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A∴A∴

The A∴A∴ is a magical organization established in 1907 by occultist Aleister Crowley. Its members are dedicated to the advancement of humanity by perfection of the individual on every plane through a graded series of universal initiations. Its initiations are syncretic, unifying the essence of Theravada Buddhism with Vedantic yoga and ceremonial magic. The A∴A∴ applies what it describes as mystical and magical methods of spiritual attainment under the structure of the Qabalistic Tree of Life, and aims to research, practise, and teach "scientific illuminism". A∴A∴ is often held to stand for Argenteum Astrum, which is Latin for Silver Star; however, see the section on Name below.

History
The A∴A∴ describes itself as having been present in all societies and epochs, although not necessarily under that name.

The A∴A∴ is composed of two orders, known as the inner and outer college. The outer college in its modern form was formulated in 1907 by Aleister Crowley and George Cecil Jones, who stated that they derived their authority to do so from Aiwass (the Author of The Book of the Law) and other Secret Chiefs of the planetary spiritual order after the schism in and subsequent collapse of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn at the turn of the twentieth century. The principal holy book of the A∴A∴ is the book Crowley called AL and Liber Legis, technically called Liber AL vel Legis sub figura CCXX as delivered by 93=418 to DCLXVI, whose scriptural title is The Book of the Law, by which name the Book is most commonly known and referred to. There are several other holy books venerated in A∴A∴, which comprise the so-called Class A and AB material.

In 1919 the O.T.O. considered itself to be a "close ally" of the A∴A∴, both organisations having accepted the authority of The Book of the Law, although the O.T.O., being a temporal and fraternal society, in no way participates in the A∴A∴'s strictly hierarchic and spiritual initiatory program, nor does O.T.O. represent A∴A∴. or transmit its functions or authority.

The classic account of A∴A∴ is Karl Von Eckharthausen's The Cloud Upon the Sanctuary, re-issued by the A∴A∴ as Liber XXXIII.

After Crowley
Following Crowley's death in 1947, his student Karl Germer took over running the outer college of the order, but since Germer's death the situation has been less clear. Various lineages of the A∴A∴ survive today descend from Crowley's order.

One such lineage descends from Crowley's student, actress Jane Wolfe (known as Soror Estai). Soror Estai's one student, Phyllis Seckler (Soror Meral), founded College of Thelema in 1973 and (with James A. Eshelman and Anna-Kria King) founded Temple of Thelema in 1987. She designated Eshelman as her successor in the Jane Wolfe branch of A∴A∴ and as chancellor of College of Thelema. Later, she also affirmed David Shoemaker's authority to "admit, supervise, and train" A∴A∴ initiates.

Several lineages run through pupils of Marcelo Ramos Motta, such as that of J. Daniel Gunther. Another lineage links itself to Crowley through Israel Regardie and his pupil Gerald Suster. Other lineages run through Grady McMurtry and Charles Stansfeld Jones.

Membership
Members of the First Order of A∴A∴ (Golden Dawn) and Dominus Liminis are sworn to openly declare everywhere their connection with A∴A∴ (Liber CLXXXV). Adepts, however, are expected to work in silence, whereas Magi are required to declare "their Law". The Ipsissimi, who "existeth without form", the highest initiates manifest on this plane, are sworn to silence as to their attainment to this degree (Liber B vel Magi, One Star in Sight).

In A∴A∴ members officially only know those directly above and below in the chain of instruction. Members are expected to work alone, consulting as needed with their superior in the Order. In this way the founders of the system hoped to avoid the many political problems that allegedly brought about the downfall of the predecessor organisation, the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. The A∴A∴ is an organisation focused on enlightenment of the individual, with a strong emphasis on maintaining the chain of initiation from teacher to student, and devoting all of one's attainments to those individuals below them (One Star in Sight).

All members of the A∴A∴ at some point, are expected to perform two central tasks:
 * The Task of the grade of Adeptus Minor, the first grade of the Middle Order, being the attainment of the experience known as the Knowledge and Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel, the attainment of which is the central theme of the order's official instructions
 * The experience of the passage through the Abyss, resulting in the attainment of the grade of Magister Templi, the first grade in the Third Order

Any person may swear the Oath of the Master of the Temple of A∴A∴ and be admitted into the Opening of the Grade of Magister Templi and the Order of the S∴S∴ the opening of which is the passage through the Abyss.

It is the strict and inviolable rule of the Order that members of A∴A∴ never accept payment or other consideration for initiation or other services, on pain of irredeemable expulsion.

Initiatory structure
The initiatory structure of A∴A∴ is based on the Qabalistic Tree Of Life, its grades following the sephirot up the tree in reverse order. The A∴A∴ is sub-divided into three orders: The S.S., being the governing body (Third Order) and comprising those grades that are above the Abyss; The R.R. et A.C. (Second Order), comprising those degrees that are below the Abyss but above the Veil of Paroketh; and The Golden Dawn (First Order), comprising the grades below the Veil of Paroketh. A complete description of the tasks of the First Order is given in Liber XIII vel Graduum Montis Abiegni: a syllabus of the steps upon path, in The Equinox Volume 1.

Two additional "grades", the Dwellers on the Thresholds, link the orders: Dominus Limnis in Paroketh, and Babe of the Abyss in the Abyss.

Members of the Third Order can generate their own variations of the First and Second Order teachings as reflections of their own Understanding, contemplating systems of attainment not compassed in the curriculum of the main system.

Student
A student's business is to acquire a general intellectual knowledge of all systems of attainment, as declared in the prescribed books. At the end of a fixed period, the Student takes a written examination to test his reading, after which he passes through a small ritual involving the reading of the History Lection (Liber LXI), and passes to the grade of Probationer.

Probationer
(0°=0□): The Probationer's principal business is to begin such practices as he or she may prefer, and to write a careful record of the same for at least one year.

Neophyte
(1°=10□): Has to acquire perfect control of the body of light on the astral plane.

Zelator
(2°=9□): The Zelator's main work is to achieve complete success in asana and pranayama. The Zelator also begins to study the formula of the Rose Cross.

Practicus
(3°=8□): Is expected to complete the intellectual training, and in particular to study Qabalah.

Philosophus
(4°=7□): Is expected to complete the moral training. Is tested in Devotion to the Order.

Dominus Liminis
(The Link): Is expected to show mastery of pratyahara and dharana.

Adeptus Minor (Without)
(5°=6□): Lesser Adept (Without). Is expected to perform the Great Work and to attain the Knowledge and Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel. In the system of the A∴A∴ magical order, the single most important goal is to consciously connect with one's HGA and, by doing so, the magician becomes fully aware of their own True Will. For Crowley, this event was the single most important goal of any adept:

"It should never be forgotten for a single moment that the central and essential work of the Magician is the attainment of the Knowledge and Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel. Once he has achieved this he must of course be left entirely in the hands of that Angel, who can be invariably and inevitably relied upon to lead him to the further great step—crossing of the Abyss and the attainment of the grade of Master of the Temple."

Adeptus Minor (Within)
(5°=6□): Lesser Adept (Within). Is admitted to the practice of the formula of the Rosy Cross on entering the College of the Holy Ghost.

Adeptus Major
(6°=5□): Greater Adept. Obtains a general mastery of practical Magick, though without comprehension.

Adeptus Exemptus
(7°=4□): Exempt Adept. After one attains Knowledge and Conversation with the Holy Guardian Angel and completes in perfection all these matters, the adept may attempt the crossing of the Abyss, the great gulf or void between the phenomenal world of manifestation and its noumenal source, that great spiritual wilderness which must be crossed by the adept to attain mastery. Choronzon is the Dweller in the Abyss; he is there as the final obstruction. If he is met with the proper preparation, then he is there to destroy the ego, which allows the adept to move beyond the Abyss. If unprepared, then the unfortunate traveller will be utterly dispersed into annihilation, leaving the adept to become a Brother of the Left Hand Path. If successful, the adept stripped of all their attainments and of their self as well, even of their Holy Guardian Angel, and becoming a Babe of the Abyss, who, having transcended the Reason, does nothing but grow in the womb of its mother, Babalon.

Magister Templi
(8°=3□): Babalon is on the other side of the Abyss (beckoning in the sphere of Binah on the Tree of Life). If the adept gives himself to her—the symbol of this act is the pouring of the adept's blood into her graal—he becomes impregnated in her (a state called "Babe of the Abyss"), then he is reborn as a Master and a Saint that dwells in the City of the Pyramids, becoming a Master of the Temple (Magister Templi). The principal business of this grade is to obtain a perfect understanding of the Universe. The Magister Templi is pre-eminently the Master of Mysticism, that is, his Understanding is entirely free from internal contradiction or external obscurity; his Work is to comprehend the existing Universe in accordance with his own Mind. This grade corresponds to Binah on the Tree of Life. Crowley also linked it with the experience he called "Shivadarshana" and with the Four Formless States of Buddhism, although he cautions against treating these criteria as sufficient for the grade.

The City of the Pyramids is the home to those adepts that have crossed the great Abyss, having spilled all their blood in the Graal of Babalon. They have destroyed their earthly ego-identities, becoming nothing more than piles of dust (i.e., the remaining aspects of their True Selves without the self-sense of "I"). It is a step along the path of spiritual purification, and a spiritual resting place for those who have successfully shed their attachments to the mundane world.

The City exists under the Night of Pan, or N.O.X. Pan is both the giver and the taker of life, and his Night is that time of symbolic death where the adept experiences unification with the All through the ecstatic destruction of the ego-self. In a less poetic symbolic sense, this is the state where one transcends all limitations and experiences oneness with the universe.

Magus
(9°=2□): The Magus seeks to attain Wisdom (symbolized by entering Chokmah on the Tree of Life), declares his law, and is a Master of all Magick in its greatest and highest sense. His will is entirely free from internal diversion or external opposition; His work is to create a new Universe in accordance with his Will. This grade corresponds to Chokmah on the Tree of Life. It also bears some resemblance to Nietzsche's "new philosopher" who creates values, although with more focus on self-transcendence according to Crowley biographer Lawrence Sutin. The state of being a Magus is described in Crowley's Liber B vel Magi. Of the Magi, Crowley writes:

"There are many magical teachers but in recorded history we have scarcely had a dozen Magi in the technical sense of the word. They may be recognized by the fact that their message may be formulated as a single word, which word must be such that it overturns all existing beliefs and codes. We may take as instances the Word of Buddha—Anatta (absence of an atman or soul) [...] Mohammed, again, with the single word Allah [...] Similarly, Aiwass, uttering the word Thelema (with all its implications), destroys completely the formula of the Dying God."

