Results for "Genius Guide to Jazz"
Top 10 Moments in Jazz History
by Jeff Fitzgerald, Genius
10. In 1956, while in the throes of kicking his heroin addiction and late for a gig, Miles Davis picks up a small black snake that had wandered into his Missouri home and--thinking it is just a hallucination--mistakes for a clip-on tie. He completed the gig wearing the snake, which started a trend of Jazz musicians ...
How To Bring Millennials to Jazz
by Jeff Fitzgerald, Genius
Fifty-two Augusts ago this year, Your Own Personal Genius was born to a pair of West Virginia hillbillies squarely at the onset of what would become known several decades later as Generation X. True to form, I have long embodied that curious mix of ennui and incredulity for which we Gen Xers are known. I have ...
Anniversary
by Jeff Fitzgerald, Genius
2019, among other things, marks the 100th anniversary of the infamous Chicago Black Sox scandal, wherein the White Sox deliberately threw the World Series against the Cincinnati Reds for the benefit of gamblers and six or seven of the players (depending on who you ask). As a longtime student of the affair, I believe that Shoeless ...
Call Me the Breeze: Dave Douglas and Donny McCaslin Play Lynyrd Skynyrd
by Jeff Fitzgerald, Genius
"Play some Skynyrd." Anyone who has ever performed anywhere south of the Mason-Dixon line has heard these words, usually yelled towards the stage by someone whose blood alcohol content is approaching whole numbers, no matter what kind of music they play or where they may be performing. When the inevitable happened recently to Dave ...
My Guitar
by Jeff Fitzgerald, Genius
This Christmas marked a very important anniversary in the history of Your Own Personal Genius. Thirty years ago, I received a gift that would change the course of my life forever: a Korean-made Starforce Strat-copy guitar, along with a small Fender practice amp. I got with it a small book of basic blues scales, plus 12-bar ...
Jazz in 1's and 0's
by Jeff Fitzgerald, Genius
If one were to happen by the GeniusDome, providing you could navigate the gauntlet of traps and snares leading to the door and pass muster by my parakeet Al Neri, you'd be greeted warmly and welcomed into my inner sanctum. You'd notice a veritable forest of guitars, an inexplicable collection of hot sauces and Barbecue sauces, ...
2018 Gift Guide
by Jeff Fitzgerald, Genius
With the holidays just around the corner (not that corner, the next one, past the bank), you may find yourself in the midst of a panic. There's so much to be done, from decorating to cooking to shopping, when will you find time for it all? Don't panic. While we here at All About Jazz might ...
Rising Stars: Wondrous Woman
by Jeff Fitzgerald, Genius
For those of you who may not be aware, Your Own Personal Genius was once a fresh-faced music major at Mars Hill University in North Carolina. My principal instrument was euphonium (I also had a minor in trombone). Later, I left to study Jazz with Ellis Marsalis during his residency at Virginia Commonwealth University. As a ...
A Day at AAJ
by Jeff Fitzgerald, Genius
One of the main benefits of being the Dean of American Jazz Humorists©, besides a free Orange Julius whenever I want one (at participating locations) and 2-for-1 Redbox rentals, is my unfettered access to the inner workings of the entire Jazz universe. As a member of AAJ's Inner Sanctum, I am no more than three degrees ...
Rising Stars: The Beginning of the Han Dynasty
by Jeff Fitzgerald, Genius
As I write this, there is a government shutdown in effect due to a budget impasse. What that means to you, kids, is that I am free to do whatever the hell I want without the constrictive Federal Jazz Commission telling me what is and isn't appropriate material for this column. If I wanted to write ...
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