The New York Voices

The New York Voices are a vocal jazz group that have learned from other vocal jazz groups such as Take 6, The Manhattan Transfer, Lionel Hampton and have taken jazz music to higher levels which have earned them Grammy Awards. Their sound is definite jazz sound with classical, pop, Brazilian and R&B immersed in.

In 1987, Peter Eldridge, Darmon Meader, Kim Nazarian, Caprice Fox and Sara Krieger formed the group. Darmon, Peter, Caprice and Kim went to Ithaca College, in upstate New York. They were able to go and tour the European jazz festivals in 1986. In 1989 they were signed to GRP Records and their first album New York Voices was released. In no time at all it seemed they became popular in the jazz music world. Four albums were done with GRP.

The Collection, Hearts of Fire and What's Inside. During this time, some changes were made. Sara left, and they auditioned more than sixty vocalists in the United States before they settled on Lauren Kinhan. When she sang with them, the chemistry was real and she fit in perfectly. Thus, they called themselves the "New" New York Voices. Lauren appears on the third recording. In 1994, Caprice left , and the New York Voices was at the point the same as it is presently.

The New York Voices, has recorded their own albums, guest starred on other albums, and many other performances. Some of those performances are Live at Manchester Craftsmen's Guild, Brazilian Dreams, a Latin Grammy Award winner with Paquito d' Rivera and Heirs of Jobim. They have also performed with many famous jazz artists such as Annie Ross, Bobby McFerrin, Nancy Wilson, John Hendricks and Diana Krall. They tried something new in 1997, by singing Paul Simon's songs. It was called New York Voices Sing the Songs of Paul Simon.

They used many styles to sing his music. Near the end of 2000, after they have completed their sixth album, Sing , Sing, Sing, they took on big band music. They had performed with the Count Basie Orchestra for years, so Darmon arranged the band and vocal parts and Elliot Scheiner who has produced The Manhattan Transfer and Steely Dan, produced a great recording. Other arrangers on the recording were Rob Mounsey and Michael Abene. The result was something complex, with swing, and vocal parts intermingled that was contemporary as well as classic. They did it in a way that did not lessen either style.

In 2006 their was a new recording where they go back to their Brazilian style. The New York Voices have been all around the world astounding audiences with their amazing vocal style, arrangements and classy selections. They have been at numerous jazz festivals, The North Sea Jazz Festival in Holland and The Montreal Jazz Festival.

The New York Voices also helps high school and college students doing workshops and clinics. They have many projects teaching, writing, solo gigs as well as arranging. They are forever expanding their fan base by experimenting with all types of music.

Adult Swim - You Must Be This High To Ride This Ride

1. You Must Be This High To Ride This Ride
2. There’s No “P” In Pool
3. Harvey Birdman, Attorney At Law
4. Aqua Teen Hunger Force
5. Sealab 2021
6. Brak Show
7. English Channel Swim
8. Bobby G. Can’t Swim

1. You Must Be This High To Ride This Ride

Adult Swim is a unique kind of Must-See TV found on the Cartoon Network. Catering a fast food sized gem of cartoon hilarity to a crowd that has become too jaded and aware for network fare. These viewers need something with juice and Adult Swim delivers on all accounts.

2. There’s No “P” In Pool

The shows in the Adult Swim line-up know about our attention deficit and don’t bore us with unnecessary drivel. For instance, Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law lasts on 15 minutes and they pack the laughs in there tighter than ***. To play in this pool, you’ll want to close your laptop and shut off the cell phone because the rapid-fire jokes and humor are slung at you a mile a minute.

3. Harvey Birdman, Attorney At Law

Harvey Birdman the Attorney was once Birdman the superhero, but he is now a dimwitted practicing lawyer. All his cases involve legal disputes between other cartoon characters. He’s handled cases involving a custody battle for young Jonny Quest, a copyright infringement dispute between the Chan Clan and Jabberjaw and defended Scooby and Shaggy on trumped-up pot charges.

With hammer in hand, the mighty Thor plays the judge. One of the episodes does a slippery Sopranos parody with Fred Flintstone aka the Dabba Don. He comes to Harvey to defend his many “businesses”. During the course of the 15-minute episode you get to see Harvey’s assistant defect to the side of the gangsters, Harvey adding commentary to old Flintstone’s footage and a pterodactyl lamp taking the stand.

