Because you may already be aware of this unfolding story, I nevertheless would like to bring to your attention, the story of Rod Poole.
This could have been yet another sad obituary for one of the many expats who bailed out of Blighty during the onslaught of Thatcherism, but really, there's a lot more going here:
1. As a member of the Oxford Improvisors' Cooperative, Poole worked, studied, and played with Derek Bailey, Keith Rowe, Stateless, George Haslam, and others in the UK, at the time.
2. Fed up with the draconian policies of Thatcher, Poole made a big move out West to California. There he offered musical tuition, and initially performed in a variety of free jazz/improvisation combos. Later on, he studied Just Intonation and Microtonality with Erv Wilson. He then embarked on a path perhaps initially proscribed by Pythogoras himself.
3. Rod Poole was brutally murdered in the open in the heart of Hollywood, on 13 May 2007. This crime was due to him reacting verbally to almost being hit by a car, whose occupants somehow took offence, to the point that they had to beat, stab, and ultimately kill him. Is this yet another example of an America plagued by wanton and undeserved violence?
4. This story is big news in the greater Los Angeles area. Please see
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-et-poole19may19,1,1394803.story
5. He was basically a good bloke whose heart and mind were always in the right place, and who will be grievously missed by family, friends, colleagues, fans, students, and many others.
This could have been yet another sad obituary for one of the many expats who bailed out of Blighty during the onslaught of Thatcherism, but really, there's a lot more going here:
1. As a member of the Oxford Improvisors' Cooperative, Poole worked, studied, and played with Derek Bailey, Keith Rowe, Stateless, George Haslam, and others in the UK, at the time.
2. Fed up with the draconian policies of Thatcher, Poole made a big move out West to California. There he offered musical tuition, and initially performed in a variety of free jazz/improvisation combos. Later on, he studied Just Intonation and Microtonality with Erv Wilson. He then embarked on a path perhaps initially proscribed by Pythogoras himself.
3. Rod Poole was brutally murdered in the open in the heart of Hollywood, on 13 May 2007. This crime was due to him reacting verbally to almost being hit by a car, whose occupants somehow took offence, to the point that they had to beat, stab, and ultimately kill him. Is this yet another example of an America plagued by wanton and undeserved violence?
4. This story is big news in the greater Los Angeles area. Please see
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-et-poole19may19,1,1394803.story 5. He was basically a good bloke whose heart and mind were always in the right place, and who will be grievously missed by family, friends, colleagues, fans, students, and many others.
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