Pianist/composer George Kahn brings a classically-trained sensibility to the jazz form, creating a musical environment where there is room for experimentation and spontaneity. Indeed, his musical mission is to recapture the magic of jazz from the earlier periods "before synthesizers and sequencers roamed the earth." As jazz broadcaster Alfredo Cruz puts it, "There is a constant that runs through his music: It's always hip." Inspired by the Internet to mass market and distribute his music through alternative channels, George has released five self-produced CDs on his independent Playing Records label. Visit his website: www.georgekahn.com
Today EMI Music announced that they would allow people to buy digital downloads with no copying restrictions. All I can say is, it's about time, don't you think?
Here is the Wall Street Journal article from today.
Having been around since mp3.com (and an original shareholder - that was a good ride for a while), I always really agreed with Michael Robertson - the record companies let the Genie out of the bottle when they created CDs. Once they released the music in digital form, the bits and bytes get hard to hang on to. And, if the record company was very happy to take our money when we converted the music (vinyl albums) we owned to digital form by purchasing the CDs, shouldn't we have the right to move it from there onto our computer, iPod, Walkman or wherever? Do they have the right to charge us again every time we move it to a different machine or format?
YES, I know the argument that this doesn't solve the problem of people illegally sharing song files or downloading the music without buying it. But suing college kids probably isn't the solution either. If the music has value, people will pay for it - once. If they like it, they will come back for more. And if you give them unfettered access, they are more likely to pay the $1.00 entrance fee, knowing they get to keep the music with them, wherever (and however) they go.
Foreigners love us for our jazz.
– Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
A la regretto: tempo assigned to a performance by the conductor AFTER it is panned by the local music critics.
