orchestra21

An absolute must-watch for anyone involved in creative endeavor:

Our system of law doesn’t acknowledge the derivative nature of creativity. Instead, ideas are regarded as property, as unique and original lots with distinct boundaries. But ideas aren’t so tidy. They’re layered, they’re interwoven, they’re tangled. And when the system conflicts with the reality … the system starts to fail.

Additional linkage and commentary on an earlier segment of Ferguson’s superb series is here.

[via vimeo]

Herbie Hancock recalling advice given to him by Miles Davis:

I felt like I was getting in a rut, and I was playing the same thing over and over again, and he noticed that. So he suggested that I not play the butter notes … I started eliminating certain notes from my chords – some of the notes that clearly define what the chord is – and it actually changed my style of playing forever.

J Dilla - Nag Champa Orchestral Mix
from Like Water For Chocolate - 2000
and Suite for Ma Dukes - 2009

This week sees the anniversaries of James Yancey’s birth and death [he would have been 38 today]. My annual birthday gift to Dilla is spreading his music – in February 2010 I introduced his work to orchestra audiences in Iowa, but in the absence of as grand a tribute this year I instead have two wrapped CD copies of Suite for Ma Dukes to give away, courtesy Miguel Atwood-Ferguson and Mochilla. Drop me a line with a note about what Dilla’s music means to you or like/reblog this post and I’ll randomly select two recipients.

[My mix via The Beats was originally done for this]

Monk Monday

[Image by Lawrence Shustak]

BALLET 360, featuring dancers from Canada’s National Ballet School, is one installment in a fascinating series by Ryan Enn Hughes:

‘The 360 Project’ is an exploration into the crossroads of photography and motion pictures. It is a study of peak dance movements, captured simultaneously by 48 cameras aligned in a circle.

Prepare to be spellbound.

[via culturite]