Elsewhere, he admits the possibility of someone reaching this rank without uttering a new magick Word. Such a Magus, he says, would identify himself or herself with the Word of the current Aeon and work to establish it. In Magick Without Tears, Crowley suggests (without actually saying so) that the Secret Chiefs of the A∴A∴ have reached at least the rank of Magus, in some sense.

Ipsissimus
(10°=1□): The state of Ipsissimus is the very highest grade possible (symbolized by the sphere of Kether on the Tree of Life), beyond the comprehension of the lower degrees. An Ipsissimus is free from limitations and necessity and lives in perfect balance with the manifest universe. Essentially, the highest mode of attainment. This grade corresponds to Kether on the Tree of Life. Ipsissimus is quite hard to translate directly from Latin to English, but it is essentially the superlative of "self,” translating rather approximately to "His most Selfness," or "self-est." (c.f. generalissimus for the same superlative form in use for a grade from same Latin root.)

Crowley named as a condition of this grade the trance Nirodha-samapatti, which reduces heartbeat and other life functions to the bare minimum. Theravada Buddhist monks traditionally attain nirodha-samapatti by producing the aforementioned Formless States one after the other, and perceiving in each what they call the Three Characteristics of all existence: sorrow or tendency towards sorrow, change or unreliability, and insubstantiality or lack of self. Crowley and the A∴A∴ however seek to replace this threefold concept of existence with the quest for balance as both a motive for discipline and the means of achieving their end goal. In Liber B vel Magi they urge the Magus seeking further progress to identify the Buddhist Three Characteristics with the opposite states. "Wherein Sorrow is Joy, and Change is Stability, and Selflessness is Self." Crowley's version of nirodha includes "seeing first the truth and then the falsity of the Three Characteristics" according to his published theory.

The Ipsissimus should keep the achievement of this final grade secret, even from the rest of the Order, and continue with the work of the Magus while expressing the nature of an Ipsissimus in word and deed. Crowley writes:

"The Ipsissimus is wholly free from all limitations whatsoever, existing in the nature of all things without discriminations of quantity or quality between them. He has identified Being and not-Being and Becoming, action and non-action and tendency to action, with all other such triplicities, not distinguishing between them in respect of any conditions, or between any one thing and any other thing as to whether it is with or without conditions.

He is sworn to accept this Grade in the presence of a witness, and to express its nature in word and deed, but to withdraw Himself at once within the veils of his natural manifestation as a man, and to keep silence during his human life as to the fact of his attainment, even to the other members of the Order.

The Ipsissimus is pre-eminently the Master of all modes of existence; that is, his being is entirely free from internal or external necessity. His work is to destroy all tendencies to construct or to cancel such necessities. He is the Master of the Law of Unsubstantiality (Anatta).

The Ipsissimus has no relation as such with any Being: He has no will in any direction, and no Consciousness of any kind involving duality, for in Him all is accomplished; as it is written 'beyond the Word and the Fool, yea, beyond the Word and the Fool'."

Attribution

 * Free Encyclopedia of Thelema (2005). A∴A∴. Retrieved March 27, 2005.

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User talk:Airconditioning

Hello and welcome to Wikipedia!

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Archibald prize pictures
Hi - I noticed you posted some thumbnails of prizewinning pictures. You do need to put tags on the pictures about copyright status. Those pictures not in the public domain cannot be uploaded. There are already links to the pictures, for example two headed Janus, but it is not my impression that they are in the public domain. Regards --AYArktos 00:18, 22 Jun 2005 (UTC)

Sorted. Airconditioning 00:35, Jun 22, 2005 (UTC)

Terrorcore
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Concert march

A concert march is a march specifically composed for a concert band, brass band or an orchestra (to be played at a formal concert or other audience event). See march music.

Concert marches are mostly similar to regular military marches or field marches except for these differences:

 * Concert marches usually contain more difficult rhythms which in other cases, such as marching, would be awkward to play.
 * Concert marches may have more intricate harmonies
 * Although most concert marches follow the standard march form, some do not. William Latham's "Brighton Beach" for example, follows an IAABABATITCoda form.
 * Concert marches tend to have codas.
 * Concert marches may be played slower (100-120 b/m)
 * Concert marches tend to be longer.
 * Concert marches tend to have longer introductions.
 * Concert marches tend to be in forte, to play louder.

As with every single type of march (from Military to Concert to Screamer and contest marches), they usually have an introduction, at least three melodies, and a trio.

Some of the most-performed concert march composers are Edward Elgar, William Walton, Johann Strauss I, Johann Strauss II, Josef Wagner, Julius Fučík, John Philip Sousa, Karl L. King, Henry Fillmore, C.L. Barnhouse, Kenneth Alford, and J. J. Richards.

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Pepper Adams

Park Frederick "Pepper" Adams III (October 8, 1930 – September 10, 1986) was an American jazz baritone saxophonist and composer. He composed 42 pieces, was the leader on eighteen albums spanning 28 years, and participated in 600 sessions as a sideman. He worked with an array of musicians, and had especially fruitful collaborations with trumpeter Donald Byrd and as a member of the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Big Band.

Early life
Pepper Adams was born in Highland Park, Michigan, to father Park Adams II, who worked as the manager of a furniture store, and mother, Cleo Marie Coyle. Both of his parents were college graduates, with each spending some time at the University of Michigan.

Due to the onset of the Great Depression, Adams' parents separated to allow his father to find work without geographic dependence. In the fall of 1931, Adams moved with his mother to his extended family's farm near Columbia City, Indiana, where food and support were more readily available. In 1933, Adams began playing piano. His father having reunited with the family, they moved to Rochester, New York, in 1935 and in that city he began his musical efforts on tenor sax and clarinet. Two years later, Adams began deepening his developing passion for music by listening to Fats Waller's daily radio show. He was also influenced at a young age by listening to Fletcher Henderson's big band radio broadcasts out of Nashville, Jimmie Lunceford, Duke Ellington, and Cab Calloway. Adams would later describe "[his] time up until the age of eight or so [as] really just traveling from one place to another". As early as fourth grade, Adams sold cigarettes and candy door-to-door in order to contribute to his family's income for essential items.

Adams' interest in performing further grew in sixth grade when the public school system offered a loaned musical instrument to any student who was interested, and further musical instruction if he could get into the school band. Initially Adams chose the trumpet, then the trombone, but eventually settled on the clarinet, which he played in the school band. The following year Adams attained his lifelong nickname of "Pepper" due to former St. Louis Cardinals star Pepper Martin signing on to manage and play for the hometown minor league team, the Rochester Red Wings. Adams' classmates saw a resemblance between the two, and the nickname stuck. Later in his career, Adams also attained the nickname "the Knife" for "his 'slashing and chopping technique', which had a humbling effect upon musicians fortunate enough to gig with him".

In 1943, Adams skipped school for a week in order to see Ellington play local gigs. He eventually met Rex Stewart, who further introduced him to Harry Carney and other band members. This led to Adams being able to take lessons from Skippy Williams, who was the tenor saxophonist in Ellington's band.

Adams switched to tenor saxophone in the fall of 1943, which was made possible due to his jobs as a box cutter in the mail order room of a jazz store and an usher at a movie theater, allowing him to make enough money to buy the instrument. His job at the jazz store also allowed him to listen to all of the newest available jazz records and led to his emulation of Coleman Hawkins, who he had heard play locally in 1945, and interest in the music of Don Byas. His first steady gig came in 1946 with a six-piece group led by Ben Smith, which then caused him to drop out of school in the 11th grade due to working six nights a week.

Early playing career
At age 16, Adams and his mother moved to Detroit, where he soon began playing with Willie Wells, who he had heard play for Fletcher Henderson, Fats Navarro, Tommy Flanagan, and Willie Anderson. He had received casual instruction from Wardell Gray and Billy Mitchell, and played with a group led by Little John Wilson as well. Through the employee discount from his job at Grinnell's, a music store in Detroit, Adams purchased what would become his main instrument: the baritone saxophone. He initially purchased a used Bundy baritone saxophone, but later traded it in for a new Selmer 'Balanced Action' E-flat baritone in 1948, which he used until 1978. This switch proved to be successful, as he was soon playing in Lucky Thompson's band. In Detroit, Adams also met several jazz musicians who would become future performing partners, including trumpeter Donald Byrd. He attended Wayne State University. Adams became interested in Wardell Gray's approach to the saxophone, later naming Gray and Harry Carney as his influences. He spent time in a United States Army band, and briefly had a tour of duty in Korea.

Upon returning from Korea, Adams began playing at the Blue Bird Inn in Detroit where he played with Thad Jones. When Jones left to play with Count Basie, Adams then became the music director at the Blue Bird. In late 1954, Adams left the Blue Bird to join Kenny Burrell's group at Klein's Show Bar, also in Detroit, where he would later become musical director following Burrell's departure.

Following the recommendation of friend Oscar Pettiford, Adams joined the Stan Kenton Orchestra in 1956, where he played for a majority of the year until leaving the group to form a new ensemble with Lee Katzman and Mel Lewis in Los Angeles. Before moving to California, he recorded with Kenny Clarke, Curtis Fuller, and Quincy Jones. In April 1957, Adams joined Chet Baker's group, where he played for about a year.

He later moved to New York City, where he performed on the album Baritones and French Horns with Cecil Payne (later re-issued as Dakar as by John Coltrane, who also played on the album), worked with Lee Morgan on The Cooker, and briefly worked with Benny Goodman's band in 1958. During this time, Adams also began working with Charles Mingus, performing on one of Mingus's Atlantic albums of the period, Blues & Roots, which includes Adams' extended solo on "Moanin'". Thereafter, he recorded with Mingus sporadically until the latter's death in 1979. Adams formed a quintet with Donald Byrd in 1958 that lasted until 1961. Following the breakup of the Donald Byrd–Pepper Adams Quintet, Adams lacked a consistent band association until 1965 and the formation of the Thad Jones–Pepper Adams Quintet. During this phase, he performed with the likes of Teddy Charles, Pony Poindexter, Marcus Belgrave, Thelonious Monk, and Lionel Hampton.

In September 1963, Adams made an agreement with Motown Records for an exclusive recording contract and an exclusive management contract with International Talent Management, a Motown affiliate. Prior to signing with Motown, Adams turned down an offer from Harry James to play in his Las Vegas-based band because it was extremely commercial and presented few opportunities to solo, despite its $10,000 annual salary.

