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Steve Provizer

I studied music at Berklee, N.E.C. and Indian music at Wesleyan. Been in and out of many bands. Latest incarnation is my group "Travelin' Light," with me on trumpet, valve trombone and vocals, along with 2 other vocalists. We do original arrangements of standards, jazz tunes and vocalese for which I write lyrics. Another part of me plays and has always played free music, with my main collaborator being guitarist Keith Crook. I also play with a group called the Second Line Social Aid and Pleasure Society Marching Brass Band.

I also have a media background, having worked in television, print and, for the last 10 years, radio. Part of that work is teaching young people journalism and how to get on the air as DJ's.

I have been blogging about jazz and culture for the last year or so.

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159

Opinion

Collective Bargaining: Threat or Menace? By Steve Provizer

Collective Bargaining: Threat or Menace? By Steve Provizer

Source: Brilliant Corners, a Boston Jazz Blog

You know the story: A guy is crawling on the ground looking for something under a lamp post. His friend comes up and says “Oh, is that where you dropped your wallet?" The guy replies," No, I dropped it over there, but this is where the light is." So, America has dropped its wallet and instead of going off and finding some new source of light (solar-powered? cheap flashlight made in China? “alternative" media?) we are trying to find it ...

46

TV / Film

"Ma Nuit Chez En Enfer. Or, a Night at the Movies" by Steve Provizer

"Ma Nuit Chez En Enfer. Or, a Night at the Movies" by Steve Provizer

Source: Brilliant Corners, a Boston Jazz Blog

Hollywood movies suck. Not only that, going to a multiplex theatre is one of the most dispiriting, depressing and irritating experiences imaginable. Yet, it's one to which Americans are sado-masochistically drawn by the millions. It's especially piquant to plunge in just after you've seen the Oscars; like turning over a beautiful moss-covered log in the forest and having your hand covered with slimy larvae. I had submitted to watching the Oscars only because I actually know a couple who made ...

118

Radio

"Boston Jazz Radio and Government Funding" by Steve Provizer

"Boston Jazz Radio and Government Funding" by Steve Provizer

Source: Brilliant Corners, a Boston Jazz Blog

Looks like the NEA will cut the Jazz Masters program and government funding for PBS and NPR is in jeopardy. How will such cuts effect jazz? I'll just bite off a small piece of it and focus on Boston media. There's little jazz on TV. Public television has a small stake, carrying awards ceremonies at the Kennedy Center, White House specials, a rare American Masters and the odd Ken Burns documentary. Mr. Rogers used to have great jazz guests. RIP ...

98

Interview

Who is Art Tatum Dating? By Steve Provizer

Who is Art Tatum Dating? By Steve Provizer

Source: Brilliant Corners, a Boston Jazz Blog

Was the saturation coverage of George Shearing's recent death commensurate with his musical contributions? To my ears, Shearing's music is pleasurable and well-crafted but unexciting. He was capable of playing any style, but the chosen format of his most well-known groups was harmonically consonant and the soloing, while very adept, lacked edge. Shearing's coverage was the equal of that given to Billy Taylor. Taylor was a creative musician, not a musical innovator, but his work as activist/mentor/educator kept his profile ...

90

Book / Magazine

"Stereotypes in Black Music" by Alan Kurtz, Reviewed by Steve Provizer

"Stereotypes in Black Music" by Alan Kurtz, Reviewed by Steve Provizer

Source: Brilliant Corners, a Boston Jazz Blog

Author Alan Kurtz's thesis is: since at least the turn of the 20th century, African-American performers have been fulfilling and/or re-inforcing stereotypes of the naturally-rhythmic primitive savage-i.e., sustaining “white ethnocentric fantasies"-to advance their careers. Episodes include: Minstrelsy, the “coon song" craze, vaudeville, popular black theater ("In Dahomey," Shuffle Along," etc), Ellington's “Jungle Music," Louis Armstrong, Fats Waller and Cab Calloway, bebop, R&B, the jazz avant-garde of the 60's, disco and rap/hip hop. Mr. Kurtz says he wants the book to ...

111

Opinion

The Cortex and the Booty-by Steve Provizer

The Cortex and the Booty-by Steve Provizer

Source: Brilliant Corners, a Boston Jazz Blog

This is Your Brain on Music The brass band I play with has been talking about the Asphalt Orchestra. In their videos, they seem to be having a great time, engaging the crowd, playing interesting, offbeat music (apart from New Orleans stuff, arrangements of Zappa, Bjork...). On the other hand, a band-mate saw them on the plaza at Lincoln Ctr. over the weekend and described them as “appealing more to the intellect than wanting to make you dance." Meanwhile, back ...

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