Foolish indeed

When some shit already belongs to somebody else, why bother to try to get it?

If you do, you're the biggest motherfuckin' idiot on the planet.

Which I think I am.

Heart-to-heart

Talking to my sister heart-to-heart was never something that I would have expected.

But last night, after I had two beers in 55 Bar, and I started to talk my heart out on the train.

This is the first time in many years that I feel so close to my own sister, heart-to-heart...

Only then I knew, the love has always been there, only that I never knew about it...

Sis, I hope you'll be happy in your life, and I always support you from behind!

Watch out!! Sis's in town!!

Yes... she arrived... this afternoon 1pm...

Landed in LGA, NYC...

Yup...

OK lah, I will stop pretend, yes! I'm very happy to see her here! I hope she will have a wonderful stay!

Yup, Akim.

So there I was, in that big and beautiful environment of BAMcafe, performing with 10 other great artists and musicians ----- IT'S AKIM FUNK BUDDHA'S HIP-HOP HOLIDAY!!

I got there around 7pm with Heun Jeung, only Pete the beatboxer was there.

We talked a bit, and Teebirt came in, she plays the suling (Balinese flute) and sings too. She said she used to play the classical flute, but now she's playing everywhere in the world with aborigins in the jungle and etc. She looks like a very soulful lady.

Then Hitomi the soprano came, then Akim, Akiko the funky geisha, Vivian the percussionist, Felix the bassist (first time meeting him), Kossan the sansen-playing Zen monk, Aaron the shakuhachi and trumpet player, then a half-Japanese guy, forgot his name, but he dressed up like Reiden in Mortal Kombat.

We introduced ourselves a little, then it was soundchecking time.

The soundmen were sooo professional, I've never met anyone like that in my life, they know their shit, and they're super nice to me too. The chief even gave me two 9 volt batteries for my preamp box.

Talking about preamp, my Fishman Platinum EQ model worked very well! I sounded 10 (or more) times better than when I was playing in 169 Bar. And this was my first time using it! I will try more shit on it when my amp arrives... hehehe...

The show went really well, with everybody's sponteinity, which is what Akim wants exactly.

He was right, it's 80% improvisation and 20% fixed. But even the stuff we rehearsed weren't been used entirely, Nature Boy was left behind.

HP and Firepower came to watch the gig, so was Nicholas, but he was late, I should've spanked him with my carbon fiber bow... Haha! But he was nice, he secretly took some pics before he got stopped by someone in the cafe.

The end of the show was a frenzy, so many people came out and danced with Akim, it became a party! And although my right arm hurts like hell after playing bow-chops for 90 minutes, I felt so good doing it.

Yeah man... Sometimes we DO need something like this to tell us how fun music can be.

跟周天合作

跟一个作曲家合作的话，最重要是看对方究竟知不知道自己要的是什么。

我看过好多位作曲家在回答问题的时候都相当的模菱两可，特别让人不舒服。你问他这样行吗，他会说“好像也可以”。如果你不发问，他就老是说好。

可今天我们把曲子拉给周天听的时候，他可是非常认真的告诉我们说他要的是什么，而且还很花了很多时间在一个部份上。我对他这精神还挺佩服，可以看得出他对自己的作品很重视，不马虎。还有，他完完全全可以在钢琴上把那首曲子弹出来，证明他对自己作品的整体非常了解，清楚。

这也是我觉得跟他合作很舒服的主要原因。

很多作曲家像是贴拼图一样，把自己喜欢的不同元素拼在一起就算是写好了一首音乐。而周天呢，却是个务实的作曲家，能够演奏自己的音乐，在在体现了他“我手写我口”的哲学。

虽然他指比我大上一岁，可是我可以感觉到这位仁兄前途无可限量。

就希望能和他多多合作吧！

把心关上...

夜深的时候，总会想比较多。感情也当然会比较丰富，尤其是靠灰色的那一面。

想来你也是这样一次又一次的把心店打开，邀请了一位又一位的客人近来，招待总是特别热情，特别真诚。当然，换来的总是一次又一次的失望，伤感。

于是，你在最后一次伤痛的时候做了一个决定 --- 把店关上！

复业无期。

那是一种戒严。好奇心会驱使你去看看外面的景象。

你看了，自然心就在动。你克制自己，让自己不要乱想乱看。

这份坚持，能有多久？

大概就看你了...

不过我说，还是把心关上。那就不会有刮痕，不会有尘埃，更不会有时来时去的春风夏雨。

一切进出心店的，不过是梦幻泡影一场。何必让它们玷污了你的店面？

所以我说，还是把心关上。

关上比较好。

好很多...

