Alex W. Rodríguez

Agreeing on the Internet

Agreeing on the Internet

As everyone knows, the internet is famous for the way its users miraculously and spontaneously agree on everything. In this digital town square, all of its virtual denizens are kind, deliberative, and deeply considerate of the nuances and context that inform one another's needs, preferences, goals, and values, leading to

A young person holds a sign on a sidewalk that reads "If you think math is hard, maybe invest in our faculty." Other strikin

On Strike!

"Wear your regalia if you have it!" I received the message as I gathered my things to commute across the state from my home in Western Massachusetts to Wellesley, the Boston suburb where I have been teaching since September. My PhD robes had been hanging in my closet untouched since

Avalokiteshvara / Chenrezig

Retiring from Professional Buddhism

Thank you so much to everyone who joined in celebrating my 40th birthday a couple of months ago. I'm still not dead yet, but the online event did help to clarify that it was time to retire—from a significant part of my recent work, at least. Yes, the time

I'm Not Dead Yet!

I'm Not Dead Yet!

Greetings, internet! I'm re-emerging here on this day of the Hunter Moon to share an update and an invitation, with the intention of getting back into this groove of monthly missives now that I've landed in my new gig at Wellesley College. (So far so good, by the way—it

Writing for The Newark Star-Ledger

Writing for The Newark Star-Ledger

In the summer of 2010, Jay Lustig offered me my first writing gig, to cover jazz for my then-hometown newspaper, The Newark Star-Ledger. I relished the opportunity and published regularly there, covering the "jazz beat" for about a year before I decided to leave for a PhD program in faraway

An old portable cassette player and radio sitting next to a houseplant

Writing for NPR Music

From 2009 to 2014, my most-read essays were published on NPR Music's online jazz publication, A Blog Supreme. I've posted links here for reference, as they're some of my favorite writing on the internet! Big shout-out to ABS editor Patrick Jarenwattananon, who did wonders with my rough drafts and was

A male-presenting person plays a trombone wearing a plaid shirt, jeans, and headphones

More new things!

With the new gig at Wellesley lined up and Mirlo's Kickstarter well underway—not to mention a gorgeous spring blossoming all around me here in Holyoke—I've been delighting in the fresh energy of new possibilities a little bit extra this May. Given that last spring didn't go so swimmingly,

New things, as promised!

Last month, I wrote about letting things go to make space for new things to arise. Although that process is still underway—my last day at Catalyst is this Friday, for example—I can now write publicly about some of said new things! Personal news item #1: I've accepted an

A large mass of balloons are released into the blue sky

The Challenge of Letting Go

Whew, it's been a weird month—lots of moving pieces as I wind down some projects to make space for new things to arise. I'm looking forward to sharing more about those new things soon, but today will be about celebrating and saying goodbye to the old things. For the

Pablo Menares (bass), Yago Vazquez (piano) and Rodrigo Recabarren (percussion) performing together

Familia

This month's update finds me in New York City, where last night I had the pleasure of taking in a show at The Jazz Gallery for the first time in almost eight years. A lot has changed—they added a beautiful gallery room and have clearly put a lot of

Silhouette of a blackbird resting on a telephone wire, with five wires above and one below the wire the bird is standing on.

Introducing Mirlo

Happy new year, friends! This time last year, I was visiting Chile, not yet aware that the trip was just the beginning of a wild ride that 2023 would turn out to be. I'm grateful to be on the other side of the abdominal surgery that I underwent in May,

Light enters a pool of water, just under the surface, shown from below

Going Under

This month's update will be a brief one—honestly, because I don't have a lot to say. As I prepare for abdominal surgery next Friday, I've been noticing a tendency to let go more and more of the kinds of conceptual fixations that are best articulated by words like these.

A bunch of bananas with googly eyes and colorful clown noses

The Necessary Weirdness of Global Silly-Darity

Reflections on the Wilds Beyond Climate Justice by the strange foursome that stewarded it By Owólabi Aboyade, Aerin Dunford, Karen Leu, and Alex Rodríguez This article first appeared in Geez Magazine Issue 66, Global Resistance and Solidarity. To read more and subscribe to this most excellent publication, please visit the

Santiago in twilight under a thick fog. Two sparse trees in the foreground.

