Even in death Michael Jackson.... is being persecuted by the media which both adored and despised him. I just thought that this very song written by MJ... spelled out what people should do at this time. We should... treat him like we would want to be treated.... remember the good things about him and his career.
"Leave Me Alone" Written and Composed by Michael Jackson.
"Aaow!-Hoo hoo!
I don't care what you talkin' 'bout baby
I don't care what you say
Don't you come walkin' beggin' back mama
I don't care anyway
Time after time I gave you all of my money
No excuses to make
Ain't no mountain that I can't climb baby
All is going my way
('Cause there's a time when you're right)
(And you know you must fight)
Who's laughing baby, don't you know
(And there's the choice that we make)
(And this choice you will take)
Who's laughin' baby
So just leave me alone girl-leave me alone
(Leave me alone)
(Leave me alone)
Leave me alone
(Leave me alone)
(Leave me alone)
(Leave me alone)
Leave me alone-stop it!
Just stop doggin' me around
(Just stop doggin' me)
There was a time I used to say girl I need you
But who is sorry now
You really hurt, you used to take and deceive me
Now who is sorry now
You got a way of making me feel so sorry
I found out right away
Don't you come walkin'-beggin' I ain't lovin' you
Don't you get in my way
'Cause
(There's a time when you're right)
(And you know you must fight)
Who's laughing baby-don't you know?
(And there's the choice that we make)
(And this choice you must take)
Who's laughin' baby?
So just leave me alone-girl-leave me alone
(Leave me alone)
(Leave me alone)
Leave me alone-girl-leave me alone
(Leave me alone)
(Leave me alone)
(Leave me alone)
Stop it!
Just stop doggin' me around
(Just stop doggin' me)
('Cause there's a time when you're right)
(And you know you must fight)
Who's laughing baby, don't you know, girl
(It's the choice that we make)
(And this choice you will take)
Who's laughin' baby
So just leave me alone-girl-leave me alone
(Leave me alone)
(Leave me alone)
Leave me alone-girl-leave me alone
(Leave me alone)
(Leave me alone)
(Leave me alone)
Stop it!
Just stop doggin' me around
Leave me alone-girl-leave me alone
(Leave me alone)
(Leave me alone)
Leave me alone, girl
(Leave me alone)
Leave me alone-stop it!
Just stop doggin' me around
(Just stop doggin' me)
Don't come beggin' me
Don't come beggin'
Don't come lovin' me
Don't come beggin'
I love you
I don't want it
I don't...
I don't...
I don't...
I..., I..., I..., aaow!
Hee hee!
Don't come beggin' me
Don't come beggin'
Don't come lovin' me
Don't come beggin'
I love you
I don't want it
I don't need it."
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Monday, June 15, 2009
Hard-bopping w/ Derrick Gardner and the Jazz Prophets
Here is the article, and I truly hope you enjoy it... Check it out at ( http://www.jazzreview.com/article/review-7176.html )
WWW.JAZZREVIEW.COM
Artist Interview by: Jarritt A Sheel
June 1, 2009 -
It’s Monday June 1, 2009 at approximately 6:14 pm and Derrick Gardner, the proverbial titan of hard-bop, is on a journey. After visiting his mother Dr. Effie Gardner (classically trained pianist) and a week long stint (gigging) in New York City, he is traveling across country to do what he does best… playing JAZZ! Gardner, at full speed, has hit the road literally…traveling almost nonstop for the past couple of weeks to promote his latest work, Echoes of Ethnicity.
Gardner recently gave up his professorship at Michigan State University to pursue his performing career full-time again. Over the years, he found himself splitting his duties of teaching at MSU with a stellar jazz studies faculty headed by Rodney Whitaker (bass), and performing with some of the most sought after musicians around the world. . .along with writing/performing with his own great band over the course of 18 years of his professional career. His recording as leader of the Jazz Prophets on Echoes of Ethnicity proves to be another spectacular high point in a career that has placed him among such awe-inspiring bands as Harry Connick, Jr., the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra, Frank Foster, Slide Hampton, Stefon Harris, and last, but definitely not least, the Count Basie Orchestra. In this, the 18th year of the Jazz Prophets' voyage is where our interview begins.
For a brief moment ,Gardner’s GPS system interrupts us as it mechanically barks out directions. This however, doesn’t stop Derrick from spitting out pearls of wisdom about jazz music for the audience at JAZZREVIEW. The Echoes of Ethnicity sound is soulful, funky, and the epitome of what hard-bop would have become in the setting of a five horn front line. Sultry, sensuous, and very reminiscent of the late 1950’s and 60’s, hard-bop ensembles blend with a hint of the new and refreshing mix of unexplored territory interjected by Gardner himself.
