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City Paper Now Owned by Jan Hammer

Posted by Andrew Beaujon on Aug. 26, 2009, at 4:04 pm

You have to go back to 2006 to find City Paper's last mention of Jan Hammer, in Tricia Olszewski's review of Cocaine Cowboys. That follows a 10-year drought for Hammerheads since Mark Jenkins' review of A Modern Affair, in which Jenkins says "the fate that [director Vern] Oakley and writer Paul Zimmerman have devised for them is as corny as the film’s Jan Hammer score."

This coming week, though, City Paper corrects this historic wrong.

In his review of British saxophonist John Surman's new album, Brent Burton compares the album favorably withMahavishnu Orchestra the trio his guitarist, John Abercrombie, playedled in the early '70s. With Jack DeJohnette and...JAN HAMMER.

And Ben Westhoff reviews Savoir Adore's In the Wooded Forest, reaching the review's halfway point before offhandedly mentioning that Savoire Adore's Paul Hammer is son of Jan and RECORDED IN HIS HOUSE.

Area prog enthusiast Erik Wemple suggests Jeff Beck's "Darkness, Earth in Search of the Sun" as an entry point for Hammer newbies, but I think it's best to start with non-deep cuts: the Miami Vice theme (album version!) and, for funnies, this particularly ill-advised collaboration with Journey guitarist Neil Schon:

Why is Jan Hammer in a box wound with string? Jan Hammer should be free!

Tags: a modern affair, Ben Westhoff, brent burton, cocaine cowboys, jan hammer, john abercrombie, john surman, mahavishnu orchestra, Mark Jenkins, neil schon, paul zimmerman, savoire adore, Tricia Olszewski, vern oakley

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Comments

1. Mike Riggs August 26th, 2009
   4:15 pm
   #1

   1.) Jesus, is Neal Schon a midget? And why does he have a trem bar on his Les Paul? And two solos? Isn't that a little excessive?

   2.) 1m41s-1m55s is the most important part of this song.

2. Ben W August 26th, 2009
   4:27 pm
   #2

   Oh my god, this blog entry is funny. Great title.

3. Pop Cesspool August 26th, 2009
   4:34 pm
   #3

   "Noted prog enthusiast" is another way of saying "hippie."

4. Dave McKenna August 26th, 2009
   4:44 pm
   #4

   Jeff Beck is not PROG! PROG was played by people who wore robes and had lyrics about knights and planets! Beck's FUSION! no robes! no lyrics! i was a PROG enthusiast in my dirtball youth, and Beck was one of the few FUSION guys i could stand. while we're polling: beck's version of "Freeway Jam" from the live LP with Jan Hammer seemed very accessible back in the day...

5. Mike DeBonis August 26th, 2009
   5:02 pm
   #5

   Was anyone else hoping that Jan Hammer was a principal of Atalaya Capital Management?

6. Mike Riggs August 26th, 2009
   5:11 pm
   #6

   @DeBonis: Yes.

7. Truth Hurts August 26th, 2009
   11:05 pm
   #7

   So is this good or bad for CP? Note to CP staff: It's ok to post answers under fake names.

8. cminus August 27th, 2009
   10:07 am
   #8

   @DeBonis: Hell, yes.

9. Walter Kolosky August 27th, 2009
   11:50 am
   #9

   John Abercrombie did not play with the Mahavishnu Orchestra.

10. Andrew Beaujon August 27th, 2009
    12:20 pm
    #10

    Walter, I totally messed that up. Abercrombie didn't play with Mahavishnu Orchestra, you are correct; he played with Hammer and Jack DeJohnette (this album, others). Thanks for pointing it out.

11. Andrew Beaujon August 27th, 2009
    12:31 pm
    #11

    I should point out that Brent got that point right in his review; I and I alone muffed it in my post.

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