4. Aqua Teen Hunger Force

Aqua Teen Hunger Force is about a group of human-sized food items living together in South Jersey. A pistachio milkshake, a bag of fries and a meatball have banded together to form a crime-fighting trio. As lazy as they may be, they make an effort to rid the New Jersey suburbs of unwanted mischief and crime.

This wacky trio was originally conceived to appear on the hit Cartoon Network talk show, Space Ghost Coast-to-Coast. Ah, but the network knows a good thing when they see it and gave these misfits a fighting chance with their own show during the ever popular nighttime line-up of more mature cartoon fare known as Adult Swim.

5. Sealab 2021

Aww, the drama of precariously doomed underwater colony and its personnel members that can’t stand one another. The year is 2021 and in the depths of the big blue ocean resides a monumentally high-tech compound known to all as Sealab. With a multi-national scientific staff and a trillion dollar budget the lab is dedicated to the research and exploration of the mysteries of the deep.

Underwater colonization is the order of the day since the surface of the Earth has gotten crowded, hot and icky. As is the case with most government agencies, Sealab is manned by a motley rabble of malcontents and misfits who are unfit for work in the private sector. This hapless crew have manipulated their wayward leader, Captain Murphy into submission and are purely content with riding the government clock, raking in a fat hazardous-duty paycheck. The humor here strikes a deep cord in reality and is some of the funniest stuff to ever grace the Cartoon Network.

Here’s an excerpt between the Captain and Marco:

Marco: Calm down, I'll see what I can do about finding your little toy.

Captain Murphy: It's not a toy, it makes real cupcakes, with a 40-watt bulb, and there's icing packets. But the secret ingredient is love. Damn it.

Marco: Just try to calm down, go have some pudding.

Captain Murphy: Pudding can't fill the emptiness inside me! But it'll help.

6. Brak Show

"The Brak Show is the story of a neighborhood. It's the story of a family. It's the story of what happens when adults have children and those children go to school. And Brak is in it. He lives in a house. A house on a quiet street not unlike yours or mine. A house in a neighborhood. That's The Brak Show."

That’s the network’s official description of their new hit sitcom starring Brak, the absent-minded space pirate from the Space Ghost cartoons. He goes through all the typical sitcom situations with his friend Zorak. Also along for the ride are Brak's parents, his brother Sisto, and his next-door neighbor Thundercleese.

7. English Channel Swim

The hilarious giant block of mature-themed entertainment also includes the shows: Baby Blues, Cowboy Bebop, InuYasha, Lupin the 3rd, Mission Hill, The Oblongs, Reign: The Conqueror, The Ripping Friends and Trigun.

Joining the lineup are ex-Fox Network nighttime toons, The Family Guy and Futurama.

8. Bobby G. Can’t Swim

The cornerstone of the parade of humor is former superhero, Space Ghost and his hit talk show, Space Ghost Coast-to-Coast.

Remember the acclaimed Superhero Space Ghost? Well now in his 40's he is no longer a superhero, and goes by his real name Tad Ghostal. However to remain in the spot light he has started his own late night talk show filmed in his studio in outer space.

With his co-host and former villain Zorak, and his director Moltar they interview movie stars on earth through their videophone. Space Ghost has conducted interviews with many big celebrities including Jim Carrey, Weird Al Yankovic, Johnny Carson and Cameron Diaz.

Truly Trivial: There was once an episode where Space Ghost’s evil twin brother Chad visits the show to cause havoc.

Why Write Bad Poetry

For Good Relationships with Yourself

You can write bad poetry, can you not? Why do so? Here are three reasons:

1. If you think it doesn't have to rhyme or be any good, you will write a poem each time you are struck by awe, struck in the gut, struck in the heart for good or bad.

2. If you write some, you will read one of mine. (below) Then you will start a heartfelt relationship with me.

3. You will soon afterward discover what is really important to you in all your relationships.

Many people assume that poetry is hard to understand or boring. Some academic poems are boring because they are simply showing off erudition. But poems about momentous or weird little experiences that strike the poet are wonderful to hear. Some are better than monologues from well known stand-up comics.

Poetry likes a strong feeling and the courage to express it with the power of that feeling. No holding back. Flat out condensation of the moment.

When you write bad poetry you feel gloriously alive. You improve all your relationships.

Eventually, you may re-write and turn your poems into some really good stuff.

