In addition to Subtraction, here are a few sites with great use of type:
TMX Communications
The Morning News
Coudal

And a few of my own:
German Studies
Jewish Studies
Field Work

As a remarkable orchestral jazz composer, Duke Ellington’s deep, rich, and imaginative tone on the piano used mostly to create the “Ellington effect.” He only plays his part when necessary to accomplish the overall mood, and rarely showcases his solo improvisation. Yet when he’s by himself, Ellington’s artistic vision and ingenious skill revealed. From the unorthodox arrangement to the intricate atonality to the mastery of rag style in “The Clothed Woman,” Ellington demonstrated his skill as a solo jazz pianist as well.

The following verbatim paragraph comes from William Zinsser’s On Writing Well:

For writers and other creative artists, knowing what not to do is a major component of taste. Two jazz pianists may be equally proficient. The one with taste will put every note to work in telling his or her story; the one without taste will drench us in ripples and other unnecessary ornaments. Painters with taste will trust their eye to tell them what needs to be on the canvas and what doesn’t; a painter without taste will give us a landscape that’s too pretty, or too cluttered, or too gaudy—anyway, too something. A graphic designer with taste knows that less is more: that design is the servant of the written word. A designer without taste will smother the writing in background tints and swirls and decorative frills.

Word!

Visualgui.com returns to the bare bone with the least amount of colors and zero graphic. After all, “Web Design is 95% Typography.” Khoi Vinh’s Subtraction sure is a perfect case study.

Our man HmL—who needs no further introduction if you’re a regular visitor to Visualgui.com—will be biking for the Break Away from Cancer, a ride to “benefit the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship and The Wellness Community to support free programs and services that help people living with cancer,” on Sunday, November 12th, 2006 in D.C. area. So let’s give him our support not because he’s a wonderful guy, but for goodness sake.

Get past the monotonous vocals and you’ll be to enjoy her move. Vy drops it like it’s hot in “Musicality.”

Although I still have issues with his bitch-ass voice, I have to give him the props for his powerhouse rendition of Nguyen Anh 9’s “Buon Oi, Chao Mi.”

Nguyen Khang’s rough and raspy quality suits my ears more, and his performance on Huynh Nhat Tan’s “Se Khong Con Yeu” is hard to match. He also takes me on a trip down to memory lane with “Dem Nho Ve Sai Gon.”

Enjoy your weekend, folks!

They say white men can’t swing. Not Benny Goodman. He was the king of swing who held down the Savoy’s dance floor nights after nights. Goodman had a lovable sound and fluid flow on the clarinet. His live performance of “Runnin’ Wild” is both sweet and swing. His drummer Gene Krupa drops quite a few “bombs” (snare and bass combo) up in the joint.

If you don’t know Pops, you don’t know jazz. I dig the good old New Orleans Pops who blew everyone away with his trumpet, not the internationally known Pops who made popular hits like “What a Wonderful World” and “Hello Dolly.” I am talking about the astonishing jazz pieces in the early days like “Hotter than That,” a jammed version of the final strain of “Tiger Rag.” Let’s hear what made Pops a musician’s musician:

“Hotter than That” kicks off with an eight-bar introduction.

.08 A: 32 bars with a break in between. Pops improvises on the chorus and ended exactly at the break.

.44 A: Another 32 bars in which clarinetist Johnny Dodds does his solo.

1:20 A: Pops drops his amazing scat-singing chops, which sounds like his trumpet. Near the end of this chorus, Pops and guitarist Lonnie Johnson trade some phrases with each other until Lillian Hardin Armstrong (Pops’ wife) impatiently lays down the beat at the piano, as if she’s saying, “Ok boys, enough playing around, let’s get back to business.”

2:18 Trombonist Kid Ory takes over the first 16 bars, then Pops returns sailing in and brilliantly closes the tune out. Pops and Johnson create a novelty ending with a strange interaction and unsettling chord.

Lester Young was the Prez (a nickname given by Billie Holiday) of ballad. His rendition of “Love Me or Leave Me” is a perfect demonstration of how a standard should be covered. He takes the basic structure and improvises on it. Vietnamese musicians should take cues from Prez the next time they want to jazz up a Trinh Cong Son’s composition. As for the sax style, Prez had a cool and almost vibratoless sound. With his feathery tone, superb phrasing, and breathless-flowing lines, Prez inspired numerous musicians, including modernist Charlie Parker.

Count Basie was the master of understatement. He was known for his laconic piano. With a tight rhythm section (includes bassist Walter Page and drummer Joe Jones), behind him, Basie plays exotic spare keys. The technique that spells Basie sound could be heard right in the intro of his “Honeysuckle Rose” performance. And Basie knew if he had your feet, your heart and soul would follow. Love the call-and-response effect between brass and reeds sections near the end.