A Rude Awakening

Well, it's been three months since my last monthly update. Quite a lot has happened—and I'm grateful to finally be putting fingers to keys again to try and share some of it with you. Going into the trip, I had a hunch that my trip to Chile might throw

The left wing of an airplane over a backdrop of sky and clouds

This Is Actually Happening!!!!

That's right, four exclamation points!!!! Yesterday, I booked plane tickets to return to Chile for the first time in almost seven years. Nico, Pablo, Reca and I will be playing at Thelonious, Lugar de Jazz on January 17th and Tromba Pomodoro on January 18th. The rest of the dates are

A person walks in front of grafitti written over a whitewashed wall, reading "Seguir Luchando" ("Keep Fighting")

Known Unknown Territory

As my 39th trip around the sun gets underway this week, the next steps with Somewhere Else!!!! are making themselves apparent. I'm planning a trip to Chile in January to finally use the plane tickets I bought almost three years ago. Nico and I are setting up performances in Santiago

A pink lotus flower blossoming on a lake surrounded by lilypads

Healing in Public

"Music is the Healing Force of the Universe" is one of saxophonist Albert Ayler's transcendent contributions to the 1960s free jazz movement, with lyrics penned and sung by Mary Maria Parks. I found myself revisiting it as I prepared to write today's update, as I began to understand the discomfort

Close-up of a drumset in blue lighting

Somewhere Else!!!! Starts This Weekend

Preparing for the first rehearsal with drummer Rodrigo Recabarren

A Brooklyn side street with a view of the Brooklyn Bridge between two brick buildings

Without a plan

This month's update has been a bit more challenging to conjure than usual ... in part, I think, because there is a shift underway that involves letting go of something to create space for something new that I am just barely beginning to taste. Last month included two big events: first,

An abstract expressionist on a black canvas with pointillistic paint splatters in yellow, orange, and white

Abolishing the Terms of Unison: Ornette Coleman's Aesthetic Marronage

Presented at the Rhythm Changes Jazz Studies Conference in Amsterdam, Netherlands on August 26, 2022 Today, I'll be engaging in an exploration of jazz as politics through the musical practices of Ornette Coleman, the visionary midcentury alto saxophonist, composer, and improviser who unabashedly set the tone for much of the

A large statue of the Buddha sitting in lotus position and showing the Bhumisparsha mudra

Crash Landing the Bhumi Starship

In the last post on my old blog, written at the end of 2020, I mused that I appeared more and more to be inhabiting a role I called "Professional Buddhist." That took the form of essentially subsuming my professional capacities into the formation of new kinds of sangha, or

Jazz Governance?

Jazz Governance?

Throughout a decade in music journalism and academia, I've conducted dozens of interviews. (A few of my favorites: Sonny Rollins, Wayne Shorter, Fred Wesley, Erwin Díaz.) Yesterday, I was reminded of how much I missed those conversations when I found myself on the other side of the interviewer's chair. Alongside

The Andes Mountains peer through clouds

Somewhere Else!!!!

So this is finally happening ... last week, I spoke with three beloved Chilean jazz co-conspirators to confirm their participation in making my debut album, Somewhere Else!!!! / ¡¡¡¡En Otro Lugar!!!! Yes, that's a lot of exclamation points—that flourish is inspired by one of my musical heroes, Ornette Coleman, whose 1958

The front Entrance to Thelonious jazz club, with green walls and a lit portrait of Thelonious Monk above the front door.

Introducing Jazz Anthropology

May 2022 update launching the monthly newsletter

A light-colored stone sculpture of Jesus Christ with arms outstretched, blue sky and white clouds in the background.

Dehonkifying Christ: A Fool's Errand

Forget the Anti-Christ—the Honky-Christ is the biggest obstacle to the potential for human liberation through the Gospel.