Apologies for the plug, but it is for a very worthy cause. I have just contributed a previously unreleased track,
Homeland, to the current Jazziz Magazine-on-disc offering, also called
Homeland, which features me (piano, synth) along with Ross Traut (guitar), and both Steve Rodby (acoustic bass) and Paul Wertico (cymbals) from the Pat Metheny Group.
Homeland is a compilation which benefits 9/11 disaster relief. I'm pretty sure it comes with subscribers' copies, and according to the info at
http://www.jazziz.com/homeland.asp you can get it with a new subscription, as well as purchase it at newstands, bookstores, etc., with the magazine, or even order the CD alone.
A blurb from that site:
"Homeland is a Limited Edition Compact Disc dedicated to the victims and families of the September 11th tragedy. Music contributed by: Pat Metheny, Charlie Haden, Mike Mainieri, Marc Johnson, Dave Douglas, Jay Graydon, Michael Hedges, Leni Stern, Richard Leo Johnson and others. Proceeds from the sale of Homeland CD go to the American Red Cross."
You can see the track listing at: http://www.jazziz.com/Pages/Jazziz_on_Disc/view_albums.asp?product_id=359
Posted on: 09 January 2002 by fred simon
Vuk, I'm not really sure how the American Red Cross will distribute relief. They do have a world wide presence (U.S. bombs hit at least one of their warehouses in Afghanistan), but I think that the previous director stepped down amidst controversy that the voluminous post 9/11 contributions might not all go strictly to victims of that attack, a position since reversed. A shame, in my opinion, because the Red Cross is needed everywhere and they should decide how the relief is doled out on a humanitarian, not nationalistic, basis.
On the other hand, not all direct victims of the 9/11 attack were U.S. citizens; they were from nearly 60 countries and their families need help. So even if relief is earmarked strictly for the 9/11 victims' families it will not go only to "citizens of the richest country in the world."
For what it's worth, I do not support the military actions of the U.S. government in Afghanistan vis a vis carpet bombing. But no more, or less, immoral than the 9/11 attack itself. And the Red Cross, however they disseminate relief, is not the enemy.
(I fear that some might view this as outside the domain of The Music Room, and they might be right. However, as my original post concerned music worth hearing, if not solely for musical reasons, I felt the question deserved an answer. Probably any further discussion of the political ramifications should be taken to the other forum.)