Poetry won't make you money, but it will make you rich. Here's one of mine that set me free. See if you can tell how it set me free. If you have any questions, write to me. evycole@hughes.net

CRAVINGS by Evelyn Cole

I want to put out bowls of candy/to welcome every guest/ all kinds of sweets/ dripping with decadence

to offer red wine with legs/ stuffed grape leaves, Retsina, Italian prawns/carrot flan, Incan fire dip

and succulent salads /chilled ready to serve/ spinach, asparagus, pistachios /all fresh aphrodisiacs

marinated meats/ ready to grill to any taste/ from rare to rubber/ spiced tofu for some

a full shelf of pies I’ve just baked /with perfect crusts /Tiramisu and mocha mousse too /and apricot clafoutis

I have a craving for candy I don’t eat/a passion for cooking concoctions others won’t touch/ a yearning for money to give it away/

Why?

A craving to please /to ease

Why? A craving to give /to live?

Ah, Do I need to put out /or die?

~~~

That last stanza took me by surprise.

Here is what the former U.S. poet laureate, Stanley Kunitz, says about poetry. It's wild and wonderful.

Saturated with Impulse Stanley Kuntiz from “The Braid”

"So much of the creative life has its source in the erotic. The first impulse is strongly erotic, but then one becomes reflective--a philosophic human being, an explorer--and then as one grows older and older there’s a need to renew that energy associated with erotic impulse.

"A poet without a strong libido almost inevitably belongs to the weaker category; such a poet can carry off a technical effect with a degree of flourish, but the poem does not embody the dominant emotive element in the life process. The poem has to be saturated with impulse and that means getting down to the very tissue of experience. How can this element be absent from poetry without thinning out the poem?

"That is certainly one of the problems when making a poem is thought to be a rational production. The dominance of reason, as in eighteenth-century poetry, diminished the power of poetry.

"Reason certainly has a place, but it cannot be dominant. Feeling is far more important in the making of the poem. And the language itself has to be a sensuous instrument; it cannot be a completely rational one. In rhythm and sound, for example, language has the capacity to transcend reason; it’s all like erotic play.

"That’s the nature of aesthetic impulse, aesthetic receptivity. Whether you’re walking through the garden or reading a poem, there’s a sense of fulfillment. You’ve gone through a complete chain of experience, changing and communicating with each step and with each line so that you are linked with the phenomenon of time itself. The erotic impulse is so basic to human experience that we can never be free from it, even in old age."

So, dear reader, go forth and write poetry.

The American Influence Of Jazz Music

The Jazz music sensation began to rub off on other parts of the world which encourages the experimentation of melding their familiar sounds with the essence of Jazz. In Europe's country in the Region of France came the Quintette Du Hot Club de France who was responsible for the making of the early "Gypsy Jazz".

The Belgian guitarist Django Reinhardt created gypsy jazz by mixing the style of French Musette which was used in the dance halls, eastern European Folk known as Jazz Manouche, and American swing of the 1930's. The sound was developed by instruments from the string family which are a steel string guitar, violin, and an upright bass. The atmosphere of the Jazz music is seductive with sudden unpredictable twists, and accelerating rhythms. The French artist Bireli Lagrene plays this unique music with old elements of the past.

Another style of Jazz music that allowed the musicians to express themselves freely was the invention of Avant-garde or free Jazz music. Both of these styles stemmed from the Bebop era, yet produced a relaxed form of harmonic and rhythmic music in the 1940's and 1950's. The musicians John Coltrane, Dewey Redman, Charles Mingus, Sun Ra, Sam Rivers, Ornette Coleman and many more were the creators of the free Jazz music. Between the 1960's and 1970's the Latin musicians created the Afro-Cuban and Brazilian Jazz Music styles after Bebop musicians Dizzy Gillespie and Billy Taylor cultivated it.

Gillespie and Taylor was influenced by the music of Cuban and Puerto Rican musicians Chico O'farrill, Tito Puente, Chano Pozo, Xavier Cugat, Mario Bauza and Arturo Sandoval. Jazz music expressed in a Latin interpretation was termed Bossa Nova with origins in Samba music which is a mixture of Jazz, classical and pop music from the 20th century. Bossa is a moderate sound of music with Classical harmonic structure from Europe, Samba polyrhythm's from Brazil and cool music. The tempo of such a work is about 120 beats per minute. The instruments used in this particular sound is nylon stringed guitar, piano, high hat tap of eighths, tapping on the rim of the drum like Sade's "Sweetest Taboo", and a vocalist. The sound produced is a new relaxing sound where the acoustic sound of the guitar can lull one to sleep with it's easy melodic line.

