more
Michel Portal (clarinets, accordion), Hamid Drake (drums), live, France (Le Mans), 2012
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lagniappe
reading table
Skylark
sings all day,
and day not long enough.—Matsuo Basho (1644-1694), translated from Japanese by Lucien Stryk and Takashi Ikemoto
MCOTD Hall of Fame
Today drummer Hamid Drake (1955-) enters the MCOTD Hall of Fame, joining saxophonists Von Freeman and Henry Threadgill; trumpeter Lester Bowie; gospel singer Dorothy Love Coates; composer Morton Feldman; poets John Berryman, William Bronk, and Wislawa Szymborska; and photographer Helen Levitt. Whatever the situation, he adds oxygen.
DKV Trio (HD, drums; Kent Kessler, bass; Ken Vandermark, baritone saxophone), live, Chicago, 2010
Happy Birthday!
Charlie Parker (b. August 29, 1920) with Red Garland (piano), Bernie Griggs (bass), Roy Haynes (drums), “Moose the Mooche,” live, Boston, 1953
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lagniappe
radio
Today it’s all Bird all day at WKCR-FM (Columbia University).
back to church
Christian Home Baptist Church Hymn Choir, “Hezekiah—You Got To Die!”
Live, Mt. Do-Well Baptist Church, McConnells, S.C., 1994
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lagniappe
random sights
this morning, Chicago (Columbus Park)
timeless
Fats Waller (1904-1943), “I’m Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter” (F. Ahlert & J. Young), 1935
summer in the city
Moses Sumney, “Plastic,” live, Chicago (Pitchfork Music Festival), 7/15/16
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reading table: two takes
Summer afternoon — summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language.
—Henry James (1843-1916)
There is a kind of sullenness that summer / alone possesses.
—Geoffrey Hill (1932-2016), “In Isley Church Lane (3)”
more
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827), Piano Sonata No. 32 in C minor
Sviatoslav Richter (1915-1997), live, Moscow, 1975
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lagniappe
reading table
Here in my house
a square of light—
moon through the window—Matsuo Basho (1644-1694), translated from Japanese by David Young
never enough
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827), Piano Sonata No. 5 in C minor
Jonathan Biss, live, New York, 2011
One of the things I admire about this performance is its immediacy: it feels not like recitation but spontaneous utterance.
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lagniappe
reading table
One insect
asleep on a leaf
can change your life—Matsuo Basho (1644-1694), translated from Japanese by David Young
wake up!
Albert Ayler (1936-1970), live, Europe, 1966
music clip of the day 