drum festival
day two
Hamid Drake (MCOTD Hall of Fame, drums), Sylvain Kassap (clarinets), Benjamin Duboc (bass), live, France (Pantin), 2016
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lagniappe
reading table
I haven’t died before, so I sometimes get a bad case of beginner’s nerves, but they soon pass.
—Cory Taylor (1955-2016), Dying: A Memoir
mysterious, adj. Exciting wonder, curiosity, or surprise while baffling efforts to comprehend or identify. E.g., Anna Thorvaldsdottir’s Sequences.
Anna Thorvaldsdottir (1977-), Sequences (bass flute, bass clarinet, baritone saxophone, contrabassoon), 2016; International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE), live, New York, 2016
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lagniappe
reading table
in the big rain
gushing down
little butterfly—Kobayashi Issa, 1763-1827 (translated from Japanese by David G. Lanoue)
what’s new
Matt Wilson’s Honey and Salt (music inspired by the poetry of Carl Sandburg), 8/25/17
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lagniappe
art beat: other day, Art Institute of Chicago
Paul Gauguin (1848-1903), Portrait Head of Martinique Woman with Kerchief, 1887-1888 (Gauguin: Artist as Alchemist, through September 10th)
more
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Clarinet Quintet in A major; Hagen Quartet with Sabine Meyer (clarinet), live
1st movt.
***
2nd movt.
***
3rd movt.
***
4th movt.
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lagniappe
musical thoughts
Mozart was a kind of idol to me—this rapturous singing . . . that’s always on the edge of sadness and melancholy and disappointment and heartbreak, but always ready for an outburst of the most delicious music.
—Saul Bellow (1915-2005)
(Taking a break—back in a while.)
Sometimes, like yesterday, when I bumped into this, what I really need, whether I know it or not, is something kaleidoscopic.
Enno Poppe (1969-), Holz (“Wood”); Ensemble Dal Niente (Enno Poppe, guest cond.), live, Chicago, 2016
What we need—now more than ever.
Clickety Clack! Clickety Clack!
What is this madness that Nixon has put upon us?
Clickety Clack! Clickety Clack!
Won’t someone bring the spirit back?—Rahsaan Roland Kirk (1935-1977), 1973
Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Bright Moments, recorded live (San Francisco), 1973*
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*Track list (courtesy of YouTube):
A1. Introduction
2. Pedal Up
3. You’ll Never Get To Heaven
4. Clickety Clack
5. Prelude To A Kiss
6. Talk (Electric Nose)
7. Fly Town Nose Blues
B1. Talk (Bright Moments)
2. Bright Moments Song
3. Dem Red Beans And Rice
4. If I Loved You
5. Talk (Fats Waller)
6. Jitterbug Waltz
7. Second Line Jump
Sometimes I want to hear something that will quicken my pulse; sometimes I want something that will slow it—like this, for instance, which I heard the other night in Chicago, played by the group for whom it was written (a.pe.ri.od.ic). One sound . . . another . . . another . . .
Jürg Frey (1953-), Fragile Balance (2014), excerpt; Ensemble Grizzana (Jürg Frey, clarinet; Mira Benjamin, violin; Richard Craig, flute; Emma Richards, viola; Philip Thomas, piano; Seth Woods, cello); 2015
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lagniappe
reading table
Winter seclusion—
sitting propped against
the same worn post—Matsuo Basho (1644-1694), translated from Japanese by Sam Hamill (The Sound of Water: Haiku by Basho, Buson, Issa, and Other Poets)
Sometimes no word seems more beautiful—quiet.
Jürg Frey (1953-), Paysage pour Gustave Roud; Jürg Frey (clarinet), Dante Boon (piano), Stefan Thut (cello), live, 2011
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lagniappe
reading table
In the middle of the road there was a stone
there was a stone in the middle of the road
there was a stone
in the middle of the road there was a stone.Never should I forget this event
in the life of my fatigued retinas.
Never should I forget that in the middle of the road
there was a stone
there was a stone in the middle of the road
in the middle of the road there was a stone.—Carlos Drummond de Andrade (1902-1987), “In the Middle of the Road,” translated from Portuguese by Elizabeth Bishop
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random sights
this morning, Oak Park, Ill.
more
Hamiet Bluiett (baritone saxophone, clarinet, flute, voice), William Parker (bass, doson gouni, shakuhachi), Hamid Drake (drums, voice), live, New York, 2016
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lagniappe
reading table
Three bowls of stew
and you feel
rich after all—Yosa Buson (1716-1783), translated from Japanese by W.S. Merwin and Takako Lento
music clip of the day 