tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30785381.post-55859265174849327882007-05-03T11:30:00.000-04:002007-05-03T11:33:04.539-04:00<div align="justify"><a href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_Jj6eN5Gr9Vo/RjoAT5_H21I/AAAAAAAAACM/es99XqXJUMs/s1600-h/180px-Pulitzer.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5060357473287265106" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_Jj6eN5Gr9Vo/RjoAT5_H21I/AAAAAAAAACM/es99XqXJUMs/s320/180px-Pulitzer.jpg" border="0" /></a>It is amusing to me, dear readers, that so many well-meaning musical citizens get so “huffy mcpuffy” about the Pulitzer Prize being awarded to a non-composer such as Ornette Coleman and his big band orchestra. The Prize itself is only $10,000, and with a required entry fee of $50 and between 100 and 200 applicants in each category, the Pultizer makes almost as much money as it gives away!<br /><br />Ten thousand dollars is not a lot of money, especially for a tenured professor such as myself. And as for “honor”... well, it remains to be seen if receiving the award gets you prestige, or if being prestigious gets you the award.<br /><br />Given his gambling addiction (common among jazz “improvisers”), Mr. Coleman has probably already lost the money. The Pulitzer Prize committee has squandered its well-earned entry fees by handing them over to a drunken bum. It should come as no surprise to the committee that a drunken bum who refuses to follow the rules of music composition will certainly not follow the rules of the Pulitzer Prize application process.<br /></div><div align="justify"></div>Prof. Heebie McJeebiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01166392862796923496noreply@blogger.com