One of our most recent additions to the Takedown Hall of Shame is Kern’s Kitchen, the company behind the “most litigious dessert in America.” It owns a trademark on the term Derby Pie, which is the name of a popular Southern confection made with chocolate, pecans, and lots of sugar. Anybody’s allowed to make it—and there are plenty of variations online and in cookbooks—but if you call it Derby Pie, you might find yourself on the receiving end of a legal threat from Kern’s Kitchen.

Via the EFF

There is something very delicious-sounding about the most litigious dessert in America. (And I’ll bet it tastes damn good with a Bourbon Manhattan, such as the folks at the Brown Hotel serve.)

The post The Most Litigious Dessert in America? (Sounds delicious!) appeared first on BLHill.net and was written by Brian L. Hill.

Righthaven, the Las Vegas operation that sought to turn newspaper article copyright lawsuits into a business model, can now slap a date on its death certificate: May 9, 2013. This morning, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled on the two Righthaven appeals that could have given the firm a final glimmer of hope—and the court told Righthaven to take a hike (PDF).

Via Ars Technica

Previously: Copyright troll Righthaven ordered to forfeit copyrights

The post The Troll is Dead! Goodbye Righthaven. appeared first on BLHill.net and was written by Brian L. Hill.

My current favorite architect is Bjarke Ingels. His firm BIG (Bjarke Ingels Group) has left an indelible mark on his homeland of Denmark, but his architecture is certainly not exclusive to that country, as he has already completed projects in at least four continents.

Why do I like Ingels so much, and yet despise so many other architects? Part of it has to do with his disregard for convention. Lots of architects (especially starchitects like Gehry, Hadid, Pei, et al. who can afford to reject clients) defy the convention of previous design concepts. Unlike other architects, Ingles isn’t designing monuments to his own ego – he is creating spaces that actually impact the lives of end users.

The main reason I think Ingels makes such an impact is because at the core of all his work is philosophy. And it is a philosophy that is influenced by both Charles Darwin and Friedrich Nietzche

Danish online magazine, Grasp, just published an article about the Bjarke Ingels Group manifesto called, Yes is More. Here is an excerpt:

The traditional image of the radical architect is the angry young man rebelling against the establishment. The avantgarde is defined from what it is against rather than what it is for.

This leads to an oedipal succession of contradictions where each generation says the opposite of the previous. And if your agenda is dependent on being the opposite of someone else’s – you are simply a follower in reverse.

He goes on to state:

Rather than revolution we are interested in evolution. Like Darwin describes creation as a process of excess and selection, we propose to let the forces of society, the multiple interests of everyone, decide which of our ideas can live, and which must die. Surviving ideas evolve through mutation and crossbreeding in to an entirely new species of architecture. Human life evolved through adaptation to changes in the natural environment. With the invention of architecture and technology we have seized the power to adapt our surroundings to the way we want to live, rather than the other way around. This is what makes it interesting to be an architect: as life evolves, our cities and our architecture need to evolve with it.

The stereotypical view, perhaps shaped too much by Ayn Rand, is that the architect is in constant conflict with everything. The architect is in conflict with the owner, the contractor, the rules of physics, the land itself – all in the name of ART!

In the philosophy that Ingels advocates, the architect embraces the conflict. It is inclusive, not exclusive. Differences are integrated and incorporated. It is not chained to a single idea. It is evolutionary more than revolutionary.

Moreover, it is a philosophy and approach to architecture that embraces all aspects of humanity, including the conflict.

As Ingels concludes, “Yes is More, Viva la Evolución!”

The full manifesto is presented in the form of a comic book (or graphic novel, if you prefer) that is available at Amazon:

Via Grasp

Image courtesy designboom magazine

The post Architect Bjarke Ingels on Philosophy: Yes is More! appeared first on BLHill.net and was written by Brian L. Hill.

When you visit UTSanDiego.com/BeTheDMV, you are presented with a picture (probably shooped) of a personalized license plate. You are then asked to either accept or reject the plate. It is sort of like a Hot or Not for vanity plates.

Reminds me of one of my favorite crappy game shows as a kid:

The post Be The DMV – Newspaper lets you decide which personalized plates are OK appeared first on BLHill.net and was written by Brian L. Hill.

