Tuesday night at 7:30pm Bangkok Time, we do our final Write Night of the current series. Then, we go on hiatus as we rethink our current slate of programs and roll out new initiatives (interested in writing with a wine and chocolate sampler overlooking the beach?).

Also, our dear Sarah Seymour is leaving the island so we will see what happens with the current “Rise & Write” Wednesday morning writer meetups. In recent months, we went to Kali, Footprints, and other local cafes to write, meet, and connect. 

Here is the posting for our last Write Night of the series. 

Here are the next Write Night subjects for our Tuesday night, 7:30pm Indochina Time events on May 18, June 1, June 15, and June 29. 

Finding the Time to Write

David Baldacci on how to become a writer while holding down a separate job. How to plan a text.

The Elements of Story

Dan Brown on how to build a story; the use of conflict as a basic plot element.

Intrigue your Reader

James Patterson on creating scenarios that pull your readers along.  

Exploring Taboo and Darkness

Joyce Carol Oates on committing to what you want to write about; and how to break your craft out of your comfort zone.

Missed this one.

Tessil Collins, Managing Producer of Jazz 24/7 from WGBH Boston, one of the most respected jazz shows in the United States on perhaps the country’s leading producer of original music content, selected by “Six Days at Ronnie Scott’s” as one of the best jazz books of the year. Here is the complete list, quite an honor roll of the country’s top jazz authors and journalists. 

Tessil Collins

• • Jazz and Justice: Racism and the Political Economy of the Music by Gerald Horne Monthly Review Press (April 22, 2019)
  • Arthur Elgort: Jazz by Marianne Houtenbos Damiani (September 25, 2018)
  • Sophisticated Giant: The Life and Legacy of Dexter Gordon by Maxine Gordon University of California Press (November 6, 2018)
  • Why Jazz Happened by Marc Myers University of California Press (February 26, 2019)
  • The Jazz Standards: A Guide to the Repertoire by Ted Gioia Oxford University Press (July 6, 2012)
  • Jazz/Not Jazz—The Music and It’s Boundaries by David Ake, Charles Hiroshi Garrett and Daniel GoldmarkUniversity of California Press (2012)
  • Diggin’—The Afro-American Soul of American Classical Music by Amiri Baraka University of California Press (2009)
  • Definitive Jazz & Blues Encyclopedia: New & Expanded Edition by Jeff Watts, Howard Mandel Flame Tree Publishing (March 15, 2019)
  • How to Listen to Jazz by Ted Gioia Basic Books (May 17, 2016)
  • The Jazz Pictures by Stanley Crouch and Carol Friedman Arena Editions (1999)
  • Blues Legacies and Black Feminism: Gertrude “Ma” Rainey, Bessie Smith and Billie Holiday by Angela Y. Davis Vintage (January 26, 1999)
  • The History of Jazz by Ted Gioia Oxford University Press (May 9, 2011)
  • Miles by Miles Davis Simon & Schuster (September 20, 2011)
  • Concise Guide to Jazz (7th Edition) by Mark C. Gridley Pearson(January 6, 2013)
  • Jazz: An Introduction to the History and Legends Behind America’s Music by Bob Blumenthal Harper Perennial (December 18, 2007)
  • Six Days at Ronnie Scott’s: Billy Cobham on Jazz Fusion and the Act of Creation by Brian K. Gruber CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (May 28, 2018)

CNN’s Bangkok-based Hunter Forgan did a thoughtful long-form piece on the economic and social prospects for my home island of Koh Phangan, Thailand this week. He and photographer Aidan Dockery stopped by my house for an extended afternoon feed. My dear Supansa Boonmatum whipped up a feast, which Hunter said was the best Thai meal he had had for weeks. Of course it was. 

Here is an excerpt, with my short quote. 

I launched Koh Phangan’s public forum Phangan Forum in February after getting 500 responses to a post.  On Earth Day, 22 April, 2021, we will hold our first program, a 3-hour event at Jaran’s.