When asked about his musical influences and who really helped mold him in regards to compositing and arranging, Gardner replied, “My father would definitely have to be the first on my list. He was arranging and composing way back when I was a child. He has given me advice and help over the years with creativity and [how to develop] a listening ear. . .”
Horace Silver, Cannonball Adderley, David Baker and Frank Foster round out the list of Gardner's other arranging/compositional influences. He recounts his time with Foster. “‘Fost’ would be in front of the band bus (Basie) with a book of manuscript paper and a felt tip pen... without a keyboard. I would ask him to check out the score and when I finally got it back, the new ‘Frank Foster Picasso’ would help open up my hearing and creativity as far as the voicings were concerned and instrumentation. I would go back to the front of the bus until I didn’t have as much blood on the canvas.”
Baker had a huge influence on Gardner’s composition as a musician. He says of that experience and others like it, “I was very fortunate to be able to get all the information directly from the horse’s mouth. Talking directly to the greats and asking question is an invaluable opportunity. The music recordings of Thad Jones & Mel Lewis Orchestra, Oliver Nelson, Horace Silver, Slide Hampton, and Frank Foster have heavily influenced me. What really impressed me the most was that they all had a distinct sound. You have to develop a voice, and the easiest way would be through improvisation, and that ranges to the hardest composition."
As to the writing influences on the Jazz Prophet’s newest album Echoes of Ethnicity, they range from Afro-Cuban music, Freddie Hubbard, Parliament Funkadelics, Sam Rivers, Bar Clays, Thad Jones, Earth Wind & Fire, Sly and the Family Stone, Woody Shaw, Miles Davis, and Roberta Flack…definitely an eclectic mix, a mix where the listener is treated to a variety of ethnic musical tastes. “I didn’t really come up with the name of the CD until I finished and saw that the tunes and subject matter harkened back to the various cultures. The title basically comes from the programming of the tunes, of which five various ethnicities harken back to Freddie Hubbard’s Melting Pot.
Derrick leads the writing for the ensemble cast, but the composition/arranging is rounded out by a set of great writers, brother Vince Gardner(trombone) and Rob Dixon (tenor sax). All three writers take this revamped ensemble on a trek that ultimately takes the listener to a variety of destinations. The first thing that pulls the listener in is the rich and full sound that the five horn line up gives the arranger/composer. The ensemble, plus two, has added alto and baritone sax to the line up, which adds a depth and fullness not easily attained with the usual three-horn line up the band has enjoyed for the past 17 years. “I always wanted to do an octet recording that was due the harmonic possibilities that having five horns out front has, but my true writing style lies within the sextet with three horn up front.”
This album marks a new place in Gardner’s career. He is refreshed and ready for the challenge of stepping back onto the scene full-time. “Right now, I am in a very great place. This moment I am in a kind of transition of sorts…venturing out of the educational world and into the full-time performing world once more. I feel very good about getting back on the hustle and getting in the chow line.” Derrick Gardner has now stepped back into the line for more chow.
Jarritt Ahmed Sheel
B.S. Music '05
M.M. Jazz Studies '08
jsheelmusic@gmail.com
www.myspace.com/jarrittshe
815-793-6179
WWW.JAZZREVIEW.COM
Artist Interview by: Jarritt A Sheel
June 1, 2009 -
It’s Monday June 1, 2009 at approximately 6:14 pm and Derrick Gardner, the proverbial titan of hard-bop, is on a journey. After visiting his mother Dr. Effie Gardner (classically trained pianist) and a week long stint (gigging) in New York City, he is traveling across country to do what he does best… playing JAZZ! Gardner, at full speed, has hit the road literally…traveling almost nonstop for the past couple of weeks to promote his latest work, Echoes of Ethnicity.
Gardner recently gave up his professorship at Michigan State University to pursue his performing career full-time again. Over the years, he found himself splitting his duties of teaching at MSU with a stellar jazz studies faculty headed by Rodney Whitaker (bass), and performing with some of the most sought after musicians around the world. . .along with writing/performing with his own great band over the course of 18 years of his professional career. His recording as leader of the Jazz Prophets on Echoes of Ethnicity proves to be another spectacular high point in a career that has placed him among such awe-inspiring bands as Harry Connick, Jr., the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra, Frank Foster, Slide Hampton, Stefon Harris, and last, but definitely not least, the Count Basie Orchestra. In this, the 18th year of the Jazz Prophets' voyage is where our interview begins.
For a brief moment ,Gardner’s GPS system interrupts us as it mechanically barks out directions. This however, doesn’t stop Derrick from spitting out pearls of wisdom about jazz music for the audience at JAZZREVIEW. The Echoes of Ethnicity sound is soulful, funky, and the epitome of what hard-bop would have become in the setting of a five horn front line. Sultry, sensuous, and very reminiscent of the late 1950’s and 60’s, hard-bop ensembles blend with a hint of the new and refreshing mix of unexplored territory interjected by Gardner himself.
