Yes, there is that pesky global warming and global financial collapse, and the threat some wackadoo third-world dictator will get his hands on use nuclear weapons, and, of course, there’s Posh Spice. But this is also a time of an embarrassment of riches when it comes to the choices of all things musical.

Of course, with this comes the cognitive agoraphobia that one faces when confronted by (seemingly) unlimited choices. This is why the buzzword of the Internet (right behind “ecosystem” and “social-media”) will be/is: “filter.”

We certainly need ‘em — filters, that is. We need shephards, guides… we need a dowsing rod.

This is what so delights me about Wolfgang’s Vault in the aggregate. Between the initial archives (Bill Graham, et al.),  and the new archives (Daytrotter, Ash Grove), and the coming archives (Newport Jazz), there is breadth, but also curation. None of these archives were created through random accretion. Rather they were (and, in the case of Daytrotter and Vault Records, still are) assembled with lapidarian care.

Now, you may not like the way our particular jewelers lay down their pearls (and, yes, Pearls Before Swine is the intended reference for those who do not), and that’s cool. However, for those of us who are sort of dumbfounded by the swirling miasma of infinite choice, it’s comforting to know that there is curation.

Is it likely that the same people who like Bob Seger will like Franz Nicolay (from The Hold Steady)? I dunno. Maybe. But is anyone gonna argue with Cream and Don Williams? Maybe, I guess. But, you better bring your lunch.

And that’s sort of the point. At least — given the curation — we can argue about it. We can get passionate about it, and tell people that they are the height of jackassery for not riding the same aural wave that you do. Sans curation what do you have? Loneliness.

Mark my words, the future is all about curation (and Posh Spice).

* FYI: The title of this weblog post (”Lifes Rich Pageant”) is from the ridiculously great REM record of the same name, and, thus, stays true to said record’s lack of possessive. When asked about the lack of the possessive “s” in “Lifes,” [sic] I believe it was Peter Buck who said something resembling, “Punctuation is not very rock-n-roll.” This from one of our more literate guitar geniuses. Of course, we also know that the title was taken from a line in the classic Inspector Peter Sellers movie, A Shot in the Dark. Context, baby, context.

[Lifes Rich Pageant* is a post in From the Vault - The Wolfgang's Vault blog.]

If you don’t have this, this, and, of course, this…well, frankly, you’re lucky, because you get to hear some of the most incredible music ever made for the first time.

In any case, get ‘em, and hold your breath until we launch the Newport Archives so you can listen to some more live Evans.

For me Evans really helped me appreciate jazz. He’s one of those rare players who can make the complex sound effortless and understandable; it’s only after listening to it about 10 billion times do you start to go, “wait…how’d he do that?”

It’s music that I listen to more than just about any other — and my pale, old ass has been listening to music for a long time. I’ve been playing Evans for my daughter since she was born; she’s five now, and asks to hear Waltz for Debby with some regularity (it’s frequently the soundtrack to our heated Candyland matches).

So, yeah, it’s deep.

Want to know how someone can possibly make music of such depth? Well, these interviews with Evans’ lover will give you some insight. I gotta caution you: they’re heartbreaking. The context is that Laurie Verchomin was Evans’ lover during the last period of his life, and she tells it like it is:

I had to come to the realization early on that for me to survive in that relationship, I had to just enjoy the short time I likely had with him and be in the moment.

The interview provides a unique window into the life of one of our greatest musicians, and we owe the JazzWax blog a tremendous debt not only for the interview, but for the meticulous curation of videos that accompany the interview.

There was a recent “tweet” about Wolfgang’s Vault that said something like (and I’m paraphrasing): “[the person who tweeted] loves the unbridled humanity of the concerts on the Site.”

Well, that shit ain’t easy. To represent unbridled humanity in any art takes a lot:

Bill engaged with music every single waking moment of each day. He took all of his resources and put them into being creative. That was his highest priority, to keep creating. He put everything he had into music. Most people can’t even consider what it’s like to put everything into something to a point where there’s nothing left for yourself.

In any case, read the interview.

[It’s late on a Friday night: Bill Evans is a post in From the Vault - The Wolfgang's Vault blog.]