Jenny Scheinman Orchestra

I went to see this group that I've heard so much about in Tonic.

Quite a surprise to see Bill Frisell on guitar, Ron Miles on trumpet (whom I heard him playing in front of a heavy metal band), and Doug Wieselman on clarinets.

My bigger surprise was Alex Greenbaum, my friend, was there playing in the cello section!

Other names worth mentioned were Mark Chung (the guy who has the string jazz directory website), Jennifer Choi, Ron Lawrence, Natalie Haas...

For some reason, the folksy musical style didn't particular move me as much as some other shows I've seen in Tonic.

But I have to say, I learned so much just by watching Ron Miles soloing over the Western cowboy groove, he totally switched the groove from Western mode into jazz mode by adding in some syncopations in the right spot of the beat. I dunno how many people would notice that, but I totally felt it and was amazed by it. That feeling was badder than an orgasm!!

Doug Wieselman played some crazy shit on both the clarinet and bass clarinet, that shit was funky!

Bill Frisell's sound was as spacey as he used to be, can't say I particularly love it, but it does work well in some places.

I talked to most of these people after the set and was pretty psyched!

Lament to Henry Mancini Institute

Done with the last show of TMM, so happy! Got my cheque, banked it in~

Then I went to this totally cool 24-hour diner opened by a Greek, damn the fried chicken was REALLY delicious!!!!

I got home at last, it's 3:47am now... and I'm thinking of HMI...

HJ was right, HMI is too good to exist in the real world. Where can you possibly find another Summer music festival like this: full scholarship for everyone, performing with so many top jazz and pop artists, meeting one of the leading American composers alive, working and taking lessons with top Hollywood musicians, meeting all the famous film composers and get conducted by them, mock-recording in Warner Bros. Clint Eastwood Scoring Stage, and last but not least, learning about how to survive in the harsh music industry.

Coming out of HMI 2005, I became a totally new person who is cautious about so many things that I previously wouldn't notice. I became a more open person and like to talk to people and make connections and friends. And also, I became so much more confidence as a musician, knowing that I'm not as bad as I thought ----- being in the classical world would definitely make you feel that.

I owe so much to HMI that I would love to do anything to help raising fund to relaunch HMI, but I know I don't have that kind of power to do so...

But I just wanna tell all the friends that I knew from there, together with the administrative people like Jill Packard, Craig Michaels, Lisa Vasey, Jona Ang, Brett and Rachel our librarians. You guys are grrrrrrrreat!! Without you guys, what would HMI be like? Geez, I can't imagine...

Please HMI, if you could, please resurrect, we're waiting for you to "re-educate" our new generation of musicians and tell them how to get "A Life In Music"!

...The End...

I had so much great time in there, both last year and this year, but the Henry Mancini Institute (HMI) is closing down for good!

Such a shocking news to hear...

This morning when I woke up, still half asleep, Nick popped up on MSN and told me this shocking news. But he said he couldn't confirm.

After a busy out in Manhattan and Brooklyn, I came back, having Ray Pizzi's mail in my inbox, forwarding Lisa's message: It's confirmed, HMI is going to close down permanently starting from December 31st, 2006.

This is a very shocking news, I believe, to all the alumns and the crews.

But for some reason, I am extremely calm right now...

Working with Akim Funk Buddha

Tonight was the second time I played with Akim Funk Buddha, very very hip and cool Zimbabwe hip-hop artist.

He's not the kinda raw street guy who only knows how to do some rapping and dancing and looks like a gangster. He is far more sophisticated than that, and also more intellectual than that.

He went around the world to learn different types of music, including going to Bali to learn Kechak and Gamelan.

As an artist, Akim knows what he wants but he wouldn't want things to be the same every time. Working with him doesn't require reading, because he wants it raw and fresh and spontaneous.

So you went into the rehearsal space empty handed right? At least empty headed cuz you have your instrument in your hand. You won't know what to do. But he would tell you, "Not knowing something doesn't equal to confusion." I think that's his biggest philosophy, which fits him very well because he is a great leader.

You see, when he's around, only with his body movements (he dances real well too) and her human beatboxing, you can already feel the drive and the energy in him, and when you groove with him, he encourages you to bring it out more, never say negative shit when you did something wrong --- what's wrong to him anyway? Anything can become right when you play with him.