The Vons/Safeway chain recently settled a lawsuit brought on by an unhappy consumer over the contents of a “Kona Blend” coffee. The Kona Coffee Farmers Association joined the plaintiff’s complaint that the coffee sold by Vons contained very little actual Kona coffee, misleading consumers and ultimately harming the reputation of USA’s only significant coffee varietal.

Via U-T

Two years ago, Vons/Safeway had agreed to change the labels on their coffee to read, “10 percent minimum Kona blend.” This was prompted by a complaint by not only the trade association, but the Hawaii Department of Agriculture. As this article illustrates, a year later coffee was still found on shelves containing the old labels. At the time (August, 2012), Vons spokespersons stated that the reason was simply due to old inventory.

In other words, the coffee on the shelves at Vons can easily be over a year old.

Support your local coffee roaster!

The post On coffee, quality, and integrity appeared first on BLHill.net and was written by Brian L. Hill.

The product that consultants and other professional service providers offer is essentially themselves. The most effective and efficient means of marketing professional services is through content marketing. By producing content of value, consistently, a consultant can engage with existing and prospective clients in a way that is mutually beneficial.

What the Experts Say

• According to The Consulting Bible (Alan Weiss), the work of a consultant is marketing.
• Scott Stratten says to throw out everything we’ve come to associate with marketing in his book, Unmarketing: Stop Marketing. Start Engaging.
• C.C. Chapman and Ann Handley’s book, Content Rules, illustrates that the most effective way to engage clients and prospects is through creating consistent content of value.

My Take

Consultants can effectively market their business by demonstrating their expertise through a constant effort to produce quality content. 140 characters in a tweet isn’t going to connect you with a large contract, most likely. Being accessible in a variety of contexts to the preferences of your audience (clients, prospects, peers, competitors), fosters the trust building process. Consultants are experts in their fields, and social media (blogging, participating in various social networks, etc.) lowers the possible barriers of entry to that expertise.

Therefore, produce content about the subjects that interest you. Do so with the intent of engaging others by demonstrating value. Don’t tell people how smart you are, show them. Consistently.

Image courtesy guwashi999

The post The Job of a Consultant is to Produce Content of Value appeared first on BLHill.net and was written by Brian L. Hill.

• Pirates did not force prisoners to walk the plank
• Pirates did not typically wear earrings or head-scarves
• Pirates did not make treasure maps
• Pirates did not talk like pirates *

* Note: Well they did talk like pirates, because they were pirates. It’s just that what we think of as a pirate dialect – with the heavy emphasis on the letter “R” – isn’t what their speech sounded like.

Enjoy this nice video below:

Via Museum Secrets and BoingBoing

The post Happy Monday: Setting the record straight about Pirates appeared first on BLHill.net and was written by Brian L. Hill.

One of the most popular posts that I have ever written on this site is The Future of Architecture as a Profession? which I wrote about two years ago. A recent article by Steve Mouzon for ArchDaily has caused me to revisit the issue.

In Mouzon’s article, he identifies some trends in the architecture profession that I hadn’t anticipated. Specifically:

More than half of the people working in architectural offices in 2005 aren’t there anymore. Some are still unemployed, some have gone in business for themselves, but many have left the profession. And when people leave architecture, they rarely come back for three reasons: an architecture degree prepares you to do so many other things, it’s such a stressful profession, and the pay is usually significantly lower than other professions like law and medicine.

Mouzon lists seven ways that the Great Recession has permanently altered the business of architectural design:

1. The exodus of experienced employees (see the quote above)
2. Clients no longer trust the “expert opinion of an architect”
3. The Great Recession is drastically impacting consumer attitudes, introducing a new era of frugality
4. Homeowners seek “smaller and smarter,” in part due to lending practices by financial institutions
5. Clients are younger and very motivated to make more sustainable choices
6. “Patience, Generosity, and Connectedness” will replace “Better, Faster, Cheaper”
7. “Most marketing methods architects have used for decades don’t work so well anymore”

Mouzon ends his article with the following:

I firmly believe that even though the Great Recession has been architecture’s bleakest epoch of my lifetime, it also has the potential to be a great transformational event that can change the profession for the better. At least for those who adapt and transform themselves.

As far as the future of architecture as a profession is concerned, I still stand by what I wrote two years ago:

Architects will need to become more involved in the networked world that we now live in. Instead of the perception that now prevails, where architects are often viewed as an expensive nuisance and obstacle, architects need to position themselves as integrated and essential resources for improving the built environment. The walled gardens of architects such as Frank Lloyd Wright and Frank Gehry will be replaced by forward-thinking design consultants that move easily between disciplines, with an eye for cost and energy efficiency.

