Tim Price Bloggin' For Rico- Musical visions in the Christmas spirit. Plus- Cooking with T.P.

My vision of music that echos humanity is that we can, and should strive to contribute to a better world through music. By bring together musicians and music lovers who are concerned about the welfare of humanity and our planet we can use music to improve the world!That way,we can enjoy the music twice. Once through listening, creating/recording/sharing and again through others enjoyment and enrichment.Music that echos humanity..is something I always felt.No matter where the musician creates and performs,we are approaching music’s singular destination every time.That state beyond the everyday sensory experience, adding something to the music and being at one with and literally becoming the music.No other job or life style contains that.Check that out..

Musicians need to add compassion,generosity and kindness to their message,that helps to start crystallizing our thoughts,to help the music reach out more to the peoples ears. I am grateful that nothing is out of the realm of possibility.Enjoy your Christmas holidays everyone...Happy New Year to you all.

NOW...For my man Rob Polans favorite part of my holiday blogs; THE COOKING WITH T.P. section! This year,Spicy Walleye with Vegetables and Basil Cream and a special Christmas cookie idea. Look out Rob! Ha!!! Ingredients 6 walleye fillets 1 1/2 cups flour, seasoned with salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper, as spicy as you like 1/3 cup olive oil 3 tablespoons butter 1 bag frozen corn 1 yellow bell pepper, chopped 1 green bell pepper, chopped 1 orange bell pepper, chopped 1 medium onion, chopped 1/2 cup whipping cream 1 tablespoon finely chopped basil, or basil pesto, drained Directions Coat fish fillets with seasoned flour. In a large frying pan, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add fish and fry on both sides until crispy and brown. (You will probably have to fry fish in 2 batches.) Remove to a paper towel-lined plate to drain. In the same pan, melt butter. Add vegetables and saute over medium heat for about 15 minutes or until fork-tender. Meanwhile, heat whipping cream and basil in a small saute pan until thickened. To serve, place vegetables on plate, top with fish, and drizzle with basil cream.This is a special fish to find- but I suggest talking to your market and checking the supply and demand in your city. It's worth it!

Cognac Christmas Cookies !! Ingredients 6 ounces chocolate chips 2 1/2 Cups vanilla wafers, crushed fine (a box; less some nibbles) 1 Cup pecans (finely chopped; start with 8-10 ounces whole) 1/2 Cup sugar (white, granulated) 1/4 Cup corn syrup 1/3 Cup Cognac (use the best you can afford, it makes a difference) Instructions Melt chocolate bits. If you have never worked with melted chocolate before, then use a double boiler with the burner set on low. Crush vanilla wafers very fine (fineness is important). Chop pecans (again fineness is everything). Add sugar, corn syrup and cognac (You can use 1 nip of cognac and 1/2 nip of rum; works fine and costs less). Stir in pecans and wafer crumbs. Now you learn why you were supposed to grind them very finely. By now the mixture should be a smooth paste. Remove from heat and form into about 1-inch balls. Roll balls in extra granulated sugar: makes 3-4 dozen. * Store these in an air-tight container; if you are a chocoholic, have someone hide them from you. They are best if you allow them to age and mellow. THERE YOU GOT IT...have fun and keep it real in the kitchen folks!

~ Enjoy your holidays....Remember we are the conductors of a symphony called life. Live life and keep it flowing, not just for yourself but for all those around you. Merry Christmas ~ Tim Price

Tim Price Bloggin' For Rico- RAVI.... Thank you.

Tim Price Bloggin' For Rico- Ravi. Supreme master.Thank you.