Joao Gilberto and Antonio Carlos Jobim became popular in the sixties with this style of music. The influence of Jazz music returned to the place of its origins in the religious music known as Urban Contemporary Gospel from the spirituals music. Much of spiritual music sung by southern slaves in the past has a haunting dark and mournful sound during the 1800 and 1900's. The churches know as the sanctified or holy churches took a more happier approach by encouraging member to sing speak their personal testimonies as they celebrated with song and dance.

The sanctified artist Arizona Dranes who was a traveling pastor made recordings that would fit in many musical categories such as blues, and boogie-woogie with the use of Jazz instruments. At the time the Jazz instruments used with religious themed music were percussion and brass instruments.

Milk Goats - Know Thy Enemy

Patience may be a virtue, but laughter is the only way to survive goat milking. You can strive for the perfect fencing. You must aim for good nutrition. But, don’t kid yourself. When it comes to milking, you do not get the last word.

When I decided to add milk goats to my backyard farm I envisioned pitchers of milk cooling in the fridge while cheddar rounds age in my cellar. Spirit, my first nanny, had other ideas. There is an old saying I just made up: “Don’t expect instant gratification from your very first dairy goat lactation.” Like dating, expecting nothing is the first step toward not being let down. Perseverance is the next step toward surviving goats with your sanity moderately intact.

Spirit proved mutinous in milking. Even with twins at her side, she had ample milk to share. Generosity was simply not her forte. However, like falling off a bike or getting thrown from your horse, when you find a goat leg lodged in your right ear, you must climb right back on.

To help other potential farmers deal with inevitable frustration, I have provided the following journal. It documents my first full month of milking Spirit. From this draw hope. There is light at the end of the nipple.

Day 1: Leashed goat runs around tie post kicking and bucking. Never got near the teat.

Day 2: Build "EZ One Hour Goat Milking Stand" from online instructions. Define five hours in hell.

Day 3: Adjust Goat Milking Stand so goat’s big fat head will fit through the stocks into the feed box.

Day 4: Adjust Goat Milking Stand so goat’s skinny little head will not retreat from feed box out through the stocks.

Day 5: Collect 3.5 tsp. milk from flailing goat on milking stand.

Day 6: Dido.

Day 7: Tether goat’s leg. Goat kicks loose in .3 seconds.

Day 8: Tether goat’s leg better. Goat kicks loose dumping over 3.5 tsp. of milk.

Day 9: Try new tethering technique. Collect entire ounce of milk. Goat’s effort to kick loose succeeds only after she sheds 3.5 tsp. of hair into the shot glass of milk.

Day 10: Go to store. Buy milk.

Day 11 – 14: Discouraged. Just squirt some milk straight onto the milking stand so that the apparently dwindling right teat stays active.

Day 15: Goat now standing still while I collect three ounces of milk. Then the cantankerous witch sticks her foot in it.

Day 16 – 18: Dido, dido and dido.

Day 19: Right teat has all but vanished.

Day 20: Right teat empty.

Day 21: Spirit’s legal team serves me with papers declaring her functional left teat off limits and for her babies only.

Day 22 – 23: Practice milking technique while coaxing droplets from withered right teat.

Day 24: Have mastered milking with right hand while my left hand holds the receptacle up, dodging the maniacal wenches attempts put her foot in the milk. Net bounty from flat tit approx 1.4 oz. Note: Goat still shedding.

Day 25-26: Milk rations slightly increasing. Goat and cottonwood trees now both shedding into the milk receptacle.

Day 27: Babies distract me by biting my shirt while I am milking. Spirit’s foot returns to the milk receptacle.

Day 28: Babies adamant about eating my clothes while I milk. I steal milk from their precious left teat.

Day 29: Babies try to distract me by eating my hair. I try to ignore them. Goat flinches. My foot avoider reflex overcompensates, hurling the milk directly inside my protective LASIK goggles. Startled by my French, both babies run off in opposite directions with my hair still in their mouths.

Day 30: And the beat goes on.

Day 31: Average daily yield now totals around 10 oz. Source: two milkings per day from 1.2 tits.

Remember, when the day comes, and it will, where you just walk up to your nanny and quickly squirt a little milk straight into your morning coffee then wander off sobbing, bear in mind with a little patience, all this can be yours.

New Types Of Poetry