We will use the TED format, all talks under 18 minutes, focused on one brilliant idea, artfully presented. A license application to TED for a TEDxKoh Phangan event in July is pending. 

The theme of the event is focused on Koh Phangan’s ecological future:

How do we help keep our gorgeous island protected, pristine, and unpolluted? What are the rich eco-initiatives deserving attention and support? How do we live a life contributing to rather than despoiling Phangan’s natural beauty? Who are the eco-heroes doing the work, and how might we participate?

For more on Phangan Forum, go to our Facebook page, 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/phanganforum

YouTango, a popular website focused on women’s issues and interests, solicited and published my article on Ashli Babbitt and the history of women’s protest movements. Here is an excerpt, with the full article available here.

“Why History Will Not Look Kindly Upon Ashli Babbit & The Women Of The Insurrection”

The images of Ashli Babbitt’s violent death shocked the nation. Owner of a San Diego pool supply company, she led a crowd of rioters to the Speaker’s Lobby of the United States Capitol on January 6, in snow boots, sporting a Trump flag as a cape. She was shot dead by a Capitol police officer as she tried to intervene in the congressional validation of the 2020 presidential election. 

The crowd of protesters, invited to D.C. and directed to the Capitol by the President of the United States, was heavily male, adding a poignant, unsettling dimension to the scene. A suburban businesswoman, traveling from California to the people’s House, shot by a government agent during an act of political expression. 

What to make of Ms. Babbitt? Women have been in the vanguard of social and political change since the country’s founding. Was Babbitt a model of political protest, laying her body on the line for truth, justice, and the American Way? And how, after all, do we choose our battles, ensure that we achieve what we pursue, and evaluate success?  

FOR MORE, click here. 

An astounding and quite generous review from the esteemed UK Vibe. I had a nice chat with reviewer Glyn Phillips today, thanking him for the review. Here are some excerpts. Please do check out UK Vibe and the full review here. 

The review of this book has given me problems like no other. Not from a dearth of things to say, but a very surfeit of them. I wanted to deliver a well-structured review with a natural flow and a coherent overview. However, just like it’s subject matter the style and structure of this book is like no other. But, after all, we are talking about the long musical life and successful career of the living legend that is Billy Cobham here – and if you think you know everything there is to know about him then think again, because this book will almost certainly make you reappraise it all.

… it is rich in anecdotes, colour and insight and is a real labour of love.

The first thing to say is that if you’re a fan of Billy Cobham, then you must read this book. If you’re a fan of jazz and/or jazz-rock, jazz-funk, fusion, Latin or any of the myriad popular forms that Billy Cobham has performed in over the last 60 odd years, then you’ll find masses of first-hand anecdotes and observations to pique your interest within this book. If you’re a drummer of whatever persuasion, you’ll get a lot out of it too – the sub-title might make it sound like a lecture, but it’s not, you will widen your mind by a process of osmotic narrative(!). And finally, if you’re a muso of almost whatever kind then you’re bound to instinctively recognise the descriptions of gigs (big and small), rehearsals, band dynamics, bandmates, agents, promoters, venues, recording studios, money issues and touring that this book so graphically brings to light…

You will feel like you are front row in the audience at Ronnie Scott’s as the hush descends and you’re about to be bathed in musical ecstasy…

This is a very accurate insight into the life of musicians that most fans never see, illustrating both the excitement of creating exhilarating art in the moment and the sometimes comic contrast with the utter banality of a musician’s day and concerns at other times…

To aid with further investigation there’s a Billy Cobham Discography at the back stretching from 1973 to 2016 and each chapter is linked to a Spotify list to illustrate it musically (Billy Cobham 1, Billy Cobham 2, etc)…

But, overall it is packed to the gunwales with anecdotes about all kinds of jazz legends that are almost household names and the editing always assures that another “Wow! Really?” moment is always around the corner.