Steve Mouzon’s article can be found here: 7 Reasons Architecture (As We Know It) Is Over

Image via angeloangelo

The post The Future of Architecture as a Profession, Revisited… appeared first on BLHill.net and was written by Brian L. Hill.

A lot of the content I have written on this site has to do with marketing. I write about it because as a former philosophy major, the concept intrigues me.

The thing is though: I’m not very good at marketing.

With my first business, as a professional musician/producer, I instinctively knew that I needed to promote what I was doing. People wanted my contact information, so I spent $50 I’d made from a 2-hour gig at a senior citizen’s home on some business cards. [note 1] To advertise events, I used the rudimentary graphic design tools available: the infamous “PrintShop” program combined with a B/W Xerox machine. The results were not very good, in terms of design, but I did manage to get people to show up.

I didn’t have to try to bring in business. A lot of my business came from previous clients and referrals. But I didn’t do much to remain in contact with previous clients – I just waited for the phone to ring. In fact, I did everything “wrong” when it comes to marketing.

But I did well. I believe that there is a very simple explanation for this:

Execution.

From the moment my fellow musicians and I arrived at a gig, it was clear that despite our age (we were in high school), we were professionals. Everyone dressed appropriately. We didn’t eat until after the show, or during a break. There was absolutely no smoking or drinking allowed on the premises by any of my musicians. We set up and tore down our gear quickly. But most importantly, when it came time to play, we delivered. And by the first note we played, my clients knew that they were going to get their money’s worth. [note 2]

What I Have Learned

I do not believe that there is a right or wrong way to approach marketing. As a professional musician, manager and producer, I made a good part-time income with little to no marketing. So is marketing a waste of time?

If you’re a top-rated high school jazz musician looking to bring in a few hundred dollars a week, marketing isn’t that important. But if you have a business that you rely upon to put food on the table for yourself and others, simply showing up isn’t likely going to be enough.

As I mentioned, I don’t think that I’m very good at marketing. I wouldn’t last a day in any advertising agency. I don’t have all the answers and I’m not sure that any of the answers I have are the right ones. But I have seen what works. The most effective marketing techniques accomplish the following:

• Establishing reasonable expectations – effective marketing provides an accurate impression of what the client/consumer can expect. What are you going to deliver?
• Telling a story – the best marketing tells a story that is compelling and draws people in. How will you make a positive impact on the life of your client?
• Building trust – we are so bombarded with advertising in nearly every aspect of life, that we have become desensitized. If you’re selling your services like a used-car salesman, clients will not be as trusting. Why should a client trust you?

One area that I have learned a lot about over the years is customer service. Solid execution combined with exceptional customer service makes up for poor/nonexistent marketing. But only to an extent. Perhaps the best approach (for businesses that are challenged in the marketing department) is to view marketing as an extension of customer service. Providing helpful and insightful information is very effective as both a marketing tool and as a service to your existing clients. Conversely, in this day and age, a company that does not maintain regular communications (through a blog, newsletter, personal correspondence, etc.) will be increasingly viewed as “not caring” enough.

In the end, there is no “one size fits all” approach to marketing. I’m no expert and most people that run their own small businesses aren’t experts at marketing either. It is about trying new things and sticking with tactics that work. More than anything, marketing is just as much about meeting your clients’ needs as the actual services that you provide.

Notes:

1. I first developed my personal BLH logo at that time. Back to article
2. About the money: Prior to any engagement, a fixed fee price was negotiated and established. Neither the client nor the musicians ever arrived at a gig with false expectations about the cost. I was always paid on time, and never extended credit. Although we generally based our price on an hourly amount (as high as $100 per hour per musician), the price was fixed and predetermined. Back to article

The post Confession: I’m Not That Good At Marketing appeared first on BLHill.net and was written by Brian L. Hill.

See the video below from NBC San Diego

The post San Diego Architect Graham Downes beaten to death by employee appeared first on BLHill.net and was written by Brian L. Hill.

I was 12 years old when I decided I wanted to become a professional musician. That summer I landed my first paying gig, and the rest – as they say – is history. Around the same time, I cultivated a deep and life-long interest in philosophy.