There are many different types of poetry. I counted 50 on a quick search of the internet. You may have heard of Haiku and Limericks. There are the more obscure types too, like Terzanelle and Sestina. Learning different types of poetry though, isn't nearly as much fun as inventing your own, so here are some ideas about that.

Types Of Poetry - Playing With Stanzas

What is a stanza? A division of a poem consisting of two or more lines. How many ways can you structure a stanza? As many as you want. Look at this stanza from the poem, "Gratitude:"

So there is nothing to say

There is nothing to say

There is nothing

Nothing...

But gratitude

Each line is a smaller part of the previous line. In this case, it quiets the mind in order to emphasize the last word: gratitude. However, this idea could be used in many ways. You could start with a line like, "She watched the birds come in from the sea," and it can reduce to, "Come in from the sea;" "From the sea:" "Where Michael was left alone in the storm."

Each stanza could have lengthening lines. Lines could be varied in length to create a picture on the page. Playing with stanzas is a fun way to create new types of poetry.

Ideas For New Types Of Poetry

In the poem "Do Not Believe In God," each stanza starts with one of our senses: "See God... in stars and sunlight... and the face of your lover;" Hear God... in wind and waves... and the music of the birds." All the senses are covered. How could we use this general idea? By starting each stanza with a different verb or adjective? By starting each stanza with a different person's name? By having each stanza get smaller or larger as the poem progresses?

How many ways can you play with poems? "Dream poems," could be a type of poetry that puts actual dreams into verse. "Dialog poems" could have stanzas or lines answering each other back and forth. A series of poems could use all the exact same words, rearranged, with an entirely different outcome in each. There are endless types of poetry you can create.

All About Jazz Dance

The Art of Jazz dance is an amalgamation of different styles of dance that began between 1800's, and the middle of the 1900's rooted in African American movement. One man known for this type of dance was the star of vaudeville Joe Frisco around 1910 who danced in a unrestrained fashion in close vicinity to the ground while tossing his cigar, and derby in a juggling manner. The Jazz dance style up to the middle of 1950's was Tap dance which was always performed with Jazz music such as the Jitterbug, Swing, Boogie Woogie, Lindy Hop, and the Charleston. Katherine Dunham is renowned choreographer and dancer studied the cultural dances of Caribbean in Haiti, Jamaica, Trinidad, Tobago, Martinique and Shango making this African American dance a modern work of pure art.

She took this style to Hollywood and Broadway who embraced a more refined Jazz dance. Modern Jazz Dance is a smooth style of dance roots from Tap, Ballet and Jazz music which is performed in many musicals from the Pajama Game to Cabaret to Chicago to music videos and the Las Vegas showgirl performances. The usual technique for Jazz dance is that of a ballet dancer for balance and strength from doing slow movements. In contrast the typical Jazz dance has sharp movements, but the skills of ballet smoothes it down into a refined style.

Moreover, Jazz dance is such a versatile style that it can be combined with other dances from lyrical, contemporary and hip hop. Jazz dance like Jazz music can be combined with other dance styles to enhance the dance to another level. For instance, The United Kingdom witness a new movement of dancers in the 1980's who danced when the Jazz, and Funk music clubs was becoming unpopular known as Street Fusion Jazz Dance. Due to the new modern music scene, new groups who longed to keep the tradition of Jazz dance, and still leave room for the new styles.

There are two groups known for street fusion jazz dance known as IDJ ( I Dance Jazz), Brother in Jazz and Jazz Cotech. Famous people of the world of Jazz dance is Fred Astaire, Jerome Robbins, Jack Cole, and Bob Fosse. In the world of Jazz Dance there are terms people use to describe various dance movement.

Jazz Dance Terms:

Ad lib, Axel Turn, Ball Change, Barrel Jump, Barrel Turn, Bounce, Cake Walk, Cat walk, Catch Step, Chasse`, Coffee Grinder, Contract, Curve Or Arch, Dolphin, Drop and Recover, Fall, Fall Over The Log, Fan Kick, Figure 8, Flick, Flick Kick, Freeze, Funk, Head-Roll, Hinge, Hip Walk, Hip-Fall, Hip-Roll, Hitch Kick, Hop, Jazz Drag, Jazz Run, Jazz Split, Jazz Square, Jazz Walk, Jump Over The Log, Kick, Knee Fall, Knee Slide, Knee Turn, Lay Out, Limbo, Mess Around, Moonwalk, Pencil Turn, Pitch, Pivot Step, Primitive Squat, Release, Ripple, Shimmie, Shiver, Shoulder Fall, Shoulder Roll, Sissonne Fall, Skate, Snake, Snap, Spins, Spiral, Stag Leap, Step, Switch, Table Top, Tilt, Touch, Tripplettes, Turns, Twists, and the Worm.