Professor Longhair, born Henry Roeland Byrd in Louisianan in 1918 was a piano player who shaped the sound of New Orleans’ jazz in the early 20th Century. Much of how we imagine New Orleans, and especially Marti Gras, is flavored and textured by the rhythm created by Professor Longhair. In this edition of Liner Notes Rabbi Neil Blumofe explores what it means explore the New Orleans of today through the ghosts of it’s past.
Rebecca McInroy
The Persistence of False Beliefs
Our world these days is heavily laden with a constant flow of information moving through our minds. It’s unavoidable. How do we determine what of that steady information stream we will choose to believe? Once we’ve made that choice, what if we later find out that the information was false? How do we shed false beliefs? It’s a very biologically expensive thing to demand from our brains to change our beliefs.
On this week’s show, the good doctors, Art Markman and Bob Duke, discuss with Rebecca and analyze the process of belief formation and why our false beliefs are so persistently insistent that we reconsider them. In short form, our beliefs inherently require a certain amount of faith in the validity of the evidence that we recognize as support for those beliefs. An idea creates an imprint in our minds of the thought patterns that we use to justify our commitment to accepting a belief as true or false, whatever the case may be.
If we learn information later that challenges the validity of our belief, or if we downright learn that the belief was, in fact, false, we are then required to use our biological energy to create a new thought pattern imprint over the old one. It’s energy expensive.
The easiest way to view the world and the variety of differing beliefs or opinions in it is to identify ourselves with the people who share our beliefs. We tend to divide the world into two categories – 1) the people who share our beliefs, and 2) the idiots. While this may conserve energy, which it does (and we are instinctively programmed to conserve our energy,) the more energy expensive option of considering and learning to appreciate differing beliefs or opinions is more socially appropriate. You’ll have more friends if you are open to accepting differing beliefs, essentially.
Our current and rapidly developing technology-loaded existence can be very isolating. Society, these days, doesn’t require much confrontation with differing beliefs that will challenge our own, so we have to manually inject such exposure into our lives. In the non-stop stream of constant information flowing, try examining something outside your usual path. If you identify as a Democrat, watch Fox News. If you’re a Republican, watch the Colbert Report. You might find something interesting.
What’s The Difference Between Shame and Guilt?
When we feel guilt and shame after we’ve done something we know is wrong our heart may pound and we may feel sad, we might want to cry. Physiologically our response to both shame and guilt is the same, but cognitively the way we interpret these two emotions has consequences we may not realize.
In this edition of Two Guys on Your Head Dr. Art Markman and Dr. Bob Duke deconstruct the various dimensions of these two emotions
If we feel shameful after we’ve done something wrong we may want to hide away. We may feel that there is something fundamentally wrong with us and therefore atoning for our bad behavior is not possible.
Moreover, when we don’t feel we don’t have control over our actions and that rather it is our circumstance that “made us do it” we are more likely to repeat our transgression.
Guilt, on the other hand, can be a productive emotion in that when we feel we’ve done something wrong we can make up for it by confessing, apologizing or dealing with the behavior. It is the behavior that is bad but we are not bad people.
Yet there are still fundamental questions about the way we interpret the world through these two lenses.
The 18th century politician and philosopher Edmund Burke stated: “Guilt was never a rational thing; it distorts all the faculties of the human mind, it perverts them, it leaves a man no longer in the free use of his reason, it puts him into confusion.”
Coming up in a Views and Brews this fall we’ll continue to tackle the topic of guilt and shame with Two Guys on Your Head Live. We’ll ask: is there a difference in the way we interpret shame we can hide vs. shame we cannot hide? What happens when we feel guilty but cannot atone? How does shame and guilt relate to morality, reason and the way we process behavior daily?
V&B: Coleman Hawkins and The Art of Failure
Coleman Hawkins, the great saxophone player, helped to establish jazz as a stand alone art form, distinguished from swing — the popular music of the day. With his originality, lyricism, and his keen sense of appreciating the latest trends, his work was the influence and foundation for bebop and the most expressive jazz ballads. And yet, what is the dearest price given for the artist who expresses his art?
Join Rabbi Neil Blumofe and KUT’s Rebecca McInroy for conversation and superlative live music recorded live at the Cactus Cafe in Austin, Texas. It was an evening dedicated to discovering jazz and appreciating the beauty of this incredible and accessible American art form.
Featuring:
Shelly Carrol, saxophone
Ephraim Owens, trumpet
Red Young, piano
Roscoe Beck, bass
Brannen Temple, drums
Lionel Hampton (4.20.14)
Lionel Hampton was was an American jazz vibraphonist, pianist, percussionist, bandleader and actor. In 1936 he was discovered by Benny Goodman and with Goodman’s band he created a space for the vibraphone in popular swing music. He was also a outspoken advocate for Israel in the 50s as well as a civil rights leader.
