Tuesday, August 10, 2004
Double Take
Few weeks back, I was privileged to witness the grandeur of Double Take.
Where's John Hammond when we need him?
Well, he's dead of course, but someone else needs to step up, to go out and discover musicians not currently on Hollywood's radar screen. It was Hammond who made a career as top talent man by driving around the country looking, listening actually for new music to bring to the public. In this manner, he found Benny Goodman and Billie Holiday, Count Basie and Stevie Ray Vaughn, Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen.
These days, the bushings are pretty well beat; be hard to find a band that's had the time to percolate and grow without being found by the major labels, but there's a load of talent elsewhere just waiting to be discovered by the public.
Roger Wang and Mia Palencia, for instance.
They hail from Sabah, Malaysia, although they spend much of their time performing in Kuala Lumpur these days.
And they are creating some of the very best jazz anywhere on the planet, both together as Double Take and Wang solo.
Look, we realize that John Hammond is dead, but someone out there must be smart enough to take a chance on Palencia and Wang, to sign them to a distribution deal, bring them stateside for a tour. Hollywood may like blaming online music piracy for its declining sales, but our guess is that if the music suits would offer the public more artists like these two and fewer Backstreet Boys, they might turn those declining sales around.
Where's John Hammond when we need him?
Well, he's dead of course, but someone else needs to step up, to go out and discover musicians not currently on Hollywood's radar screen. It was Hammond who made a career as top talent man by driving around the country looking, listening actually for new music to bring to the public. In this manner, he found Benny Goodman and Billie Holiday, Count Basie and Stevie Ray Vaughn, Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen.
These days, the bushings are pretty well beat; be hard to find a band that's had the time to percolate and grow without being found by the major labels, but there's a load of talent elsewhere just waiting to be discovered by the public.
Roger Wang and Mia Palencia, for instance.
They hail from Sabah, Malaysia, although they spend much of their time performing in Kuala Lumpur these days.
And they are creating some of the very best jazz anywhere on the planet, both together as Double Take and Wang solo.
Look, we realize that John Hammond is dead, but someone out there must be smart enough to take a chance on Palencia and Wang, to sign them to a distribution deal, bring them stateside for a tour. Hollywood may like blaming online music piracy for its declining sales, but our guess is that if the music suits would offer the public more artists like these two and fewer Backstreet Boys, they might turn those declining sales around.
BJ 3:32 PM