One more thing worths mentioning: My time feel got so much better after I played with him. I mean I was playing a duo with him rapping on my beat, you can imagine how tight my beats were!

A funny thing is, I somehow looks like my cousin brother Chee Kong, so funny!

If you dunno who is Akim Funk Buddha, go check out his website.

Fly away from Neverland...

Yeah so what can you do with some imaginations and some hope when you know there's none at all?

Thus you're hoping to fly away from your dreamland and back to reality.

But when your mind plays tricks with you, telling you that Neverland does exist, can you really see that clear?

You would even look for Tinkerbell for some magic powder when you wanna go back to reality!

So if you think Neverland exists, where is your Peter Pan? What have he done for you?

Grow up!

There ain't such thing as that.

Grow up and stop fantasizing about flying high and seeing beautiful mermaids!

Sometimes...

Sometimes I really think some people should stick to what they're doing best. I'm serious.

When you're trying to be who you're not able to be, you're not just screwing up your own life but also you might be wasting some other people's time. Sigh...

If you are not good in what you're trying to do, AT LEAST be humble and admit what you've done wrong. Isn't that easy? Nobody's gonna laugh!

But well, people just don't see their own problems and will start blaming on others.

But again, you've gotta shut up when that incapable person is creating job opportunity for you. Haha!

You gotta thank him/her, you know what I mean? It's complicated...

Miranda

I still remember her, I haven't seen her for two full years.

I still remember how beautiful and elegant she was, the touch of British taste.

She's a fiery violin player, don't mess with her.

Very responsible teacher as well.

What's more, a beautiful soul.

K and her divorced for a while, but she still cares about me as much as K does --- they're almost like my parents, musically.

Before I left for New York, I sent her an SMS on the phone, tell her that I will never forget her and she is always my "Shi Mu" (teacher's wife) whatever happened. I cried when I typed that. It really came from my heart.

I felt the love from both K and her. They're definitely listed in my top list of the people that I wish to thank the most.

I still remember that she knew that I'd like to get closer to Mae at one point, and brought me to choose flower to give it to her in her performance.

I suddenly thought of it this morning, I had a smile on my face. So I decided to write this article.

What a sweet memory --- the memory of being loved by someone you really respect.

Got it back!!

OK bitches, listen up!

I got the gig back!!

Take it like a man

Yes, I got fired for a gig.

Whether or not I can go back is still a big question mark. I wrote to them to explain why I was late and promised that I won't be late again. But if that woman is a hard nut to crack, then I will lose some money here.

What I have lost I cannot take back.

But I decided to learn it from experience and take it like a man.

That's what the Mancini Institute taught me, they taught me about professionalism, about being punctual. They told me no matter what reason, late means late and they couldn't care less what had happened to you on the way. It's cold, but it's true.

This thing also taught me to hold no grudge to anybody who fired me, cuz they fired me for a reason, and they were just doing their job.

I looked at my Mancini T-shirt that I have on me right now, remembering EVERYTHING what they told me --- the gospel truth of gigging.

A night of great music

I went to see my MySpace friend, Wu Di, playing her piano recital in Bosendorfer Piano Showroom NYC just now. That was something!

She's just terrific! She can play like nobody's business!

It was a recital that focuses on theme and variations.

The program kicked off with Haydn's Andante and Variations, beautiful, almost un-classical sounding piece. Then it was Brahms's Variations on a Theme by Paganini, which is based on the famous violin caprice no.24 by Nicky. Brahms had his very unique way of writing the variations that sometimes it almost didn't sound like a romantic piece --- almost 20th century sounding, if you will. But you can still hear bits and pieces of the original violin variations by Nicky. These two pieces show you how ahead of their time these two composers were.

After the intermission, Wu Di continued the performance with Copland's Piano Variations. Now I have to say I never liked Ari much even though I studied in the Aaron Copland School of Music. Not only his Americana thing, but also his early stuff, especially his Organ Symphony, ew... I don't like it. But there's something in this piece that I like, maybe it's simply Di's mastery on her piano and her giving a soul to this piece.

One thing that really bugged in the second half was the cat that brought a cup of red wine in after the intermission. He was sitting behind my row, very close to me, and he was constantly turning the cup in his hands, which made some noises. But what really made me mad was his constant sucking of his teeth, that piercing noise kept on turning up until I almost turned back to him and slap the shit out of him. He did that even near the end of the recital! Somebody kill me!!

Anyway, the second piece of the second half was Ondine by Ravel. Beautiful as usual! Mo's pieces are usually irresistable, at least for me.