In this installment of Liner Notes Rabbi and jazz historian Neil Blumofe explores how Hampton’s hard work and dedication to not only his music, but to an ethos of revolution and freedom, allows us to recognize the importance of the private day-to-day work that goes into building a life of worth and meaning.
Why Can Being On Hold Be So Frustrating
Whether it’s the blah music or the never ending labyrinth of a phone tree, we’ve all experienced the frustrations of being on hold. Even when we are only on hold for a minute or so our blood pressure can rise when an automated voice answers the phone. Why is being on hold so annoying? In this edition of Two Guys on Your Head Dr. Art Markman and Bob Duke take us through the good, the bad, and the ugly of on hold messaging.
V&B: Benny Goodman and The Art of Intersection
In this Views and Brews Remix feature on Benny Goodman host Rebecca McInroy and Rabbi Neil Blumofe engage in a spirited discussion about Goodman’s life, music and his relationships to his musicians — specifically, pianist Teddy Wilson, vibraphonist Lionel Hampton, and guitarist Charlie Christian-and some of Austin’s best musicians help us relive Goodman’s style. Featuring: Ben Saffer, clarinet Erik Hokkanen, guitar Red Young, piano Roscoe Beck, bass Brannen Temple, drums.
In the 1930’s, the clarinetist and bandleader, Benny Goodman, brought jazz stylings to mainstream America. What was the lasting significance of Goodman’s contributions beyond the Swing Era? In an age of segregation, creeping fear, and xenophobia, Goodman boldly set forth a new agenda for American music, integrating his band and exasperating the assumptions of culture, sophistication, and assumed ways of life.
What does it mean to be a visionary? How do we balance our dreams and our dramatic idiosyncrasies with the everyday and grueling disciplined life that we must live to make an impact? How do we know if we have been successful? What does success really mean?
V&B: Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn and The Art of Invisibility
Billy Strayhorn, a long time muse and collaborator for the great bandleader Duke Ellington, brought depth and a languid power to the already sophisticated sound of Ellington’s orchestra. Aching for love and significance, Strayhorn was openly gay in a time of repression and bias, composing ballads filled with longing and disarming vulnerability, which demanded the full attention of both the listener and the performer.
How do we strive when circumstances are stacked against us? How do we make the best of our situation as we continue to dream? How do we continue to hold out hope for consequential love, as we smolder? Sometimes what we need most, is hidden, right in front of us, in plain sight.
During this evening, we engaged in both a spirited discussion about Strayhorn and his relationships to Ellington — discussing his music, and his legacy — and we enjoyed superlative live music with Ephraim Owens (trumpet), Brannen Temple (drums), Red Young (piano), Chris Maresh (bass), Andre Hayward (trombone) and Sam Lipman (Saxaphone).
V&B: What is an American?
Do you define yourself as American? What does that mean to you? What kind of messages are we getting about patriotism, nationalism, and “foreigners” from the media and how does this affect our sense of self?
Listen back as KUT’s Rebecca McInroy talks about what it means to be “American” with UT Anthropology Professor John Hartigan , The Department Chair of Radio-Television-Film at UT and Documentarian Paul Stekler, UT History Professor Frank Guridy and writer and educator Sarah Rafael Garcia! We dive into a wide range of perspectives on the history of shaping an American identity in the political realm, in popular media and in the face to face interactions we have daily.
V&B: The New Pornography of Violence
It’s not an easy discussion, but rather a necessary one. Pornography of Violence refers to the depiction of violent behavior—as in pictures, still or video—in a sensational manner so as to arouse excitement, or a quick intense emotional reaction. During our conversation with NPR’s John Burnett and Pulitzer prize winning author and screenwriter Lawrence Wright , we discuss the exponential increase in the violent imagery of war, from Al Queda to Los Zetas, and what impact it has on our idea of war and peace.
V&B: Thelonious Monk and The Art of Hesitation
Thelonious Monk is an original and unique voice in the shaping and the sound of American music. Both his compositions and his inimitable piano playing continue to confound and resound decades after their inception, bringing us to ask questions — how far can one go when listening to your own muse? Does the artist have a responsibility to instruct while creating? Can art just be enjoyed or does it have to vex to be effective? When looking to swing, how important is rhythm? What is said in the silences? These are the questions we set out to explore during what proved to be an inspirational night of ideas and music at the Cactus Cafe.
Listen to some of the highlights from the event with KUT’s Views and Brews Remix featuring Rabbi Neil Blumofe in discussion with KUT’s Rebecca McInroy along with musicians Rich Harney (piano) Roscoe Beck (bass) Brannen Temple (drums) and Sam Lipman (Saxophone) and special guest Ephraim Owens (trumpet).
V&B: Smart Thinking with Art Markman and Bob Duke
Sometimes “thinking smarter” is less about learning and more about re-thinking the way we think and why. In this intimate discussion at the Cactus Cafe UT Psychology Professor and author of Smart Think along with UT Music Professor, Dr. Bob Duke explored modes of study and changing perspectives that can help all of us be more effective and efficient thinkers and teachers.
