Online media

In These Times has an interesting article up about Wikipedia, and wikis in general, that had some quotes that I thought were particularly pertinent to the Beaherer project. The article describes the blogosphere and other internet based communities as a "..set of networks of people engaged in issues and topics and passions who seize upon communications media to make their networks real and make things happen." Behearer is a great example of that - a group of people who cared enough about something, utilizing the communications technology of today to make a real entity that they can point to as the result of their efforts.

The article also poses some questions that I think are worth discussing and thinking about, such as: "...will this new open environment actually generate public media—media for public knowledge and action, media that helps a public into being and nourishes it?" In the case of discussions regarding creative music and jazz in the time period of 1970ish through 1990, it will be interesting to see if this is the case. The fact that the Bad Plus was involved, perhaps one of the most far reaching bands in jazz in terms of bringing in a youth audience, is promising.  Articles about the project in traditional media, like the NYTimes article certainly encourage public who might not be aware of it to visit and perhaps learn a thing or two.

Another question posed is: "How accurate is Wikipedia? That depends on the strength of the publics that gather around the topics that are covered."

Insert rally cry for contributions here. I've been getting a small list of recordings I want to write about and contribute to the site and will be doing so shortly. I encourage others to do the same.

Speaking of post 1970s jazz, a Frank Foster/Elvin Jones recording from 1977 that never saw the light of day has just been released, per this NY Times article, as "Well Water." Looks interesting, I'll have to check it out.

As an aside, thanks to Vijay Iyer for the link from his site to my post about his All About Jazz article, and welcome to anyone who found their way here from his site. Also, I'd like to welcome Larry Blumenfeld to the blogroll - I look forward to reading about his work as a Katrina Media Fellow in New Orleans, looking at the situation on the ground for musicians.

While I'm linking, here's a (somewhat predictable) review of Saturday night's John Zorn/Cecil Taylor gig at The Rose hall at Lincoln Center.