Then it was the climax of the night, LISZT!! You almost don't call your piano recital a piano recital if you don't play something by him. So there we go! Reminiscenes de Don Juan! The only word I could describe this piece was virtuostic!

Wu Di has such technical equipment in her that nothing seems very hard for her. Now I know this almost sounds like I dunno shit about music, because we all know that learning the basics to play an instrument is already hard, let alone learning bitchin' pieces like those she played. But it's true, seeing the tiny Wu Di sweeping back and forth over the keyboard was like watching her cleaning them up with a cloth.

Also, she doesn't look like how old she is now. She's much more mature-looking (NOT OLD THOUGH!!) than her peers, probably because of her experience performing everywhere in the world. And, not to mention she is very very pretty too!

Wu Di --- see it and believe it!

x x x x x x x x

No I'm not finished.

I went straight to another gig after I hung around for a while in Wu Di's reception.

Now this one is totally a different vibe.

It's Dana Leong's regular show in Jazz Gallery --- Rhapsody in Groove!

Damn, when you see that Afro hair walking onto the stage, you better expect something more than a regular "good"!

So these cats went up to the stage and started to blow people's heads off with their strong hip hop beats that would keep your head nodding even though the music stops.

Now my father figure Ray Pizzi thinks that the hop is not really that hip, but I still feel a great deal out of that kinda music. Especially in a more sophisticated setting like this, with them motherfuckers tearing it up on the stage, I would say, it's really pretty hip! Maybe because I grew up in this era... I dunno.

Baba Israel is a fantastic human beatbox! He could make sounds that sound like samples that you could only get from Logic or Reason!!

The keyboardist Adam Platt is some motherfucker too. He had that nasty face when he played some really bad and funky shit. I think he's built for hiphop-jazz fusion. I like his down-to-earth playing.

As for Dana, man, as usual, a master in both trombone and cello. I was especially amazed to see his 3-finger plucking on the cello. The funny shit was one of his fingers got bleeding after he played that trick without him knowing about it!

Later after the gig, I told him, instead of "Thanks for the music" like what others would say, "Thanks for bleeding for us!"

Haha! Ain't that some shit?

Thus saith Wynton...

Wynton Marsalis's Speech to the 2006 Graduating Class:

I'm going to provide you all with very few practical words, the fruits of
many happy years of varied experiences in the arts.
First, congratulations. No one is ever going to ask you to see your grades.

Take all jobs. If somebody says, "Can you ??" say, "Yes, I can."

Leave jobs that you hate immediately.

If you find a job that doesn't feel like a job, don't let others for whom it
is a job make it feel like a job to you.

If you find yourself working at your craft, be happy, because it might not
happen again.

Being dissatisfied is not an achievement.

Every chance you get to perform is important. It could be at an elementary
school, it could be at a rehearsal-every little aspect of it is sacred and
is significant.

And, just as a rule, people are generally more enthusiastic the less they're
being paid. Many times people want to know about commercialism versus art.
Do what you want to do. Don't be conflicted. But realize that integrity is
real, and so is starvation.

Never let pay and the talk of pay occupy more time and space than the talk
of your art. If you find that it is, go into banking, or start a hedge fund
or something.

Also, about pay: understand where you are. When I was 19, I was on a tour
with Herbie Hancock and I started complaining to him before we walked
onstage about what I was being paid. He said, "Come here, man. Look out into
the audience." He said, "Now, do you see those people?" I said, "Yes, sir."
He said, "They paid for these tickets. If you don't walk out onto the stage,
how many of them are going to leave? ? Now, if I don't walk out, how many
will leave? ? That's why you're being paid what you're being paid."

Always remember that an agent that you have just met is not your friend.

Never deny a compliment after a performance. "Oh, I love your ?" "No, I
didn't ?" No. No ? Say, "Thank you." It takes a lot less words.

If you sign an autograph, always look at the person before you hand it to
them. Always.

If you've written some music, and everybody is bored, and you even find
yourself getting a little bored, it's boring. Don't worry. I would also like
to debunk the notion that it will be understood later, because if that were
the case, we would have a lot of boring pieces from the 1870s that would be
popular hits right now.

If you notice that everybody at the table has been quiet for a very, very
long time, except for you, you've been talking too much.

Now, to combat nervousness: Number one, practice a lot. Two, think about how
unimportant what you're doing is in the general scheme of things. Three,
breathe very deeply and relax. Number four, envision great success, or
envision failure and figure, how bad could that be? Finally, forget about
all of that stuff and just go ahead and do your thing.