To me...the words of Charles Lloyd say it so well ; " Master of masters, Ravi Shankar, a great loss to humanity and to music. He sits here with his beloved Alla Rakha who has woven me into the fabric of their tradition through his son, Zakir. Blessings abound. Namaste." Charles Lloyd

Ravi Shankar, who has died aged 92 after undergoing heart surgery, was the Indian maestro who put the sitar on the musical map. George Harrison called him "the godfather of world music" and it was Shankar's vision that brought the sounds of the raga into western consciousness. He was thus the first performer and composer to substantially bridge the musical gap between India and the west. He was still winning awards in the new century: in 2002 his album Full Circle: Live at Carnegie Hall (2000) achieved a Grammy for best world music album. Shankar's distinction as a sitar player lay in his brilliant virtuosity, creativity and musicianship. In the west his name is synonymous with the music of India. Shankar gave his first concert in 1939, and the following year began giving recitals with Khan's son Ali Akbar Khan, the sarodist, on All India Radio. He first made an impression in his own right with scores written in Mumbai for two notable Indian films of 1946, Dharti ke Lal (Children of the Earth) and Neecha Nagar (The City Below), and composed for the Indian People's Theatre Association. In 1946-47 he was involved with producing and composing music for a ballet entitled The Discovery of India, based on the book by Jawaharlal Nehru. He later founded and became the musical director of All India Radio's first National Orchestra and was sent on foreign cultural tours by the Indian government. In addition to an arduous performing schedule, he composed the music for the films comprising Satyajit Ray's Apu Trilogy (1955-59). He also composed a concerto (1971), which he performed with the London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by André Previn. Shankar's initial exploration of the possibilities of combining jazz and Indian classical music led to the album Improvisations (1961). He went on to teach Indian music to the jazz musicians John Coltrane and Don Ellis, and for the drummer Buddy Rich and tabla player Alla Rakha he composed Rich à la Rakha (1968). His first meeting with George Harrison and Paul McCartney of the Beatles came in 1966, at a friend's house in London. Harrison took up the sitar and later that year went to India for a period of intensive tuition. From this partnership came Shankar Family & Friends (1974). Shankar also created a musical partnership with Yehudi Menuhin. They had met in 1951 when the violinist was visiting India, though Shankar vividly recalled having seen him at rehearsals when they were boys in Paris in the 30s. In 1967, they played for the UN general assembly at a human rights day event. They also recorded three albums together, the first of which, East Meets West, won a Grammy award in 1967. Performances at the great pop festivals of the time – Monterey, California, in 1967; Woodstock in 1969; and Concert for Bangladesh, New York, in 1971 – brought Shankar even more firmly into the west's popular gaze and saw him established as a pioneer of crossover sounds.His genius, of course, lay in a combination of gravitas and gaiety. Shankar not only transcended culture, race and geography, but also had no difficulty with the generation gap and differences of social class. The flower-power generation and their successors listened to what he had to offer with open minds. He was showered with citations and awards: in 1999 he was appointed a Bharat Ratna (Jewel of India), in 2000 a Commandeur de la Légion d'Honneur in France, and in 2001 an honorary KBE in Britain. In the US he was an honorary member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. In later years he divided his time between Encinitas, California, and Chanakyapuri, New Delhi, where the Ravi Shankar Institute of Music and the Performing Arts was the culmination of his lifelong dream. Housed in an elegant pink granite building, it attracts students from all over the world.

~~~~ I've seen Ravi over 27 times live in the US. The first time was at MIT in Boston- 1969. I left that concert in a total high musically. Never came back from it. Words,emotions and anything are beyond me. He just....did it. That was the real deal there. He had that space the music went too...My respect for the splendor he created within his art is beyond MY words. The color and the significance is inspirational.You should try to hear him as much as possible...this is a master of masters. He has deeply influenced my vision and interpretation...Ravi Shankar is a blessed and inspirational human being that will never be forgotten.

~ Bright sun upon you Ravi. Thank you - Tim Price