Partnership with Thad Jones
He later became a founding member of the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Big Band, with whom he played from 1965 to 1976, and thereafter continued to record Jones's compositions on many of his own albums. Adams co-led a quintet with Donald Byrd from 1958 to 1962, with whom he recorded a live date, 10 to 4 at the 5 Spot (Riverside), featuring Elvin Jones, and a sequence of albums for Blue Note. During this time he also played with the Sal Salvador Big Band at the Diamond Beach Club in Wildwood, New Jersey, in August 1965, along with Teddy Charles in early 1966, and Ella Fitzgerald in 1967. Most of the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Big Band performances took place at the Village Vanguard in New York City, along with many colleges and other locations around the United States, Europe, and Asia. The 18-year period spent with Thad Jones was filled with almost constant touring when the band was not playing their steady gig at the Village Vanguard. One of the ensemble's most frequent performing locations outside the United States was the Montmartre in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Solo career
Adams' solo career began in 1977 in California, where he initially stayed with John and Ron Marabuto. He soon played gigs with Mingus, Baker, and Hampton, with whom he went on a two-month European tour in 1978. On March 18, 1978, Adams purchased a new Selmer baritone saxophone that served as his interim back-up instrument for his original saxophone that he had been using since 1948. In 1979, Adams played several gigs with Per Husby across Norway. On June 5, 1980, the Berg Larsen mouthpiece Adams had been using for 32 years finally broke, which led him to replace it with a Dukoff D-5 mouthpiece and a Bari plastic reed. The following day, Adams premiered his new set-up at One Step Down in Washington, D.C.

Adams began composing "Urban Dreams" on July 29, 1980, on a flight to London for a short European tour. Adams finally replaced his original Selmer E-flat 'Balanced Action' baritone saxophone in December 1980 after 31 years of use. In 1981, Adams performed with Rein de Graaff's trio, Per Husby's trio, and the Franco D'Andrea trio for three short European tours. When in New York City, Adams performed at Fat Tuesday's several times during this period of his career, one of which, Conjuration: Fat Tuesday's Session, earned him a Grammy nomination in 1984 for Best Jazz Instrumental Performance as a Soloist. In later years, Adams toured England and continental Europe several times, performing there with local rhythm sections, and he performed with a Count Basie tribute band at the Grande Parade du Jazz in Nice.

Leg injury and end of career
Adams' life was severely altered by the leg injury he sustained in December 1983, which was caused by his car's parking brake becoming disengaged on his slanted driveway. This led the car to pin Adams up against his garage door, crushing his leg and restricting him to bed rest for the following five months. Despite the long recovery from his injury, Adams began playing again and exhibited his love for performing in October 1984 by flying from New York City all the way to Singapore for a one-night gig, then returning two days later. He eventually regained the strength in his leg to move without the use of a wheelchair or cane in January 1985, after more than a year of recovery.

Adams was a chain smoker for most of his life. While in Sweden in March 1985, he visited a thoracic specialist at the suggestion of a friend, Gunnar Windahl, and was diagnosed with lung cancer. He was hospitalized for testing later that month in New York, then was forced to take a break from performing or traveling for two months that summer in order to undergo radiation treatments.

A benefit concert was held for Adams on September 29, 1985, in New York City that featured Dizzy Gillespie, Frank Foster, Kenny Burrell, Tommy Flanagan, and the Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra, among others. Despite his various health issues, Adams continued pushing himself professionally, which was exemplified by his stretch in Dublin, Ireland, April 4–6, 1986, when he played five gigs over three days with five different bands.

Adams was diagnosed with pleurisy in April 1986 and died of lung cancer in Brooklyn, New York, on September 10, 1986. His final performance took place on July 2, 1986, at the Spectrum in Montreal as part of the Montreal Jazz Festival. Before counting off the first song, he received a standing ovation from the crowd.

Style
Pepper Adams was in many ways the antithesis of near-contemporary baritone players Gerry Mulligan and Serge Chaloff, who favored melodic cool jazz. In contrast, Adams managed to bring the cumbersome baritone into the blisteringly fast speeds of hard bop. Gary Carner, Adams's biographer, described his style as having "very long, tumbling, double-time melodic lines. And that raw, piercing, bark-like timbre." Adams "succeeded in elevating [the baritone saxophone] to the level of all other solo instruments [with] blinding speed, penetrating timbre, distinctive sound, harmonic ingenuity, precise articulation, confident time-feel, and use of melodic paraphrase".

Throughout his career, Adams consistently chose musical expression over large paychecks, as "[he] repeatedly recalled with great satisfaction his decision to play [in groups focused on musical expression] rather than to change his style to secure better paying jobs with now little-known white musicians". A large part of Adams' appeal was that "[he] had the remarkable ability to blow low with enormous power and swing, becoming a hefty addition to big band reed sections. He also was an equally dominant voice in small groups, adding ferocious excitement and stamina".

Despite his prowess at hard bop, Adams was also adept at ballads and slower numbers. An example is his contribution to the album Chet (1958) including a solo on the bittersweet "Alone Together" that critic Dave Nathan described as "one of the album's high points".

Awards and honors
He won DownBeat's New Star award in 1957 and was named baritone soloist of the year for 1980. Adams was nominated three times for a Grammy Award, including nominations for Best Jazz Instrumental Performance as a Soloist for Reflectory in 1979 and Best Jazz Soloist for The Master.... In the 1975 Playboy magazine annual music poll, he was named an All Star's All-Star. In 1967 Adams received the Talent Deserving of Wider Recognition award from DownBeat. From 1979 to 1982, Adams won the award for best baritone saxophonist from DownBeat's International Jazz Critics' Poll on four consecutive occasions, something Adams attributed to his frequent touring of Europe throughout his career. In December 1982, Adams won the DownBeat Readers' Poll award for the best baritone saxophonist in the world, unseating Gerry Mulligan, who had held that distinction since 1953.

As leader/co-leader

 * Baritones and French Horns (Prestige, 16rpm LP issue, 1957) with the Prestige All Stars; conventional LP release of session led by Adams as Dakar under John Coltrane's name
 * Pepper Adams Quintet (Mode, 1957)
 * Critics' Choice (Pacific Jazz, 1957)
 * The Cool Sound of Pepper Adams (Regent/Savoy, 1957)
 * The Pepper-Knepper Quintet (MetroJazz, 1958) with Jimmy Knepper
 * 10 to 4 at the 5 Spot (Riverside, 1958)
 * Motor City Scene (Bethlehem, 1960) with Donald Byrd
 * Out of This World (Warwick, 1961) with Donald Byrd
 * Pepper Adams Plays the Compositions of Charlie Mingus (Workshop Jazz, 1963)
 * Mean What You Say (Milestone, 1966) with Thad Jones
 * Encounter! (Prestige, 1968)
 * Ephemera (Spotlite, 1973)
 * Julian (Enja, 1975)
 * Twelfth & Pingree (Enja, 1975)
 * Baritone Madness (Bee Hive, 1977) with Nick Brignola
 * Reflectory (Muse, 1978)
 * Be-Bop? (Musica, 1979) with Barry Altschul
 * The Master (Muse, 1980)
 * Urban Dreams (Palo Alto, 1981)
 * California Cookin' (Interplay, 1983)
 * Conjuration: Fat Tuesday's Session (Reservoir, 1983)
 * Generations (Muse, 1985) with Frank Foster
 * The Adams Effect (Uptown, 1985 [1988])

As sideman
With Ray Alexander
 * Cloud Patterns (Nerus, 1983)

With Mose Allison
 * Hello There, Universe (Atlantic, 1970)

With Gene Ammons
 * The Big Sound (Prestige, 1958)
 * Groove Blues (Prestige, 1958)
 * Blue Gene (Prestige, 1958)

With Chet Baker
 * Theme Music from "The James Dean Story" (World Pacific, 1956) – with Bud Shank
 * Chet (Riverside, 1959)
 * Chet Baker Plays the Best of Lerner and Loewe (Riverside, 1959)

With Walter Bishop Jr. With Joshua Breakstone With Ray Bryant
 * Cubicle (Muse, 1978)
 * Echoes (Contemporary, 1987)
 * MCMLXX (Atlantic, 1970)

With Donald Byrd
 * Byrd in Hand (Blue Note, 1959)
 * Off to the Races (Blue Note, 1959)
 * At the Half Note Cafe (Blue Note, 1960)
 * Chant (Blue Note, 1961)
 * Royal Flush (Blue Note, 1961)
 * The Cat Walk (Blue Note, 1961)
 * The Creeper (Blue Note, 1967)
 * Electric Byrd (Blue Note, 1970)

With Hank Crawford
 * Double Cross (Atlantic, 1968)
 * Mr. Blues Plays Lady Soul (Atlantic, 1969)
 * Help Me Make it Through the Night (Kudu, 1972)

With Richard Davis
 * Muses for Richard Davis (MPS, 1969)

With Maynard Ferguson
 * Ridin' High (Enterprise, 1967)

With Don Friedman
 * Hot Knepper and Pepper (Progressive, 1978 [1980])

With Jimmy Forrest
 * Soul Street (Prestige, 1958 [1962])

With Curtis Fuller
 * Four on the Outside (Timeless, 1978)

With Red Garland
 * Red's Good Groove (Jazzland, 1962)

With Dizzy Gillespie
 * Live at the Village Vanguard (Solid State, 1968)

With Bobby Hackett
 * Creole Cookin' (Verve, 1967)

With Johnny Hammond
 * Wild Horses Rock Steady (Kudu, 1971)
 * The Prophet (Kudu, 1972)

With Barry Harris
 * Luminescence! (Prestige, 1967)
 * Bull's Eye! (Prestige, 1968)

With Elvin Jones
 * Poly-Currents (Blue Note, 1969)
 * Merry-Go-Round (Blue Note, 1971)

With Philly Joe Jones
 * Showcase (Riverside, 1959)

With Quincy Jones
 * I/We Had a Ball (Limelight, 1965)
 * Gula Matari (CTI, 1970)

With The Thad Jones/ Mel Lewis Orchestra
 * Opening Night (Alan Grant Presents, 1966)
 * Presenting Thad Jones/Mel Lewis and the Jazz Orchestra (Solid State, 1966)
 * Presenting Joe Williams and Thad Jones/Mel Lewis, the Jazz Orchestra (Solid State, 1966)
 * Live at the Village Vanguard (Solid State, 1967)
 * The Big Band Sound of Thad Jones/Mel Lewis featuring Miss Ruth Brown (Solid State, 1968)
 * Monday Night (Solid State, 1968)
 * Basle, 1969 (TCB Music, 1969)
 * Consummation (Solid State/Blue Note1970)
 * Suite for Pops (A&M Horizon, 1972)
 * Live in Tokyo (Denon Jazz, 1974)
 * Potpourri (Philadelphia International, 1974)
 * Thad Jones/Mel Lewis and Manuel De Sica (Pausa, 1974)
 * New Life (A&M / Horizon, 1976)
 * Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra with Rhoda Scott (Barclay (France), 1976)
 * Live in Munich (Horizon, 1976)
 * It Only Happens Every Time (EMI/Inner City, 1977)