In a crisis, or if you are caught lying, you have to come with the truth.
Always tell the truth in a crisis.

When you get a bad review, never ask someone if they've seen it.

Don't pretend not to have seen it. Never, ever dwell on it-or on them, in
case you get more than one, which you will if you stay out here-so as to
mention it to someone who might not even know or care about what you're
talking about. Too much commenting on bad things or criticism, somebody
attacking you, is really a form of egotism.

Don't eat too much bread late at night after performances. But wine is O.K.

Never take the last of anything off of a table when you are a guest. Let
that last thing sit there. "Do you want ? ?" "No, I don't want ?" the last
of anything.

I also want you all to realize that our collective success as artists, all
of us, is inextricably tied to the taste levels of the world. The concerned,
the refined, the soulful-they're always at battle with the callous, the
crass, and the exploitative. That's why Picasso said that a work of art is
actually a weapon. You know, we fight for consumers. Artists have always had
to fight for consumers. And you all-all of you young artists-you're called
to battle the runaway global descent in the popular taste. You're called to
do that without snobbery, or prejudice, or retreat into the smug, high
ground of the academy-and please, without selling out, or selling people
short.

Use your talent, your good looks, and your education, to transform the whole
world with the power of art. Engage the world through inspired teaching,
through tireless proselytizing, through an unwavering practice of craft at
its highest levels. Engage the world of fellow artists, teachers, audiences,
students, critics and other various haters, with a boundless energy, an
irrepressible zeal, an unassailable humility, and an infectious joie de
vivre. Then you go from being the isolated, misunderstood, besieged artist
to being a powerful testimony for the inevitable transcendence of artistry.

You see, as you all go out into the world, know that you have a very special
gift: a gift that announces itself through music, dance, drama, film,
literature, comedy, painting. You have a gift that survives. It survives the
disappointment of not being famous, or not becoming as great as you thought
you would be. It's a gift that many times actually grows larger with life's
unpredictable and inevitable heartbreaks.

This gift is as old as cave people gathering around a campfire to skillfully
lie about some animals they killed. Or some grizzled old cowboys trying to
shake the trail dust off their brains with an old harmonica and some
out-of-tune song, and some nasty coffee. Or Negro slaves at a jubilee,
healing days and nights of sorrow with the bittersweet balm of a dancing
fiddle and the piercing cry of the blues. Or a stage re-enactment of some
epochal love affair that rekindles again and again the grandeur of romance
between a man and a woman for those who may have forgotten.

This is the gift that caused old, sick, deaf Beethoven to crawl out of his
bed at 2:37 in the morning and put his ears on the piano just to hear the
vibrations. He couldn't hear any notes. This is the gift that had old, blind
Matisse laying up on his bed, looking up at the ceiling with a stick, trying
to put some color on the ceiling, to figure out some way to squeeze the last
moment of something out of his life.

What about Louis Armstrong? The Promethean giant of American feeling, with
lips as scarred as the moon, reaching for those last few, blood-soaked high
C's? Yes, this gift is something.

Whether you play on the main stage of the world or you toil in obscurity,
believe me, you have the gift to create community with your song, with your
dance. Don't sell it short. Get people to gather around, and understand that
we are us, and we become us through art by hearing about who we used to be,
who we are, and, in some cases, who we should be-or who we're going to be.

Use this gift wisely. And if you end up broke, or unhappy, or lonely, it's
going to be by choice, because people love art, and they love artists, and
they love to be touched, and they love for you to touch them, and they love
you. They're not your enemy; they're your friend. And you won't believe the
way that they'll open their heart and the love that they will give you.

In closing, I'm going to go to an old master of plantation trumpet, Enute
Johnson, the early pioneer. He played the cornet around 1883.

A government interviewer found him as an old man, got him a new set of
teeth. He saw him working in the sugar-cane fields, around Vacherie, La. He
observed that Enute Johnson was not bitter at all about his seeming
misfortune. So he asked Enute to reflect on his trumpet playing and other
things that he liked to do.

Mr. Johnson said, "Son, play long, play hard, and play as much as possible."
And that makes life quite sweet, brothers and sisters.

Quite sweet.

New joke from Ray Pizzi

I wonder how does he get all these inspirations:

I once caught my young son masterbating and warned him he could go blind and he said, DAD....I'm over here!

Thanks Martin

Man, thanks for the clothes and thanks for fixing my bow for me!!

And thanks for the ice-cream!

Thanks for the hang too!

You're awesome!