That Eric Alper! - May 25, 2012

Happy Birthday to Wallace Roney, who took lessons from Clark Terry and Dizzy Gillespie and studied with Miles Davis from 1985 until the latter's death in 1991. Wallace credits Davis as having helped to challenge and shape his creative approach to life as well as being his music instructor, mentor and friend; indeed he holds the distinction of being the only trumpet player Davis ever personally mentored.

Kurt Ellenberger writes: “The solution [to building a sustainable audience base for jazz], we've all been told ad nauseum, is "Education! Teach jazz in the schools, and we'll be creating new audiences and supporters for the future." This theory rests on a fallacy -- namely, that jazz is such a timeless and appealing genre, that exposure at a young age will create new fans and the music's future will be assured. We have ample evidence to assess the education theory, and the evidence is quite clear -- it is a complete failure. After over 40 years of Jazz Education, with enormous public and private support, we see no indications of a surge in supporters and fans, but we have seen a huge increase in the number of practitioners: http://huff.to/K4b0qV

The Cabaret Card and Jazz: Nefarious nuisance or blessing in disguise? http://bit.ly/Konbdf

Many classic songs we know and love are actually covers, the original versions performed by artists well-known or justifiably obscure. The new versions sometimes outshine the original, taking the lyrics and mood of the song to new levels of profundity. Other times, the new version stinks, and rediscovering the original can be like finding a long lost friend. And sometimes, it's a draw. Here are nine songs for your consideration you probably did not know were covers. http://wp.me/p26Qb8-1Tn

Kid refuses to wear hearing aid because "Superheroes don't", so Marvel creates one for him: http://wp.me/p26Qb8-1Tc

Everyone dies eventually, even rock stars, and when they go it's not uncommon for them to take beloved personal items with them, or to have such things placed there by grieving friends and family. That is, of course, unless they're cremated and have their ashes snorted or smoked. For those who went the conventional burial route, here are some of the items that made it into their caskets. : http://wp.me/p26Qb8-1Th