With Stan Kenton
 * Kenton with Voices (Capitol, 1957)

With Peter Leitch
 * Exhilaration (Reservoir, 1991)

With Herbie Mann
 * Our Mann Flute (Atlantic, 1966)

With Arif Mardin
 * Journey (Atlantic, 1974)

With Howard McGhee
 * Dusty Blue (Bethlehem, 1960)

With Helen Merrill
 * Chasin' the Bird (EmArcy, 1979)

With Charles Mingus
 * Blues & Roots (Atlantic, 1959)
 * The Complete Town Hall Concert (Blue Note, 1962 [1994])

With Blue Mitchell
 * A Sure Thing (Blue Note, 1962)
 * Boss Horn (Blue Note, 1966)
 * Heads Up! (Blue Note, 1967)

With The Mitchells: Red Mitchell, Whitey Mitchell, Blue Mitchell and André Previn
 * Get Those Elephants Out'a Here (MetroJazz, 1958)

With Hank Mobley With Thelonious Monk
 * Poppin' (Blue Note, 1957)

 * The Thelonious Monk Orchestra at Town Hall (Riverside, 1959)

With Lee Morgan
 * The Cooker (Blue Note, 1957)
 * Standards (Blue Note, 1967)

With Oliver Nelson
 * More Blues and the Abstract Truth (Impulse!, 1964)

With Duke Pearson
 * Dedication! (Prestige, 1970, rec. 1961), issued as Minor Mishap (Black Lion, 1989) under Freddie Hubbard's name
 * Honeybuns (Atlantic, 1965)
 * Introducing Duke Pearson's Big Band (Blue Note, 1967)
 * Now Hear This (Blue Note, 1968)

With Houston Person
 * Blue Odyssey (Prestige, 1968)

With Pony Poindexter
 * Pony's Express (Epic, 1962)

With Shorty Rogers
 * Shorty Rogers Plays Richard Rodgers (RCA Victor, 1957)
 * Portrait of Shorty (RCA Victor, 1957)

With A. K. Salim
 * Pretty for the People (Savoy, 1957)

With Lalo Schifrin
 * Black Widow (CTI, 1976)

With Ben Sidran
 * Too Hot to Touch (Windham Hill Records, 1988)

With Dakota Staton
 * I Want a Country Man (Groove Merchant, 1973)

With Idrees Sulieman
 * Roots (New Jazz, 1957) with the Prestige All Stars

With Toots Thielemans
 * Man Bites Harmonica! (Riverside, 1957)

With Mickey Tucker
 * Mister Mysterious (Muse, 1978)

With Stanley Turrentine
 * The Spoiler (Blue Note, 1966)

With Jimmy Witherspoon
 * Blues for Easy Livers (Prestige, 1965)

With Joe Zawinul
 * Money in the Pocket (Atlantic, 1967)

Live recordings released posthumously

 * Live in Europe (Marge (F), 1977) with the Georges Arvanitas Trio
 * Pepper Adams Live (aka Live Jazz by the Sea) (1977), live in California
 * California Cookin' (1983), live in California

title: Pepper Adams


text:
Jaki Byard

John Arthur "Jaki" Byard (June 15, 1922 – February 11, 1999) was an American jazz multi-instrumentalist, composer, and arranger. Mainly a pianist, he also played tenor and alto saxophones, among several other instruments. He was known for his eclectic style, incorporating everything from ragtime and stride to free jazz.

Byard played with trumpeter Maynard Ferguson in the late 1950s and early 1960s, and was a member of bands led by bassist Charles Mingus for several years, including on several studio and concert recordings. The first of his recordings as a leader was in 1960, but, despite being praised by critics, his albums and performances did not gain him much wider attention. In his 60-year career, Byard recorded at least 35 albums as leader, and more than 50 as a sideman. Byard's influence on the music comes from his combining of musical styles during performance, and his parallel career in teaching.

From 1969 Byard was heavily involved in jazz education: he began teaching at the New England Conservatory of Music and went on to work at several other music institutions, as well as having private students. He continued performing and recording, mainly in solo and small group settings, but he also led two big bands – one made up of some of his students, and the other of professional musicians. His death, from a single gunshot while in his home, remains an unsolved mystery.

Early life
Byard was born in Worcester, Massachusetts, on June 15, 1922. At that time, his parents – John Sr and Geraldine Garr – were living at 47 Clayton Street. Both of his parents played musical instruments; his mother played the piano, as did his uncles and grandmother, the last playing in cinemas during the silent film era. He began piano lessons at the age of six, but they ended when his family was affected by the Great Depression. He was also given a trumpet that belonged to his father, and attempted to copy the popular players of the time, Roy Eldridge and Walter Fuller. As a boy he often walked to Lake Quinsigamond to listen to bands performing there. He heard Benny Goodman, Lucky Millinder, Fats Waller, and Chick Webb, and listened to other bands of the era on the radio. "Those were the things that inspired me – I guess it stuck with me", he commented decades later. Byard began playing professionally on piano at the age of 16, in bands led by Doc Kentross and Freddy Bates. His early lessons had involved mostly playing by rote, so his development of knowledge of theory and further piano technique occurred from the late 1930s until 1941, including studying harmony at Commerce High School. In that year, he was drafted into the army, where he continued with piano lessons and was influenced by pianist Ernie Washington, with whom he was barracked, although Byard also took up trombone at this time. He also studied Stravinsky and Chopin, and continued studying classical composers into the 1960s. Part of his military service was in Florida, where he was a mentor to the young saxophonist Cannonball Adderley and his brother, Nat. After leaving the army in 1946, Byard's musical education continued, through discussions with others, and using library materials combined with music school syllabuses.

Career as musician
Byard played with bands from the Boston area, including for two years with violinist Ray Perry, who encouraged Byard to add tenor saxophone to his array of instruments. He then joined Earl Bostic's band as pianist in 1947 and they toured for around a year. Byard then formed a bebop band with Joe Gordon and Sam Rivers in Boston, before touring for a year with a stage show band. Back once more in Boston, he had a regular job for three years with Charlie Mariano in a club in nearby Lynn. They recorded together in 1953. Byard was a member of Herb Pomeroy's band as a tenor saxophonist from 1952 to 1955, and recorded with him in 1957. Byard also played solo piano in Boston in the early to mid-1950s and freelanced in that area later in the same decade. He joined Maynard Ferguson in 1959, and stayed until 1962. As one of Ferguson's players and arrangers, Byard found that his own preference for experimentation in time signatures, harmony and freer improvisation was restricted by the preferences of other band members.

Byard moved to New York City in the early 1960s. His first recording as a leader, the solo piano Blues for Smoke, was recorded there on December 16, 1960 (but not released in the United States until 1988). Also in 1960, Byard first played with the bassist Charles Mingus. He recorded extensively with Mingus in the period 1962–64 (including on the important albums released by Impulse! Records – Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus and The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady ), and toured Europe with him in 1964. Byard also made recordings as a sideman between 1960 and 1966 with Eric Dolphy, Booker Ervin, Roland Kirk, and Rivers. His performance on Dolphy's Outward Bound put Byard at the forefront of modern jazz.

As a leader, Byard recorded a string of albums for the Prestige label during the 1960s. Some of these albums included Richard Davis on bass and Alan Dawson on drums, a trio combination described by critic Gary Giddins as "the most commanding rhythm section of the '60s, excepting the Hancock-Carter-Williams trio in Miles Davis's band", although it existed only for recordings. One such album was Jaki Byard with Strings!, a sextet recording that featured Byard's composing and arranging: on "Cat's Cradle Conference Rag", each of five musicians "play five standards based on similar harmonies simultaneously". A further example of Byard's sometimes unusual approach to composition is the title track from Out Front!, which he created by thinking of fellow pianist Herbie Nichols' touch at the keyboard. Popularity with jazz critics did not translate into wider success: a Washington Post review of his final Prestige album, Solo Piano from 1969, remarked that it was by "a man who has been largely ignored outside the inner circles". Giddins also commented in the 1970s on the lack of attention that Byard had received, and stated that the pianist's recordings from 1960 to 1972 "are dazzling in scope, and for his ability to make the most of limited situations". Following his time with Prestige, Byard had more solo performances, in part because of his affection for musical partners he had become close to but who had then died.

Byard also continued to play and record with other leaders. While in Europe in 1965, he joined Art Blakey's band for a series of concerts there. In 1967 Byard played in a small group with drummer Elvin Jones. Between 1966 and 1969 Byard recorded three albums with the saxophonist Eric Kloss, then, in 1970, returned to Mingus' band, including for performances in Europe. Byard occasionally substituted on piano in Duke Ellington's orchestra in 1974 when the leader was unwell. In 1974–75 Byard had a residency at Bradley's in New York. He also fronted a big band, the Apollo Stompers, which was formed in the late 1970s. There were two versions of the band: one made up of musicians in New York, and the other using students from the New England Conservatory of Music, where Byard had taught from 1969.

In 1980 Byard was the subject of a short documentary film, Anything for Jazz, which featured him playing, teaching and with his family. By the 1980s his main instrument remained the piano, and he still played both alto and tenor saxophones, but he had stopped playing the other instruments that he used to use professionally – bass, drums, guitar, trombone, and trumpet, although he still taught all of them. In the same period, he was often heard in New York playing solo, in duos, or in trios. In 1988 he played with a band founded by Mingus' widow, Sue Mingus, to perform the bassist's compositions – the Mingus Big Band. Byard played and recorded with a former student of his, Ricky Ford, from 1989 to 1991, and continued to play and teach during the 1990s.

Career as teacher
A charter faculty member of the New England Conservatory of Music jazz studies program, initially named 'Afro-American Music', Byard stayed for more than 15 years. He also taught at the Hartt School of Music from 1975, the Manhattan School of Music from 1989 to 1999, the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music, and lectured for three years at Harvard University.