Here is how Wikipedia defines philosophy:

Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational argument. The word “philosophy” comes from the Greek φιλοσοφία (philosophia), which literally means “love of wisdom”.

In my opinion, the application of philosophy to business is strategy. Robert Boyden Lamb defines strategic management in the intro to his book, Competitive Strategic Management, as follows:

Strategic management is an ongoing process that evaluates and controls the business and the industries in which the company is involved; assesses its competitors and sets goals and strategies to meet all existing and potential competitors; and then reassesses each strategy annually or quarterly [i.e. regularly] to determine how it has been implemented and whether it has succeeded or needs replacement by a new strategy to meet changed circumstances, new technology, new competitors, a new economic environment., or a new social, financial, or political environment.

What’s the Point?

Philosophy is a way of addressing problems through a “critical, generally systematic approach and… rational argument.” Effective business leaders also address problems rationally, critically and often systematically. How a business positions itself in the marketplace, how the business interacts with clients, and even how a business develops product and service offerings – these decisions demand a rational and critical approach.

The original Greek definition of philosophy, “love of wisdom,” is extremely relevant to modern business strategy. The more knowledge and information that is factored into intelligent decisions, the better the outcome is likely to be. Philosophy is about tackling the big questions, and those questions are just as applicable to business:

• Why are we here? (Mission)
• How do we make decisions? (Business Intelligence)
• What is our relation to the outside world? (Marketing, Customer Service)

What is your philosophy of business?

Image via diametrik

The post The Philosophy of Business: Strategy appeared first on BLHill.net and was written by Brian L. Hill.

This may seem a superficial observation; after all, technologies change all the time, and each new tool introduces new possibilities and new demands. However, social media has changed the customer service game in a much more dramatic way: rather than pursue their complaint as a discrete transaction, customers nowadays reach out to corporations as naturally and effortlessly as they do their friends. The same way I’m likely to think my friend is rude if he or she ignores a message from me on Facebook or Twitter, companies, too, are learning, often the hard way, that the kind of service they need to provide has to be immediate and public.

To do that effectively, the old way of providing customer service won’t do. Too often, the traditional rep on the phone was trained to do one thing and one thing only, which is pass a complaint up the bureaucratic chain of command, receive a resolution, and report it back — a classic centralized model of corporate communication. Today’s customer service agent, on the other hand, must be nimble, smart, fast, attentive, personable, and talented at defusing volatile situations and creating new opportunities.

Via PandoDaily

The post The “lowly customer service rep” is more important today than most companies realize appeared first on BLHill.net and was written by Brian L. Hill.

The post The Magic of Business: Imagination appeared first on BLHill.net and was written by Brian L. Hill.

Strategy is about story. I have been reading Mario Puzo’s The Godfather, and since it is such a well-known story, let’s use it as an example. (Of course, strategy is a significant component to the actual story of the Don’s success, making it especially fitting…)

Puzo’s book is not completely chronological, and in fact jumps back and forth in time. Part of the allure for The Godfather is the way in which we as readers (and in the case of the movie, as viewers) are able to respect and connect with characters that just so happen to be extremely violent murderers showing no remorse. The author accomplishes this by reminding us of the characters’ past. Legacy and tradition are integral to understanding the dynamics of the organized crime families portrayed. Legacy and tradition are also integral to the strategies of the main characters in carrying out their business.

My position has always been that you have to know where you come from in order to know where you are headed.

A commonly overlooked component to The Godfather is the deep introspection that Puzo brings to his characters. This has become a staple of mafia stories since then. In Good Fellas, Casino, and The Sopranos, the characters many times seem more concerned with philosophy and psychology than the violence so often associated with organized crime. Careful consideration of the wider impact of decisions seems to have become a common denominator in the Dons portrayed in popular culture. In The Godfather, Sonny’s reckless and highly emotional acts are a disgrace, and he pays dearly for them.

The Don considered a use of threats the most foolish kind of exposure; the unleashing of anger without forethought as the most dangerous indulgence. No one had ever heard the Don utter a naked threat, no one had ever seen him in an uncontrollable rage. It was unthinkable.

What’s the Point?

For me, strategy needs to be at the foundation of every decision. In business, strategy is at the heart of superior execution. Take marketing, for example. Why are you putting time and money into a particular campaign? What is the story that you are crafting? What are the roots/legacy of that story? Where is the story headed? How will you pull people in to your story? The same is true in delivering a presentation. What do you want people to take away from your presentation? What is the plot, and how will it take shape?

