Gladys testifies
Gladys Knight (1944-), “You’ll Never Walk Alone” (R. Rodgers, O. Hammerstein), “Bridge Over Troubled Water” (P. Simon), live (Aretha Franklin’s funeral), Detroit, 2018
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lagniappe
random sights
this morning, Oak Park
basement jukebox
Sensational Nightingales (featuring Julius Cheeks), “Pressing On,” 1950s
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lagniappe
art beat: Museum of Modern Art, New York, 3/6/20
Jacob Lawrence (1917-2000), The Migration Series (1940-1941), panel 14
shout!
“He Looked Beyond My Faults” (United House of Prayer band), live, c. 2011
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lagniappe
random sights
other day, Oak Park, Ill.
testify!
The Meditation Singers, “Don’t You Want to Go” (E. Rundless), live, 1960s
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lagniappe
random sights
yesterday, Chicago
*****
reading table
I dance, for the joy of surviving,
on the edge of the road.—Stanley Kunitz (1905-2006), from “An Old Cracked Tune”
testify!
“Mama,” “I Know the Lord,” live, c. 2007
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lagniappe
random sights
this morning, Oak Park, Ill.
basement jukebox
Brother Vernard Johnson (1948-, vocals, alto saxophone), “Soul Metamorphosis” (V. Johnson, D. Ward), c. late 1960s
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lagniappe
random sights
yesterday, Chicago (Columbus Park)
*****
reading table
Thus spring begins: old
stupidities repeated,
new errors invented—Kobayashi Issa (1763-1828), translated from Japanese by Sam Hamill
back to church
Mt. Do-Well Baptist Church Hymn Choir, “You’re Gonna Need a Friend,” live, McConnells, S.C., 1991
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lagniappe
random sights
yesterday, Oak Park, Ill.
*****
streaming
Today, at 3 p.m. (ET), Yo-Yo Ma will be performing all six of Bach’s suites for unaccompanied cello. I heard him play these pieces last summer at Chicago’s Millennium Park. One-word review: breathtaking.
back to church
“All I Do,” St. Paul Baptist Church Choir, McConnells, S.C. (Mt. Do Well Baptist Church), c. 2009
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lagniappe
random sights
other day, Chicago (Columbus Park)
*****
reading table
He walked in awe
In awe of light
At nightfall, not at dawn
Whatever he saw
Receding from sight
In the sky’s afterglow
Was what he wanted
To see, to know—Samuel Menashe (1925-2011), “Enlightenment”
passings
Little Richard (aka Richard Penniman), singer, pianist, songwriter, December 5, 1932–May 9, 2020
“Didn’t It Rain” (trad.), live, New York (Apollo Theater), 1985
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“Yes, God Is Real” (K. Morris), 1960
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“Peace in the Valley” (T. Dorsey), 1961
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lagniappe
random sights
yesterday, Chicago (Columbus Park)
*****
reading table
The hope that is left after all your hopes are gone—that is pure hope, rooted in the heart.
—Br. David Steindl-Rast (1926-), Gratefulness, the Heart of Prayer (1984)
more sounds of Charlotte
The United House of Prayer Band, live, Charlotte, N.C., 2012
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lagniappe
random sights
yesterday, Oak Park, Ill.
*****
reading table
Goodbye to forever now.
Hello to the empty present and.—Mary Jo Bang (1946-), from “No More” (Elegy, 2007)
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streaming
Bang on a Can Marathon: today, six hours, beginning at 3 p.m. (ET). Meredith Monk, Vijay Iyer, George Lewis, Steve Reich, Philip Glass, John Adams, Mary Halvorson, et al. If this turns out to be even half as good as it might be, it’ll be monumental. (In the department of delicious serendipity, I just learned about this, waiting for tea water to boil, here.)
music clip of the day 