As teacher and player, Byard was renowned for his knowledge of the history of jazz piano. This meant that some aspiring young musicians sought him out as a teacher. One of these was pianist Jason Moran, who described their first meeting, at a performance by the Apollo Stompers: "Jaki had all these toys and whistles and bells and things that he was playing from the piano, and also screaming and yelling from the piano in joy. I remember thinking, 'This guy's out of his mind.' After the set, I went up to him, introduced myself, and said that I would be studying with him. He said something to the effect of, 'get ready'." Moran studied with Byard for four years, and credits the older man with developing his skills, building his awareness of jazz history, and creating his willingness to experiment with different styles. Another student, Fred Hersch, reported that Byard was both organized and chaotic as a teacher: giving his students worksheets and having them study early stride piano, but also behaving eccentrically and missing lessons. Classical composer Bruce Wolosoff was taught by Byard at the New England Conservatory and counts him as an important influence. Pianist and singer-songwriter Grayson Hugh studied with Byard in the early 1970s and reported that, "more than anyone, Jaki Byard exploded my young harmonic mind".

Jazz flautist Jamie Baum also studied with Byard, and after his death organized a tribute band consisting mainly of his students: Baum, Adam Kolker, Jerome Harris, George Schuller and Ugonna Okegwo, called Yard Byard or The Jaki Byard Project, using compositions Byard had left with Baum but never performed.

Death
Byard died in his home in Hollis, Queens, New York City, of a gunshot wound on February 11, 1999. He was shot once in the head. The police reported that Byard's family, with whom he shared the house, last saw him at 6 pm, that he was killed around 10 pm, that there "were no signs of robbery, forced entry or a struggle", and that no weapon was found. The death was soon declared to be a homicide, but the circumstances surrounding it have not been determined, and the case remains unsolved.

Byard was survived by two daughters, a son, four grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren. His wife of four decades had died five years earlier.

Playing style and influence
Giddins described the nature of Byard's piano playing: "His tone [...] is unfailingly bright. His middle-register improvisations are evenly articulated with a strong touch and rhythmic elan [... he] likes ringing tremolos and portentous fifths [... and] barely articulated keyboard washes that float beyond the harmonic bounds but are ultimately anchored by the blues". Byard played in a variety of styles, often mixed together in one performance: John S. Wilson commented that Byard "progresses from a basic melodic statement to nimble Art Tatum fingering to Fats Waller stride, to prickly Thelonious Monk phrases, to Cecil Taylor dissonances". This could have deliberately comic, surrealistic effects.

Byard pointed out that the use of humor did not mean that his music was not serious: "I might do it with humor, but it's still serious because I mean what I'm doing". He stated that his choice to play in a variety of styles was not imitatory or superficial: "I can't play one way all night; I wouldn't want to and I wouldn't want the public to hear me that way". One obituary writer noted that, "Nobody thinks it odd if a pianist underpins melody with stride patterns or a boogie bass. When Byard did that 30 years ago, distinctions were drawn more tightly". Music writer Dan Lander also stated that Byard's playing was ahead of its time, and added that it has influenced 21st-century pianists: "Byard's grasp and integration of historical forms, his ability to embrace tradition and risk taking, was visionary, impacting on a new generation of jazz musicians who understood the history of jazz as a material to build on and work with, at the service of creating something new, rather than as an unmovable weight, fixing them to the past."

A 1968 review of a Byard concert reported that his alto saxophone playing was "in a manner rooted in the bop era", and that he occasionally accompanied himself, "saxophone with his left hand, piano with his right". His playing on tenor saxophone was influenced by Lester Young; Byard himself cited Ben Webster as an influence on his tenor ballad playing.

As leader/co-leader
Byard plays only piano, unless otherwise noted.

As sideman
An asterisk (*) indicates that the year is that of release.

Sources:

title: Jaki Byard


text:
Booker Ervin

Booker Telleferro Ervin II (October 31, 1930 – August 31, 1970) was an American tenor saxophone player. His tenor playing was characterised by a strong, tough sound and blues/gospel phrasing. He is remembered for his association with bassist Charles Mingus.

Biography
Ervin was born in Denison, Texas, United States. He first learned to play trombone at a young age from his father, who played the instrument with Buddy Tate. After leaving school, Ervin joined the United States Air Force, stationed in Okinawa, Japan, during which time he taught himself tenor saxophone. After completing his service in 1953, he studied at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. Moving to Tulsa in 1954, he played with the band of Ernie Fields.

After stays in Denver and Pittsburgh, Ervin moved to New York City in spring 1958, initially working a day job and playing jam sessions at night. Ervin then worked with Charles Mingus regularly from late 1958 to 1960, rejoining various outfits led by the bassist at various times up to autumn 1964, when he departed for Europe. During the mid-1960s, Ervin led his own quartet, recording for Prestige Records with, among others, ex-Mingus associate pianist Jaki Byard, along with bassist Richard Davis and Alan Dawson on drums.

Ervin later recorded for Blue Note Records and played with pianist Randy Weston, with whom he recorded between 1963 and 1966. Weston said: "Booker Ervin, for me, was on the same level as John Coltrane. He was a completely original saxophonist.... He was a master.... 'African Cookbook', which I composed back in the early '60s, was partly named after Booker because we (musicians) used to call him 'Book,' and we would say, 'Cook, Book.' Sometimes when he was playing we'd shout, 'Cook, Book, cook.' And the melody of 'African Cookbook' was based upon Booker Ervin's sound, a sound like the north of Africa. He would kind of take those notes and make them weave hypnotically. So, actually the African Cookbook was influenced by Booker Ervin."

Between October 1964 to summer 1966, Ervin worked and lived in Europe, playing gigs in France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Denmark and The Netherlands. Basing himself in Barcelona, Spain, he featured regularly at the city's Jamboree Club. He recorded and broadcast while overseas, making albums with his own quartet, Dexter Gordon and Catalan vocalist Núria Feliu, featuring on various radio programmes and appearing at several jazz festivals, including a guest slot at the 1965 Berlin Jazz Festival, during which he performed a 25-minute improvisation. This performance was issued as "Blues For You" on the album Lament For Booker Ervin (Enja Records) in 1977.

Following his return to the United States in summer 1966, Ervin led his own groups in jazz clubs throughout the country, and appeared at both the Newport Jazz Festival (1967) and the Monterey Jazz Festival (1966) performing with Randy Weston; a recording of their performance was issued on CD in 1994. In 1968, Ervin again appeared at clubs and festivals in Scandinavia, broadcasting with the Danish Radio Big Band. He recorded again for Prestige, but in late 1966 was signed to West Coast label, Pacific Jazz, for whom he taped two albums, Structurally Sound and Booker 'n' Brass (1967), before switching to Blue Note. Ervin recorded two Blue Note albums under his own name, In Between and Tex Book Tenor, the latter going unissued during his lifetime, initially being released in the 1970s as part of a double album shared with recordings (on which Ervin features) made under the leadership of Horace Parlan (Back from the Gig). In 2005, Blue Note issued as single CD of Tex Book Tenor in its limited edition Connoisseur series.

Ervin's final recorded appearance occurred in January 1969, when he guested on a further Prestige album headed by teenage multi-instrumentalist Eric Kloss.

Ervin died of kidney disease in New York City in 1970, aged 39. Most biographical accounts of Ervin's death give an incorrect date. His gravestone in The National Cemetery, East Farmingdale, New York, clearly shows the date as August 31, 1970.

In 2017, Ervin was the subject of a mini-biography written by English saxophonist and author Simon Spillett, published as part of an anthology package titled The Good Book (Acrobat Records)

Tributes
Booker Ervin has been remembered by many artists, Ted Curson called one of his albums Ode to Booker Ervin; the band "Steam", in their album Real Time, called one of their tracks "Tellefero"; and others...

As leader

 * 1960: The Book Cooks (Bethlehem)
 * 1960: Cookin' (Savoy)
 * 1961: That's It! (Candid)
 * 1963: Exultation! (Prestige)
 * 1963: Gumbo! (Prestige) – with Pony Poindexter
 * 1963: The Freedom Book (Prestige)
 * 1964: The Song Book (Prestige)
 * 1964: The Blues Book (Prestige)
 * 1964: The Space Book (Prestige)
 * 1964: 1964-10-15, Cafe Montmartre, Copenhagen, Denmark (Bootleg)
 * 1965: Groovin' High (Prestige)
 * 1965: The Trance (Prestige)
 * 1965: Setting the Pace (Prestige) - with Dexter Gordon
 * 1965: Doug's Night Club, Berlin, Germany (Bootleg)
 * 1966: Heavy!!! (Prestige)
 * 1966: Structurally Sound (Pacific Jazz)
 * 1967: Live At Newport '67 (Bootleg) - with Chick Corea
 * 1967: Booker 'n' Brass (Pacific Jazz)
 * 1968: The In Between (Blue Note)
 * 1968: Tex Book Tenor (Blue Note)
 * Back from the Gig (Blue Note, issued 1976) – recorded 1964 and 1968; 2-LP set of two previously unreleased sessions, which were later issued as Horace Parlan's Happy Frame of Mind in 1988 and Ervin's Tex Book Tenor in 2005.

As sideman
With Bill Barron With Jaki Byard With Teddy Charles With Ted Curson With Núria Feliu With Roy Haynes With Andrew Hill With Eric Kloss With Lambert, Hendricks & Bavan With Charles Mingus With Horace Parlan With Don Patterson With Sonny Stitt With Mal Waldron With Randy Weston
 * Hot Line (Savoy, 1962 [1964])
 * Out Front! (Prestige, 1964)
 * Jazz In The Garden At The Museum Of Modern Art (Warwick, 1960)
 * Urge (Fontana, 1966)
 * Núria Feliu with Booker Ervin (Edigsa, 1965)
 * Cracklin' (New Jazz, 1963)
 * Grass Roots (Blue Note, 1968)
 * In the Land of the Giants (Prestige, 1969)
 * Havin' a Ball at the Village Gate (RCA, 1963)
 * Jazz Portraits: Mingus in Wonderland (United Artists, 1959)
 * Mingus Ah Um (Columbia, 1959)
 * Mingus Dynasty (Columbia, 1959)
 * Blues & Roots (Atlantic, 1959)
 * Mingus (Candid, 1960)
 * Mingus at Antibes (Atlantic, 1960 [1976])
 * Reincarnation of a Lovebird (Candid, 1960)
 * Oh Yeah (Atlantic, 1961)
 * Tonight at Noon (Atlantic, 1957-61 [1965])
 * Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus (Impulse!, 1963)
 * Up & Down (Blue Note, 1961)
 * Happy Frame of Mind (Blue Note, 1963 [1988])
 * The Exciting New Organ of Don Patterson (Prestige, 1964)
 * Hip Cake Walk (Prestige, 1964)
 * Patterson's People (Prestige, 1964)
 * Tune Up! (Prestige, 1964 [1971])
 * Soul People (Prestige, 1965)
 * The Quest (New Jazz, 1961)
 * Highlife (Colpix, 1963)
 * Randy (Bakton, 1964) - also released as African Cookbook (Atlantic) in 1972
 * Monterey '66 (Verve, 1966 [1994])

title: Booker Ervin


text:
Horace Parlan

Horace Parlan (January 19, 1931 – February 23, 2017) was an American pianist and composer known for working in the hard bop and post-bop styles of jazz. In addition to his work as a bandleader Parlan was known for his contributions to the Charles Mingus recordings Mingus Ah Um and Blues & Roots.