When asked about his musical influences and who really helped mold him in regards to compositing and arranging, Gardner replied, “My father would definitely have to be the first on my list. He was arranging and composing way back when I was a child. He has given me advice and help over the years with creativity and [how to develop] a listening ear. . .”
Horace Silver, Cannonball Adderley, David Baker and Frank Foster round out the list of Gardner's other arranging/compositional influences. He recounts his time with Foster. “‘Fost’ would be in front of the band bus (Basie) with a book of manuscript paper and a felt tip pen... without a keyboard. I would ask him to check out the score and when I finally got it back, the new ‘Frank Foster Picasso’ would help open up my hearing and creativity as far as the voicings were concerned and instrumentation. I would go back to the front of the bus until I didn’t have as much blood on the canvas.”
Baker had a huge influence on Gardner’s composition as a musician. He says of that experience and others like it, “I was very fortunate to be able to get all the information directly from the horse’s mouth. Talking directly to the greats and asking question is an invaluable opportunity. The music recordings of Thad Jones & Mel Lewis Orchestra, Oliver Nelson, Horace Silver, Slide Hampton, and Frank Foster have heavily influenced me. What really impressed me the most was that they all had a distinct sound. You have to develop a voice, and the easiest way would be through improvisation, and that ranges to the hardest composition."
As to the writing influences on the Jazz Prophet’s newest album Echoes of Ethnicity, they range from Afro-Cuban music, Freddie Hubbard, Parliament Funkadelics, Sam Rivers, Bar Clays, Thad Jones, Earth Wind & Fire, Sly and the Family Stone, Woody Shaw, Miles Davis, and Roberta Flack…definitely an eclectic mix, a mix where the listener is treated to a variety of ethnic musical tastes. “I didn’t really come up with the name of the CD until I finished and saw that the tunes and subject matter harkened back to the various cultures. The title basically comes from the programming of the tunes, of which five various ethnicities harken back to Freddie Hubbard’s Melting Pot.
Derrick leads the writing for the ensemble cast, but the composition/arranging is rounded out by a set of great writers, brother Vince Gardner(trombone) and Rob Dixon (tenor sax). All three writers take this revamped ensemble on a trek that ultimately takes the listener to a variety of destinations. The first thing that pulls the listener in is the rich and full sound that the five horn line up gives the arranger/composer. The ensemble, plus two, has added alto and baritone sax to the line up, which adds a depth and fullness not easily attained with the usual three-horn line up the band has enjoyed for the past 17 years. “I always wanted to do an octet recording that was due the harmonic possibilities that having five horns out front has, but my true writing style lies within the sextet with three horn up front.”
This album marks a new place in Gardner’s career. He is refreshed and ready for the challenge of stepping back onto the scene full-time. “Right now, I am in a very great place. This moment I am in a kind of transition of sorts…venturing out of the educational world and into the full-time performing world once more. I feel very good about getting back on the hustle and getting in the chow line.” Derrick Gardner has now stepped back into the line for more chow.
Jarritt Ahmed Sheel
B.S. Music '05
M.M. Jazz Studies '08
jsheelmusic@gmail.com
www.myspace.com/jarrittshe
815-793-6179
Thursday, June 04, 2009
This is the prose of Antonia Sheel, my wife, which she wrote about my master degree graduate recital a little more than a year ago. I love you Antonia!!!
The Recital
-by Mrs. Antonia Sheel (then Antonia Winston)
"Every note he played was for me. His love blared through that horn and I knew… He was the man I would spend the rest of my life with. The only man for me and somehow even with the distance...with him on stage and me there in my seat, we were connected. Deep, strong, eternally. My heart fluttered at the thought. How was it possible that such melodic sounds could come out of a piece of metal?
“It’s a piece of metal.…Do you know how hard it is to blow through a piece of metal and make a sound…I mean, it’s unnatural.”
Yet, as unnatural as it was, he made it sound absolutely heavenly.
I was awakened from my trance-like state of bliss by soft baby strokes on my back. He patted it like he was saying goodbye and for a brief moment I felt like it really was. Confusion set in because how could I be feeling so good, yet so bad all within the same moment. We both knew this was our end. Tears welled up in my eyes and one rolled gently down my chubby cheek and landed in my lap. I was no longer his little girl and I could feel it. I was indeed a woman.
Part of me wanted to look over and see if his eyes were filled too, but he’s a man and ‘men aren’t supposed to cry’ as he had told me before…so we laughed instead.
The laugh was deep and hard…like it was coming from the gut. You know how your 8th grade drama teacher tells you to belt out lines from the gut…’with some bravdo.’ It was a laugh like that…a laugh to hide the pain.
The set ended and we clapped wildly. Although, we would never be the same again, that quiet moment in the loud bar, filled with those precious sounds of love reverberating off of a gold trumpet, spoke volumes.
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