We hope you enjoy listening back to our conversation about smart thinking, and be sure to check out all the upcoming Views and Brews events at KUT.ORG.
V&B: Miles Davis and The Making of Kind of Blue Part I
It was an amazing evening at the Cactus Cafe September 20th, when KUT’s Views and Brews discussed Miles Davis and the Making of Kind of Blue: Jazz and the Art of Indirection.
Miles Davis was known as the master of understatement. In his seminal work, Kind of Blue (1959), he helped to define a concept of cool that remains relevant. What lurks behind an image? What music is expressed in the notes that are not played?
As part of KUT’s Views and Brews series we engaged in a spirited discussion about Miles, his music, his relationships with his musicians, and the good and evil expended in the art of creation — and we enjoyed the incredible live music inspired by his work.
V&B: Miles Davis and The Making of Blue Part II
It was an amazing evening at the Cactus Cafe September 20th, when KUT’s Views and Brews discussed Miles Davis and the Making of Kind of Blue: Jazz and the Art of Indirection.
Miles Davis was known as the master of understatement. In his seminal work, Kind of Blue (1959), he helped to define a concept of cool that remains relevant. What lurks behind an image? What music is expressed in the notes that are not played?
As part of KUT’s Views and Brews series we engaged in a spirited discussion about Miles, his music, his relationships with his musicians, and the good and evil expended in the art of creation — and we enjoyed the incredible live music inspired by his work.
V&B: Charles Mingus and The Art of Enigma
Charles Mingus is considered one of the most creative and original voices in American jazz. Uniquely sensitive to the plight of the dispossessed, he challenged his musical ensembles to be improvisatory acts of collective inspiration — responding to the matters of the moment.
The music that Mingus wrote was rooted in standard musical forms and grounded in the blues. At KUT’s Views and Brews Rabbi Neil Blumofe and KUT’s Rebecca McInroy looked at how interpretation of these forms in performance might bring about the transformation of a musician, a listener, and potentially, the world.
The Cactus was packed (standing room only) and the music performed by our all-star quintet was hot! We discussed Mingus, his music, his relationships with his musicians and audience, as well as the agony and the ecstasy he expended in communicating his vision.
Musical Guests
Roscoe Beck , bass
Brannen Temple, drums
Sam Lipman, saxophone
Freddie Mendoza, trombone
Rich Harney, piano
V&B: Art Blakey and The Art of Revolution
What is in a sound? What qualities are necessary to lead a band for many decades? What passions helped to make Blakey’s music distinctive and propel it forward, representing a particular activism and identity? Listen back to our discussion about Blakey, his music, and his legacy and enjoy the superlative performances from some incredible musicians.
Featuring:
Rabbi Neil Blumofe in discussion with KUT’s Rebecca McInroy along with musicians Brannen Temple, drums; Ephraim Owens, trumpet; Sam Lipman, saxophone; Freddie Mendoza, Trombone; Dr. James Polk, Piano; Roscoe Beck, Bass.
V&B: Billie Holiday and The Art of Persona
Billie Holiday once said, “No two people on earth are alike, and it’s got to be that way in music or it isn’t music.” In a recent Views and Brews from KUT radio recorded live at the Cactus Cafe in Austin, Texas we explored just that with Billie Holiday and the Art of Persona.
Listen in as KUT’s Rebecca McInroy hosts Rabbi Neil Blumofe along with a live band including, Brannen Temple on drums, Sam Lipman with Saxophone, Daniel Durham on bass, Ephraim Owens on trumpet, Wiliam Menefield on piano and the vocal talents of Austin’s own Pamela Hart, for an hour of conversation, exploration and great music!
How to Navigate Road Rage
Oh, the woes of modern life in a metropolitan city center. What’s going on in our brains when we encounter that familiar feeling of intense frustration while driving in traffic that we comically refer to as ROAD RAGE? The Two Guys on Your Head will break it down in this week’s episode of the show.
Bill Frisell (3.23.14)
Bill Frisell is not only an innovator on jazz guitar, but has worked in many genres to develop a sound-rich landscape. He fuses many cultures and sensibilities together, which can help us navigate our way through the modern American experience, both tangibly and metaphysically. Rabbi Neil Blumofe describes his sound as post-post-modern.
Why Meetings Feel Like They Take Forever – and How to Fight That
Does size matter when it comes to meetings? Actually, yes. It’s not a myth. Contrary to popular belief, when it comes to meetings, it’s better to keep it on the small side. Short and sweet is best.
Efficiency of the shared time spent during a meeting is a primary determinant of its potential for effectiveness. The Two Guys, Dr. Art Markman and Dr. Bob Duke, break down the best practices to ensure that the meetings you call will achieve their intended purpose.