Early life
He was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. In his birth year, Parlan was stricken with polio, resulting in the partial crippling of his right hand. The handicap contributed to his development of a particularly "pungent" left-hand chord voicing style, while comping with highly rhythmic phrases with the right.

Later life and career
Between 1952 and 1957, he worked in Washington, D.C., with Sonny Stitt, then spent two years with Mingus' Jazz Workshop. In 1973, Parlan moved to Copenhagen, Denmark. He later settled in the small village of Rude in southern Zealand. In 1974, he completed a State Department tour of Africa with Hal Singer.

His later work, such as a series of duos with the tenor saxophonist Archie Shepp included the album Goin' Home (1977), steeped in gospel music.

Parlan received the 2000 Ben Webster Prize awarded by the Ben Webster Foundation.

He died at a nursing home in Naestved, Denmark at the age of 86. He had been suffering from multiple ailments, including diabetes and failing eyesight.

As leader/co-leader
Main source:

Documentary, released on DVD: Horace Parlan by Horace Parlan

As sideman
With Dave Bailey
 * One Foot in the Gutter (Epic, 1960)
 * Gettin' Into Somethin' (Epic, 1961) – rec. 1960

With Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis
 * Goin' to the Meeting (Prestige, 1961) – rec. 1960
 * Tough Tenor Favorites (Jazzland, 1962) also with Johnny Griffin
 * Jaw's Blues (Enja, 1981)

With Lou Donaldson
 * The Time Is Right (Blue Note, 1959)
 * Sunny Side Up (Blue Note, 1960)
 * Midnight Sun (Blue Note, 1980) – rec. 1960

With Booker Ervin
 * That's It! (Candid, 1961)
 * Exultation! (Prestige, 1963)

With Dexter Gordon
 * Doin' Allright (Blue Note, 1961)
 * Stable Mable (SteepleChase, 1975)

With Slide Hampton
 * Jazz with a Twist (Atlantic, 1962) – rec. 1961
 * Explosion! The Sound of Slide Hampton (Atlantic, 1962)

With Roland Kirk
 * Gifts & Messages (Mercury, 1964)
 * I Talk with the Spirits (Limelight, 1965) – rec. 1964
 * Slightly Latin (Limelight, 1965)

With Charles Mingus
 * A Modern Jazz Symposium of Music and Poetry (Bethlehem, 1957)
 * Mingus Ah Um (Columbia, 1959)
 * Blues & Roots (Atlantic, 1960) – rec. 1959

With Doug Raney
 * I'll Close My Eyes (SteepleChase, 1982)
 * Meeting the Tenors (Criss Cross, 1983) – rec. 1984

With Archie Shepp
 * Splashes (L+R, 1987)
 * Black Ballads (Timeless, 1992)

With Idrees Sulieman
 * Bird's Grass (SteepleChase, 1985) – rec. 1976
 * Groovin' (SteepleChase, 1986) – rec. 1985

With Stanley Turrentine
 * Look Out! (Blue Note, 1960)
 * Up at "Minton's" (Blue Note, 1961)
 * Salt Song (CTI, 1971)
 * Comin' Your Way (Blue Note, 1987) – rec. 1961

With others
 * Gene Ammons, Gene Ammons in Sweden (Enja, 1981) – rec. 1973
 * Al Cohn and Zoot Sims, Motoring Along (Sonet, 1975)
 * Johnny Coles, New Morning (Criss Cross Jazz, 1982)
 * Pierre Dorge, The Jazzpar Prize (Enja, 1992)
 * Frank Foster, The House That Love Built (SteepleChase, 1982)
 * Hugo Heredia, Mananita Pampera (Cote d'azur, 1976)
 * Langston Hughes, Weary Blues (MGM, 1958)
 * Tommy Turrentine, Tommy Turrentine (Time, 1960)
 * Kai Winding and Curtis Fuller, Giant Bones '80 (Sonet, 1980)
 * various artists, A Moon of Roses

title: Horace Parlan


text:
Talk:Ptah

Pronunciation of Ptah
How do you pronounce Ptah? Puhtah? --Jondel 03:37, 1 Jun 2004 (UTC)

Pt-ah. With the Pt pronounced exactly the same as in Ptolomy. The best way to get the pronunciation is to try to say tah, but starting with your mouth closed.

Just like neptah only without the ne.

You can also give the modern pronounciation P-tah which is then rendered as Peter where Peter is the 'fisherman', or fisher of men, and generally recognised as 'GOD' proper.

However there is a god and satan (gas) combination at work here where it is written that 'Satan will - always - tell you that he is god."

Ian Chattan 18:45, 27 May 2006 (UTC) -- Say wha.. "there is a god and satan (gas) combination..."?? Okiedokie. Anyways, the pronunciation is found already here at Answers - Ptah. However, the "p" in Ptolemy is like the "p" in pneumonia -- not pronounced at all. So "puh-tah" is good but "puh-TAH-luh-mee" is bad. Confused? Excellent!

I guess it has something to do with whether the word is from Greek or not. "Pneumonia", "psychopomp" and "Ptolemy" are all Greek words and names (note the Ptolemies of Egypt weren't originally from Egypt) so the "p" is not pronounced. Yet, Ptah is not from Greek, but directly from Egyptian, and so the "p" is coincidently pronounced.

(On a side note, learning French as a child in school, I always had a giggle when the teacher said things like psychologue ("psychologist") or pneu ("flat tire") because in French the "p" is always pronounced, even in these words. But in the end, why was a bratty child like me chuckling at the French? Doesn't that make more sense in the end? So English is a funny language.) --Glengordon01 09:29, 9 September 2006 (UTC) -- "Ptah" is a Ukrainian word "птах". It means "bird". 46.200.158.167 (talk) 11:31, 15 September 2018 (UTC)

This sentence lost me
When the beliefs about the Ennead and Ogdoad were later merged, and Atum was identified as Ra (Atum-Ra), himself seen as Horus (Ra-Herakhty), this led to Ptah being said to be married to Sekhmet, at the time considered the earlier form of Hathor, Horus', thus Atum's, mother.

I think it probably assumes too much existing knowledge in the reader. qp10qp 03:32, 19 January 2007 (UTC)

There has been much vandalism in the origin on Ptah's name section. I have fixed it as of today. 68.178.124.58 02:58, 15 April 2007 (UTC)

The egyptians were a big fan of Music art, sex, bread, beer and incest and fiction. The one truth they told is "Hey Brothers! I got mom drunk and I raped her!"

Refer to "The Little Black People" of Taiwan, and of course to Modern DNA, they are genetically flawed, they like Beer, Music/Art and Sex/Incest.

There is nothing better to induce a man to retarded creativity such as Incest Music and Booze. Just ask Ham. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.102.39.20 (talk) 13:20, 14 February 2011 (UTC)

Ptah - Phey, Taw, Heh.
The word itself "Ptah" is Phoenician in Origin, the meaning "Opener" is from no other language than Hebrew. The language that the children of Ham, hence, Cushites, >>>Caananites<<<, and the >>>>Mizrahi (Eastereners (as in East Africa). They spoke the Language of the "Past (language/culture)" or "Passed" (place in time/history), as all of the triplets (Shem, Japhet, and the last issue of the same Ham.

I digress. THe name is Pey,Taw, Heh.

It means Opener. Or Pey (Mouth), Taw (Mark), Heh (Opening/Behold/Look!).

"Ptah" Opener. (The word, is HEBREW!) 65.102.29.63 (talk) 12:59, 14 February 2011 (UTC)

Moreover, Chet can be used as the final character with out changing the meaning of the *ENTIRE* word. however it does modify the over all context.

Pey Taw Heh. would indicate "Open" "bread" or "Free Bread".

Pey Taw, Chet would indicate "Prison/Protected/Confined Bread".

Similar to the way that someone previously mentioned the word "Pita". No, rest assured it is no coincidence. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.102.39.20 (talk) 13:11, 14 February 2011 (UTC)

 * Can we contribute to the article with this information? 174.4.163.53 (talk) 07:45, 18 October 2014 (UTC)

 * No, we can't, because it's one editor's extremely strange theories about connections between words in different languages. Wikipedia articles must be based on reliable sources; this editor's claims are anything but reliable. A. Parrot (talk) 17:29, 18 October 2014 (UTC)

 * They are reliable as historians in the distant past have found the connections, there just needs to be a source found or created for this information, this article screams early Semitic influence on the Egyptians (Canaanites and Mizraim is considered the progenitor of the Egyptians. 174.4.163.53 (talk) 13:42, 25 October 2014 (UTC)

 * You'll need to find a recent source to add anything about a Semitic connection to the article. If by "historians in the distant past" you mean ancient authors, be aware that they are primary sources and not reliable, in the sense used on Wikipedia, although we can cite modern secondary sources that examining the accuracy of what ancient authors say. I don't know of any suggestions by modern scholars that Ptah had a Semitic origin, but somebody could have suggested it. The only evidence about Ptah's earliest origins that I know of are a First Dynasty bowl from Tarkhan that bears his image, and Richard Wilkinson's statement that "while the god's name gives no firm clue to his origin, it is perhaps based on a root of later words meaning 'to sculpt' and thus related to his identity as a craftsman god" (The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt, pp. 124–125. Both those pieces of evidence, scant though they are, point to an Egyptian origin. A. Parrot (talk) 16:42, 25 October 2014 (UTC)

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Ptah as demiurge
The intro characterizes Ptah as a demiurge. The page then says that he created by thinking or willing things into existence. This is not what being a demiurge means. A demiurge is typically a lesser god or created being who constructs a world from matter that has already been created, usually by a more transcendent deity. We normally encounter this distinction in Gnosticism, heretical Christianity like that taught by Marcion, and in a few rather isolated religions like that of the Yezidi. In the first two, the transcendent creator was the father of Jesus, while Yahweh was merely an artificer with superpowers who assembled material things.