Strategy is a story that we hope to tell. Success can therefore be thought of as executing a well-crafted and carefully considered story. Unlike writing a story, we don’t know how others are going to react. All we can do is try to empathize with others, anticipating their response, and consider the possibilities as we execute the strategy, ready to make adjustments to the course as necessary. Conversely, not considering strategy is reckless, and the risk for emotionally driven reactions has been proven to derail success.

Update

I just happened to notice that Julien Smith (an amazing author and thinker) published a blog post today entitled, Everything has been done. Give up now. In it, Smith states that (as the title suggests) everything has pretty much already been done by someone else, often better. What makes the difference is story. He eloquently states:

The best storytellers are translators of information. They take an experience and create layers on top of it, like an onion, that get peeled and reveal deeper insight.

And to me, that is exactly what strategy is. Formulating a solid strategy, like crafting a wonderful story, is about taking your experience and knowledge and weaving it into something cohesive and useful to others.

Hint – Julien Smith writes some amazing stuff. He is on a short list of people whose email newsletters I will not pass up.

Image courtesy Jonny Hughes

The post Strategy Is A Story That We Hope To Tell appeared first on BLHill.net and was written by Brian L. Hill.

1. All meetings must have a stated purpose or agenda. Without an agenda, meetings can easily turn into aimless social gatherings rather than productive working sessions.
2. Attendees should walk away with concrete next steps or Action Items.
3. The meeting should have an end time.

Via 99U and @CarolHagen

Many of these rules have been implemented by successful and fast-growing technology companies such as Apple and Google. Somewhat related is how the giants in the tech industry are embracing innovative sustainable building practices in the design and construction of new facilities.

The post Innovative best practices for improving the quality of business meetings appeared first on BLHill.net and was written by Brian L. Hill.

Rube Goldberg inventions have a special place in my heart.

I am also a huge fan of the Wallace & Gromit series of animated shorts and movies.

This story is a combination of those two loves:

Wallace and Gromit would be proud.

Inspired by the hit cartoon films, this contraption can produce your breakfast in one minute, and it’s just in time for Shrove Tuesday.

Commissioned by the happy egg co., the aptly-named ‘Pancake-omatic’ took a team of four design engineers more than 200 hours to construct and a further 100 to test.

Via Daily Mail

Here is a video of the device:

The post Wallace and Gromit inspired pancake-making Rube Goldberg invention appeared first on BLHill.net and was written by Brian L. Hill.

When the much-despised Marbury Marfan senior partner Simon Rafer turns up dead, with an ornate dagger buried between his shoulder blades, it comes as a surprise to no one. Simon was an abusive boss and had recently been on the warpath, clearing the “dead wood” from the legal firm he treated as his personal fiefdom. Nearly a thousand attorneys and associates, scattered across four continents, had good reason to want Rafer dead, but homicide Detective Spritz has his eye trained on Marbury Marfan partner Robert Tarza, in particular. Tarza and his friend and colleague—and maybe a bit more—Jenna are soon forced to play detective themselves, in a race to find the real killer or killers before Spritz finishes assembling a collection of evidence that will make a very credible case against Tarza.

World-class mediator, Victoria Pynchon, wrote about the book for Forbes last year. She attended a book reading by the author of the book and was struggling to explain the dynamics of BigLaw upper management:

Finally, I said, “it’s a cage match. They throw a piece of meat into the cage and the men – mostly it’s the men – fight to the death over it.”

Via Forbes

The post Death on a High Floor: Crime novel set in upper management of a huge law firm appeared first on BLHill.net and was written by Brian L. Hill.

Zillow Digs will connect home renovators with professionals that can help them. Zillow won’t charge contractors to list their services on the site, but will eventually allow them to purchase promotional packages that enhance their listings, similar to what Zillow does with real estate agents.

According to Griffith, Zillow Digs is a “new iPad and Web app that acts a bit like Pinterest, but with price tags.”

Via AECforensics.com

The post Zillow Digs: Home improvement app “like Pinterest, but with price tags” appeared first on BLHill.net and was written by Brian L. Hill.

Mojang AB, the company behind a game called Minecraft, has become extremely successful and profitable by focusing on cultivating and nurturing a healthy community. In 2012, the company returned profits of $90 million on $235 million of revenue. How do they do it? By out-caring the competition.