Tim Price Bloggin' For Rico- DEXTER! ( More Than You Know Documentary ) Happiness is a Rico #3 reed..Dexter!! !!

Dexter Gordon is the first musician to translate the language of Bebop to the tenor saxophone.

If you don't have heart....you can't be in this business- Dexter Gordon

Tim Price Bloggin' For Rico- KING CURTIS

“Play that song called ‘Soul Twist,’ sang Sam Cooke with a small nod and a hip coat-tails pull in the direction of “King” Curtis Ousley. King Curtis played on practically every rock, soul, and R&B hit with a tenor solo between 1955 and the premature end of his soul serenade in 1971. Somewhere in him was the sound a shaving makes when a wood-plane curls it off a plank; that sound may be in all of us, but King Curtis knew how to set it free, turn it loose, and toss it out onto the dancefloor. Which was probably made of pine planks drenched with stale beer & cigarette butts.As people of all ages and races listened, danced and grooved to a _MUSICIAN_beyond category. King Curtis was very much in demand as a sax player by nearly every musician in the business. One of his memorable sax solos can be heard on the Coasters' Yakety Yak. The list of people that he worked with is in the hundreds and reads like a who's who of musicians in the early days of rock-and-roll. At this point in time...WHO ELSE played/recorded with-: Lionel Hampton, Buck Clayton, Nat King Cole, Joe Turner, The McGuire Sisters, Andy Williams, Chuck Willis, The Coasters, Buddy Holly, LaVern Baker, Bobby Darin, Brook Benton, Neil Sedaka, The Drifters, Sam Cooke, The Isley Brothers, Solomon Burke, The Shirelles, Nina Simone, The Beatles, Aretha Franklin, Herbie Mann, Wilson Pickett, Duane Allman, Eric Clapton and John Lennon. He managed to put three songs in the top forty in the 60's, but all were instrumentals at a time when instrumentals were not popular with the record buying public [when you hear Sam Cooke say "Play that one called Soul Twist" in his 1962 hit Having A Party, he is referring to the King Curtis song]. One of my all time fav King Curtis records that was re-issued on CD is " Live At Filmore".The gig largely consists of soul staples the band had honed and perfected while on the chitlin circuit; Memphis Soul Stew, Soul Serenade, Freddie King's I Stand Accused and Stevie Wonder's big hit Signed Sealed & Delivered I'm Yours. Curtis rounds it out with with top 40 material such as Procol Harum's Whiter Shade Of Pale, Jeff Walker's Mr. Bojangles and Led Zep's Whole Lot Of Love. Listen to Kings SAXELLO preach on this music...as well as the THICK and BEAUTIFUL alto sax sound on " Ode To Billie Joe".. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TshDQXRglI

Another King Curtis favorite of mine was the record with Jimmy Forrest and Oliver Nelson.King really sounded great with Jimmy and Oliver and made those guys hit the groove hard.

Another gem...is the record called...KING CURTIS & THE SHIRELLES.King plays saxello-and it is really a treasure chest of unique music.I put that record on when I want to hear King really create a space in some music.

There's a lot of "lip service"...on who sounds like King Curtis or is influenced by him.There are SO many.I say his style even flowed into production and guitarists.King had that _THICK AS A BRICK_palm key sound King did and the ability to make a chord with a root-3ed-5th and MAJOR 7th sound funky and hip.Years ago it was called-SOUL.For those in the know- Shea Stadium 1965,King Curtis was the opening-act for The Beatles' concert. A side bit of info-I studied with Garvin Bushell on bassoon in late 70's...Garvin taught KIng when he came to New York from Texas.The point here is, King took a lesson with Garvin EVERYDAY first thing in the morning on weekdays ! Garvin told me Curtis was the hardest workin' student he knew. It showed didn't it? A total tower of power ( no pun ) musically King was in any bag.

King Curtis...someone I think about everyday. He created a lot of work/gigs for saxophone players world wide.

FOR SAXOPHONE PLAYERS...There are a few things lately I've been after via this style. Just some thought food-they are: - velocity = volume, pitch & energy- be aware of articulation at different dynamic levels-listening to your sound, not just imagining-internalizing your pulse-building off the quarter note -building up momentum to get tension- dynamics & evennes- consistency of sound- tension & release- keeping in the style

King Curtis...someone I think about everyday. He created a lot of work/gigs for saxophone players world wide. ~ Till next week- keep your groove going- TIM PRICE

~ This weeks blog is dedicated to ; Bruce McGrath....indeed we shared a great common bond. Talking to you was not only a joy- but a reassurance that there are players out the deserving world class attention. I am sad we never got the chance to play & hang in person. Much respect and saxophonistic brotherhood- RIP Bruce.