I don’t know if this category should even be applied to Ancient Egyptian religion. If it does apply, the article is confused about it. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 2001:5b0:233b:33a8:91d0:27d7:15f2:1ef8 (talk) 23:08, 18 May 2019 (UTC)

 * Egyptological sources often compare Ptah to the concept of the demiurge, although I think they have the Platonist version of the concept in mind more than the Gnostic one. I think that's partly because the Platonist concept, based on my very limited understanding of it, represents a divine intellect that shaped the world, as Ptah does. The other reason is that the theology surrounding Amun made him the ultimate divine power that motivated creation, while incorporating Ptah as the means by which Amun achieved creation. The relationship between the two does resemble that between the Platonic demiurge and the supreme being. All that needs better explanation in the article. As you say, using the "demiurge" term without that explanation could be misleading, so I'll remove the term for the moment. A. Parrot (talk) 00:03, 19 May 2019 (UTC)

Is this an image of Khonsu and not Ptah?
This image is linked on the page for Ptah: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Pooh,_Phoh,_Loh_(Lunus,_le_dieu-Lune,_S%C3%A9l%C3%A8ne),_N372.2.jpg

Clearly the image shows an Egyptian deity with a moon disk above their head. Ptah and Khonsu have very similar depictions with green skin and a mummy like appearance, but like many Egyptian deities the the symbol above their head is key distinguishing factor. So I'm surprised to see this image linked on this page. Khonsu is also depicted as a falcon headed god, but I don't think that would factor into this mix up. Silentnightspec (talk) 04:24, 7 July 2024 (UTC)

title: Talk:Ptah


text:
Knavesmire

The Knavesmire is one of a number of large, marshy undeveloped areas within the city of York in North Yorkshire, England, which are collectively known as Strays. Knavesmire, together with Hob Moor, comprises Micklegate Stray. This place includes an area of execution known as York Tyburn.

It has been suggested that the name 'Knavesmire' may share a derivation with Knaresborough—Cenward's mire.

History
Situated in the south-west of the city, some distance outside the historic walls, Knavesmire's low-lying position makes it liable to severe flooding in times of heavy rain. As a consequence, it remained undeveloped as the city expanded around it.

The Knavesmire was the site of York Golf course for many years.

During the Second World War, parts of the Knavesmire were farmed, while other parts were used for military purposes including an anti-aircraft battery and a prisoner of war transit camp which was located near the grandstand.

Knavesmire was also the site of Knavesmire Secondary School, which then became one of the campuses of The College of Law till 2014. Millthorpe School uses the Knavesmire for cross country running. Knavesmire Primary School is located on Campleshon Road, at the southern end of Knavesmire Road. In 1864 a letter was sent to the York press from H. J. Jenkinson of the Leeds football club suggesting that the citizens of York form a football team and that they should play a friendly match on Knavesmire.

Between 2009 and 2022, it was also home to Yorkshire's largest beer festival. The annual York CAMRA Beer & Cider Festival was held in a marquee on Knavesmire opposite the Grandstand.

York gallows
For many years, Knavesmire was the site of public hangings in York. The gallows were erected in 1379, a few miles outside the city on the main southern approach road (now known as the A1036 Tadcaster Road). The execution site was often referred to as "York Tyburn" after the original Tyburn gallows in Middlesex.

Probably the most famous people to be executed there were Rhys ap Maredudd, a Welsh nobleman and rebel, hanged in 1292, and Dick Turpin, who was hanged in 1739. Catholic priests Alexander Rawlins and Henry Walpole were hanged, drawn and quartered on 7 April 1595. Another Catholic  priest, Nicholas Postgate, was hanged, drawn and quartered there in 1679. One of the last women to be burned at the stake was Elizabeth Broadingham, who had already been killed with her lover, in 1790.

By the beginning of the 19th century, it was felt that the gallows did not create a good first impression for visitors to the city. The last hanging at Knavesmire was in 1801, after which the gallows were moved to a more discreet (although still public) location near the castle. A paved area with a small plaque today marks the position in which the scaffold stood.

Present day
Today, the Knavesmire is used for recreation and for public events. It is a popular site for dog-walking, and a large part of it is occupied by York Racecourse. The York Races were first moved to the Knavesmire from Clifton in 1731. Since January 2012 it has been the location of the York Parkrun, a free 5k running event held every Saturday morning.

The Little Knavesmire is the home of Ovington CC.

title: Knavesmire


text:
Talk:Mantak Chia

Untitled

 * I am adding the official training video clips to Mantak Chia's workshops these are the ones officially created by Mantak Chia. There is a 36 DVD set of training workshops, I understand linking to the product page where you can buy them is not in line with wiki. However what about linking them to a page with a description of the workshop video and trainings with a 5 minute Video clip? Is that Wiki acceptable?* Krimezz (talk) 00:59, 25 June 2008 (UTC)

 * Please stop lambasting this spiritual figure's name. He is highly respected all around he world. The plagiarism case failed, he is not conisdered new age, as these are ancient teachings*

FIRESTAR, Why do you keep deleting changes???

 * The fact is that Master Chia is a very powerful healer and teacher. This is not new age, but ancient teachings brought to light. The sexual aspect of his teachings is a very small fraction, yet integral to the holistic taoist paradigm, in which the entire being is coordinated with the virtue, compassion and wisdom of true enlightenment. It makes me upset to see this teacher disrespected in this article.

I disagree
 * You'll be amased, but his teachings really work. I recommend you the Cultivation of Male Sexual Energy --Gil Groe 15:17, 3 January 2006 (UTC)

 * This article seems totaly bias to me. Of course Jing is replenished!? New age? Tao is ancient! He is not a "self proclaimed healer" but VERY respected in the Chinese Martial Arts community and has MANY MANY documented healing cases for both himself and his students, the winner of a number of awards. Firestar, will you source ANY of these wrong accusations and stop preventing edits to WIKI! How do you justify! We need to discuss.

 * I'd like to agree that this article at present has a pretty obvious western bias. Taoism is not New Age in any way.... the article is written in a way that makes it seem like this stuff is 'magical' or something. I myself (tho I know this won't count to most) have taken advantage of his teachings regarding male orgasm and ejaculation (which he does seem well known for).  It works. If it works then these ideas are not magical hooey, they are just not well understood in a western framework.  If you are into the scientific method, get one of his books on the topic out of the library, and put some work in yourself. I can't repeat my experiment; i cannot unlearn my understanding of sex and energy, and i'd rather retain it! the benefits of multiple and full body orgasm are huge folks..... I would recomment that the loaded language ('self-described healer', 'New Age') be removed the claim that 'His teaching is not without controversy especially within...' be backed up with something rather than nothing at all!... I've made the edits.

Basing your edits on your own experience is unfortunately original research. Chia's teachings are an idiosyncratic blend of sex-cult Tantrism and Taoism with some McDojo chicanery thrown in to boot. I am going to partially restore the earlier version. --Fire Star 火星 18:48, 26 July 2006 (UTC)

 * Fire star, we need to talk? How can you be reached? How can you allege Chia is "new age" and and "mcdojo". Yes his teachings on sexual energy have been adopted for mainstream in the Orgasmic man/woman and Couples books, but overall his system draws from ancient sources. There have been countless scientific testaments to Chia's integrity in healing, enlightenment and martial arts. Mcdojo? That would be people NOT teaching about Chi. Master Chia introduced the INNER STRUCTURE of tai chi to the West. You must not be familair with his teachings if you are calling it Mcdojo because although they are not secret, they are esoteric and firstly revealed by Chia from ancient times. Yes his system is widespread and not hidden, does that make you mad? It is not so important that one learns 108 movements forms of tai chi, says chia, as long as they know how to do properl the 13 moves (with the inner structure.) If you call this new age Mcdojo and sex-cult, you are disrespecting history!!!!!!!!!! Nothing here is to do with original research but that experienced by numerous adepts. For example, look at the two books written by Solala Towler, placing Chia in the realm of the NI family...this is far from new age! The methods of converting ching to chi to shen are ancient!

Please cite these idea: Chia is new age, he is not well established, there is controversy over his teachings in China, the Jing-Qi question. Also, please remove any idea that Chia is a "self proclaimed healer" as he requires CNT and other teachers to have case reports showing the efficacy of their work. I am sure these could be made available if one is bias against Chia (for some reason) and not willing to beleive his integrity (or at least not wanting others to, for some reason.) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.235.35.163 (talk • contribs)

 * These things you say are all claims that Chia makes. His books are sold primarily through New Age vendors and his claims that he teaches Iron Shirt Kung and the "inner structure" of T'ai Chi Ch'uan are unverfiable claims to sell those books, with nothing but his word to back them up in other words. It is fine to have them in the article, but they have to be qualified as claims. As for the sex-cult stuff, he has been on Rick Ross' and other cult watchdog lists for a while now. Again, that is a claim, and should be qualified too, but on the whole Chia is a subjective character, at best. --Fire Star 火星 22:20, 31 July 2006 (UTC)

Thank you for clearing that up a bit. Yes New Age vendors such as which? Where does Rick Ross claim this sex cult idea? I think any Taoist scholar would tell you that Chias sexual techniques and respetability int he sacred Taoist tradition is respectable. The inner structure is an idea Chia made. Chang Sang Feng sis not say much of anything about, did he? Iron Shirt Chi Kung has thousands of different versions. How can we know which is the true one? All of them are valid. Master Chia is friends with Grandmaster Yuanming Zhang. He has been recognized in the East West world Qigong federation with the likes of other master qigong teachers like Lam Kam Chuen of Shaolin.

