want to trivialize it. Even if I am being overly negative and the piece does have some validity or positive value, John Baldessari does it better:

More happy thoughts from the Chicago Reader about Friday night's show at Elastic Arts! See article in its original context, or read a cut & paste below:

Been in Chicago for nearly 3 weeks now. Haven't taken any pictures.

I have been scheming/brainstorming a lot. Trying to work my way into some kind of space where I don't need to work at a coffee shop full-time to survive. Which at the moment mean applying for everything possible, trying to think my way into every possible fellowship, grant, residency, whatever. Without further adieu:

Got some nice words for the shows this weekend!

The Chicago Reader says: "Radical young trumpeter Jacob Wick performs with Jeff Kimmel and David More on Saturday at Heaven Gallery and then hits the Hungry Brain on Sunday, where he'll be joined by Jeb Bishop, John Paul Glover, and Frank Rosaly."

Read more: http://www.chicagoreader.com/TheBlog/archives/2010/01/07/even-more-weeke...