Nikolaj Arndt's
artwork is jaw-dropping and very realistic.
Remember- these pictures are all painted on flat cement.
I try to keep politics out of music, but what the hell?!US Conservatives, take a look at your 'leaders' and tell me they are not totally and undeniably insane!
BREAKING: The latest House GOP plan could keep the government closed until November 22! The Tea Party is running ahead full steam with their reckless scheme. Let's stand up, fight back, and stop the #GOPShutdown.
Donate to the Shutdown Rapid Response Fund now.
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I try to stay out of politics, chicken little rants, and random causes (at least in this blog). But occasionally I will run with something of interest to me. It is rather important to be a doer, not just a watcher, and even if it seems pointless sometimes, we all have a duty to speak up and refuse to ' not get involved'. Other's problems are one step away from our own, and are often just waiting in the bushes for us.
That being said, my friend Mark Schillinger, a life coach/ health practitioner I know well, posted his newsletter, and had a link to a Matt Damon video statement that rang true with me. Being from the arts community, and having had an 'attentive' set of teachers in my younger years, I can truly relate to his point. He is advocating for smaller classes, personalized classroom attention, and the abolition of standardized testing (unfairly tied to job security)... testing which doesn't even begin to include the most highly prized and specialized skills-in-training that students may harbor, and which need nurturing. From Dr. Mark's post:
Some of you are aware that I counsel patients privately in life coaching sessions using a method I created, called The RIGHT Way. RIGHT stands for five virtues (Respect, Intelligence, Grace, Humor, True) that I use to help people discover who they are (their virtues and values) and how to transform their unique perspective into a lifestyle filled with positive beliefs and productive behaviors.
I created this method after three decades studying comparative religion, Western psychology and Eastern philosophy. I realized that there was no one right way to become physically healthy, mentally clear or spiritually enlightened. At the same time I understood that if I wanted to be truly happy, I would have to find a way that was right for me. As part of that process, I dedicated myself to studying how to help others find a way that was right for them.
The reason why I mention Matt Damon is because there's a video of him talking about this concept.
True,
Dr. Mark
Visit the website www.schillinger-chiro.com
I had the chance to perform in Toronto with Steve Oliver a while back and he rocked the house (I helped of course!)
Steve is a prolific producer and artist and makes his home in California. He has recently produced or performed with other Canucks like Walle Larsson and Rob Tardik.
I recently made some musical contributions to the new Daniel Radcliffe film 'Horns', which debuts at the TIFF today.
It is not a big feature but I have my foot in the door thanks to Devin Powers, a film and TV composer I started working with this past year.
The credits will read:
Performed by Devin Powers, Dorian Charnis & Gabriel Mark Hasselbach, Courtesy of Powers Music Company
Devin is very talented and successful in TV and Film music, and I have hitched my wagon to his star in this field, and have already begun doing a variety of projects with him. He has a compositional/ performance spot for me on his upcoming TV drama entitled Kings of Pittsburgh, which will start production soon.
It seems like the creative (jazz) spirit has a parallel universe in the film and TV world... just ask boffo composer/trumpeters Jeff Beal and Mark Isham (get out google and wiki).
Many thanks to Devin for his leg up!
Grown-up Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe turns into a devilish murder suspect in Horns, part of TIFF's Vanguard program.
By: Peter Howell Movie Critic
A devilish Daniel Radcliffe and other possessed beings are featured amongst new movies announced Tuesday for theToronto International Film Festival, which runs Sept. 5 to 15.
The ex-Harry Potter actor stars in Horns, Alexandre Aja’s screen adaptation of Joe Hill’s best-selling supernatural thriller about a man who suddenly finds himself sporting devil’s horns and embroiled in a murder mystery.
The film will have its world premiere in TIFF’s Vanguard program, the convention-defying arthouse twin of the genre-celebrating Midnight Madness section, both of which are programmed by festival cryptmaster Colin Geddes.
Onward and upward!!
I was going through some performance videos and realized that this show from the Kuala Lumpur Jazz Fest Launch never made it out there!
It was a great experience to perform with Singapore's very top keyboardist, Jeremy Monteiro, and Jordan Rivers on guitar, Christy Smith on bass, and Erik Hargrove on drums..... with video by Sylvia Ronahan and audio by Sunil Kumar.
Just getting back off the road and organizing some posts...
What a wonderful time we had at Spaghettini- it is truly the smooth jazz mecca in the LA area!
Many thanks to my band: Nathan Scott (drums), Ernie Nunez (bass), Stephen Lexner (guitar), Dave Iwitaki (keys), Jason Webber (saxes), Tony Drake (guest guitar), Lisa Gay (guest vocals). And we can't forget the awesome audio from 'Q'!
Bob Baldwin is a seasoned keyboard artist, producer and songsmith, who has hit the big Two-Oh, as far as album releases go anyway...
--
Gabriel Mark Hasselbach ♬♩
This one is a doozy, and Bob's stuff just gets deeper and deeper!
I have had the good fortune to be part of it, and Bob and I have some tunes in the can for MY next project as well!
Check out his new release, it is a hot seller, available from iTunes, Amazon, CD Universe, and more...
ciao 4 niao,
I'll be taking an extra early flight in just a few hours, Thursday Aug 15, and will be back in Vancouver, just in time for a noon concert at Metrotower Plaza for a cool concert, then Friday at noon at Bentall Centre Plaza.
Here is a two song clip of my Detroit show, where I was featured with the ab-fab flute phenom Alexander Zonjic........
... and here is some soundcheck and greenroom snippets of AZ warming up and playing MY flute along side his own:
I will be taking part of an All Star show with Alexander Zonjic as host and feature.
There will be lots of great international musicians to hobnob and perform with.
The weather looks promising and I am psyched!