About the picture – that’s my three kids on their computers, where they can be found most evenings playing and hacking Minecraft.

Zynga is the viral game developer that destroyed the Facebook news feed with updates from your elderly relatives regarding the status of their virtual farm. Despite that, the company has been very successul financially, filing for an IPO and generating around $150 million in profit annually. Mojang AB is also a game developer, and last year brought in almost $100 million from its primary game offering, Minecraft. The difference: Zynga is a publicly held company with 3,000 employees, whereas Mojang AB has just 29 employees. Here is more from the Wall Street Journal:

This has proved very good business for Mojang, located on a side street in Stockholm. Last year the company made about $90 million in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization on revenue of $235 million, according to people familiar with the matter and since confirmed by the company.

By comparison, Zynga is expected to bring in Ebitda in the range of $152 million to $162 million on revenue of $1.09 billion to $1.1 billion, according to its last earnings release. Minecraft started under the guidance of 33-year-old Markus Persson, who as a single developer began selling the game on the Internet.

Via Wall Street Journal

Community Engagement vs. Community Estrangement

There are many differences between Zynga’s product offerings and Mojang’s Minecraft. Key to the success of both, however, is the dependence upon community.

Zynga’s Farmville (and other ‘ville games) rely upon viral distribution. As a player progresses through the game, their Facebook friends receive updates that function as advertising. This practice is moderately effective based on the principle of social proof – if so-and-so is using this product/service than I should consider it too.

The downside of Zynga’s approach is abundantly clear if you have had a Facebook account longer than about three years. Those updates of “Sally just fed her pig, why don’t you congratulate her” were annoying, sometimes confusing and ultimately took away from the Facebook experience. My wife had to “mute” some of her friends because of the incessant Farmville updates. Zynga latched onto another community (Facebook) and instead of adding value, significantly took away value from that community.

On the other hand, Minecraft has developed its own community, which is incredibly diverse and rich. My son began playing Minecraft about two years ago. He learned about the game watching a YouTube video created by a player. Within a few weeks, he was building his own levels. Within a few months, he was hacking the game through the installation and configuration of modifications developed and shared freely by other players. His sisters play Minecraft now, as do his cousins and many of his friends. Everything he knows about Minecraft comes from the contributions of the incredibly large and helpful community.

What’s the Point?

There is a reason that 29 employees developing Minecraft can generate similar profits to Zynga’s 3,000 employees. When I told my son about the article in the Journal and asked him his impression, at 11 years old his response was, “It’s because Notch really cares.” The original developer behind Minecraft, Markus “Notch” Persson, really does care. The values that he has as a developer are echoed and amplified throughout the community. Zynga’s values are also echoed and amplified throughout the community – until somebody’s friend gets muted…

In business, as well as in other parts of life, it is a lot easier to be successful when you focus on adding value to the community. You can still be successful by taking away from the community, but you’ll have to work much harder. In this case, Zynga works 100 times harder than Mojang to achieve the same levels of profit.

P.S.

I’m slowly working my way through a fascinating book called Gamestorming: A Playbook for Innovators, Rulebreakers, and Changemakers. This book shows ways that aspects of gaming can be applied to businesses and organizations for affecting positive change. The word that you often hear/see used in reference to concepts like this is gamification, which I predict will be added to Merriam-Webster within the next couple years.

The post The secret to dominating your competition: Care more appeared first on BLHill.net and was written by Brian L. Hill.

Jazz is music. And great jazz, like all great music, attains its value not through intellectual complexity but through emotional expressivity. True, jazz is a particularly intricate, refined, and rigorous art form. Jazz musicians must amass a vast body of idiomatic knowledge and cultivate an acute artistic imagination if they wish to become accomplished, creative improvisers. Moreover, a familiarity with jazz history and theory will undoubtedly enhance a listener’s appreciation of the actual aesthetics. Yes, jazz is intelligent music. Nevertheless, extensive as they might seem, the intellectual aspects of jazz are ultimately only means to its emotional ends. Technique, theory, and analysis are not, and should never be considered, ends in themselves.

Via Jazz Note SDP

Joshua Redman is an amazing saxophonist and composer. Definitely worth a listen.

Reminds me of one of my favorite books growing up, Nat Hentoff’s Jazz Is.

The post Saxophonist Joshua Redman: Jazz Is… appeared first on BLHill.net and was written by Brian L. Hill.