 * I've restored the earlier version, but took out the New Age bit. His books are usually in the New Age section of bookstores, but I agree that probably isn't enough. The latest version was loaded with way too many weasel words and had so many unlikely extensions (how could a sex-oriented teacher be associated with celibate Chan Buddhism?) that it looked like an advertisement more than an article. I haven't been able to find the Rick Ross thing (it may have been taken down, or perthaps my memry failed me) but there isn't any mention of it in the article anyway. Generally, we can't imply that Chia represents all of Taoism, as the recent edits seem to want to. Chinese Taoists simply don't obsess about sex the way Chia does, which is another aspect of his teaching which is more than a little New Age, although our readers will have to make that association here. The controversy bit has been changed to represent the plagiarism Chia is accused of and should stay. I myself am a Taijiquan teacher and a qigong teacher, having trained in China with the famous Wu family. Besides my personally regarding Chia's teachings as sensationalistic and more than a little sleazy, none of the Taijiquan families recognise Chia as a qualified Taijiquan teacher, let alone "master". The thing is, just like many other teachers of his type, his results are all based on claims. Because of that, the article has to have qualifying language. I am the same way about all of the qigong and traditional Chinese medicine related articles, regardless. I practise and teach martial arts and TCM, but not blindly. There is a lot of fraud and half-understood teaching out there, as there is simply no regulatory body for these things. Anyone can declare themselves a "master" if they have the right clothes. There is a need for valid criticism in our articles if they aren't to become simple ads for their subjects. --Fire Star 火星 13:52, 2 August 2006 (UTC)

 * The Tao Te Ching and Buddhist scriptures are relegated to the "New Age" sections of most book stores as well. It is hardly an accurate indication of the classification of Chia's teachings. A notation that in the West his teachings, like most Taoist teachings, are considered "New Age" *might* be appropriate. Chia's connections to Chan Buddhism are well-documented. The interrelation of Chinese folk religion, tantra and Chan Buddhism is also well-documented. Chia is admittedly on the more sex-energy focused end of the spectrum, however he is not outside of the normal range on that count. (I myself as a student of Tao have mocked Chia's sexual inclinations and do so with glee. However, that is a subjective point of view.) Asserting that the view of the taijiquan families is binding is against NPOV. Orthodoxy has no monopoly on legitimacy, correctness or such measures. Orthodox Christianity rejects the legitimacy and authority of Unitarian faith, but that does not mean Christian Unitarians are not Christian nor does it mean they are unable to speak with authority. I personally read Chia's writings after being taught Taoist "internal alchemy" by a Chinese sifu. While some of his teachings are aberrant, or heterodox, the differances between what I was taught and Chia's teachings are not greater than the differances I have observed among the various Taoist schools teaching "alchemy". You obviously have taken a non-NPOV biased against the teachings and legitimacy of Chia. We need to work out some balance between pro and con views so we can expand this article. If you would, please give me a summary list of things you would like to see added/corrected. Personally I would like to see:
 * 1) More substantive information about what Chia teaches. There is no mention of such crucial practices as Fusion of the Five Elements or Innner Smiles.  2) More substantive information about Chia's relations with various teachers and groups.  3) More information about Chia's organization. 4) More biographical detail. Vassyana 04:37, 17 August 2006 (UTC)

Chan Buddhism is a vast subject and not all sects are celibate, for sure. One the art print from High Pine Mountain, it shows how Bodhidharma and Lao Tzu come together representing the Universal Tao, a modern Taoist group. A search on google for "Rick ross mantak chia" yields nothing, nothing at Ross's website too. I agree Chia does not represnt all of taoism. In the West, however, he is clearly the most popular teacher. The Tajiquan families are not representative of what Chia teaches. Chia is a Taoist and Tai Chia families are peoples who took the original tai chi (derived from either Chen or in my opninion more likely, Chang Sang Feng) lineage and changed it. True there is no way to measure a "master" excpet perhaps for personal opinion and looking at who tey studied with. Chia has studied with the great tai chi masters of our time, if you care to look into it. When you say "his results are all based on claims" where can you show evidence of the opposite for the supposed real teachers? Master Chia's lineage appears to be the most real...he explains how learning long 108 forms is not really what is important. The tai chi he teaches on his level two tai chi chi kung, he says, is derived from the palace guard (forgot what dynasty). The reason a shorter form is prefered is that it includes all the benefits when repeated and allows for more awareness of the inner structure. Master Chia covers the internal alchemy 9 times more deeply than any other tai chi "family" teaching and therefore his system, in my opinion, has a lot more integrity and usefulness. Without knowing the subtle aspects of tai chi and qi gong, a practitioner will certaintly hurt themself and die before they had to. What do you mean his results are all based on "claims"? What qualifies the opposite of a "claim"? What constitutes "blindly"? I have studied many forms and met with a few Wu teachers. I have been in touc with the chairman of the Wu taji research institute...numerous highly accomplished "family" stylists also have deep respect for Mantak Chia, who also studied with the families in addition to real taoists. He is friends with Grandmaster Yuanming Zhang. Tom Clancy wrote an article for his website. Tiger Woods is featured as a student at Tao Garden. I have never met Chia myself and have to inclination to "advertise" for him. I used to be addicted to sex and studying Mantak Chias system helped me control my energy and gain dicipline throug the study of taji and qigong. I can say I have been healed very deeply by studying Master Chias system. Although his teachings are not perfect (and cost a bit of money), he has done a tremendous serivice to many around the world who do not have access to the inner Taoist teachings. He will continue to heal many through these teachings. To see what level Chia's teachings are on, look at: http://www.taohealingarts.com/changsbio.html Mantak Chia, like Dr. Chang, teaches about semen retention. This is a subject that numerous Taoist teach about. Look at Dan Reid, Jolan Chang, and many others. I have also read that retention is a thing that Buddhists practice in the book "tao and longevity" and this book gives both pros and cons, Taoist and non. It is written by a Chinese. Another auther who touches on this point is Alex Anatole, he says that it is not natural to retain too much semen. In the end, it is a balance: to come or not to come. Yes, it does enhance martial power in potential. Young men, like myself, can afford to ejaculate once every 4 days or so. As you become older, like at 40, you need to slow down and ejaculate once every 2 weeks or so. Monthly after sixty...there are different guidlines for different people/ages, but the point is that this is a valid science and mentioned by Huang Ti. There is no doubt that Taoists transform jing to chi to shen, and then emptiness. The energy is replenished with qigong movements and taji that works with the three treasures, of course. Thank you for considering these points, it is fruitful to engage in this discussion.

I really think this article needs to be mosty re-written for accuracy. The paragraph about sexual energy is really not very helpful to the reader. Also, the claim that Chia addresses te spiritual side of a human being is unfounded. The UT system addresses both physical and spiritual holisticaly...while most teacher address one or the other, Chia is among the rare few who address both polarities of Heaven and Earth.

 * You have your opinion. And I have my opinion. What we have to follow, regardless of opinion, is Wikipedia policy, especially WP:Not. There are many links to health studies done on traditional Taijiquan at that article, as well as a reporting of the various theories of the origin of Taijiquan as well as why the Taijiquan families are considered representative of the art internationally. But these are all things in the public domain, nothing that our editors have made up or are directly espousing in the articles. To make a point about how our encyclopaedia works, for example, while I personally wholeheartedly agree with the Zhang Sanfeng Wudangshan origin theory, I also know it is only my opinion and would never report it here as fact, even at the Zhang Sanfeng article. We can report that others believe it (and we have to say who and add links to verify it) but we can't ourselves say that Zhang Sanfeng actually invented Taijiquan in the 12th century by watching a fight between a snake and a crane. I hope that gives you an idea where I am coming from. --Fire Star 火星 16:04, 3 August 2006 (UTC)

I'm not a fan of Mantak Chia personally - while I like the fact that he openly shares a lot of material that has been kept secret for a long time I've found his work to miss details - perhaps this is also his style of expression. I not sure why someone who doesn't seem to like him very much would want to put a wiki up here though.

divide and conquer
Wow, this terrible short article has spawned such a lively discussion! Why not create a separate, maybe long, section for criticism?

As an outsider (who an encyclopedic article should be written for), I couldn't care less who respects who. Looks like all can agree he's a businessman and not a monk or a pastor, so why not describe what he does for a living and who he's done it for? In particular, why is he notable if his teachings are so indistinguishable from his peers that plagiarism could plausibly go either way? Potatoswatter 07:40, 13 March 2007 (UTC)

Divide and conquier? substantiate this crap
Why did someone delete the reference to Lee Erwin's article and regarding Yudelove, Lewis and Win? Whats up?

 * I've restored that sourced statement. I've also restored other deleted info and provided references. Vassyana 13:15, 14 March 2007 (UTC)

Primary sources and advertising language
Recently there have been some additions to the article with enthusiastic descriptions of Chia's services. Unfortunately, while sourced from Chia's site, they aren't sourced from anywhere else and sound like they came from a travel brochure, so I've toned them down quite a bit. They, and other bits of the article that stem exclusively from primary sources, will eventually be removed if adequate citations can't be found. --Bradeos Graphon Βραδέως Γράφων (talk) 15:54, 1 July 2008 (UTC)

Just the facts....?
I don't have the time to edit this article down to the facts, but I think someone should do it.

As a Chi Kung teacher, I can say that Mr Chia is not an outright fraud: he really does have some valuable knowledge. On the other hand, it is undeniable that he does charge a lot of money (as of course do a lot of other people selling other products such as iPhones, expensive watches, sex toys etc, that no-one is forced to buy: it's unclear to me at what point one draws a line and says that this is something other than the simple and appropriate functioning of the law of supply and demand).

The following seem to me to be inappropriate in the main body of the article:

Praising the benefits of the practice

Comparisons to other authors and teachers - favorable or unfavorable - unless designed to illuminate lineage

Recounting of Mr Chia's views on subjects other than his main area of expertise, unless perhaps corralled in a separate suitably-labeled section.

Perhaps what this article needs is for all expressions of opinion, positive and negative, to be removed from the main text, placed in a 'controversies' section, and properly sourced. 174.21.159.152 (talk) 18:46, 15 February 2010 (UTC)

New Website!

 * : ) Randomspirit (talk) 03:55, 11 June 2013 (UTC)

Birthdate
15 seconds into this clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlGXQftctJ0 he says that he was born July 1944. --VanBuren (talk) 12:30, 16 February 2015 (UTC)

Neutrality
I added the POV maintenance template because this article reads like an advert. In particular there seems to be very little in terms of dissenting or skeptical discussion of the subject matter. I think there's a lot of room for improvement. Fragglet (talk) 17:43, 4 October 2016 (UTC)

Copyright problem removed
Prior content in this article duplicated one or more previously published sources. The material was copied from: https://www.universal-tao.com/master_chia.html. Copied or closely paraphrased material has been rewritten or removed and must not be restored, unless it is duly released under a compatible license. (For more information, please see "using copyrighted works from others" if you are not the copyright holder of this material, or "donating copyrighted materials" if you are.)

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title: Talk:Mantak Chia


text:
User:Teh1337357

Hey.

I'm Alec a.k.a. teh1337357. I normally visit ieXbeta, a tech forum, and many other sites, such as DistroWatch, for things such as Linux distributions, tech news, and just normal news. I also enjoy playing games, such as Call of Duty, Battlefield 1942, and Icy Tower.

title: User:Teh1337357