sounds of Charlotte
The United House of Prayer Band, “The Blood!,” live, Charlotte, N.C., 2020
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lagniappe
random sights
yesterday, outside Chicago (Salt Creek Trail)
*****
reading table
A pot poured out
Fulfills its spout—Samuel Menashe (1925-2011)
back to church
“It’s Another Day’s Journey,” Mt. Tatum Primitive Baptist Church, Dryfork, Va., 2011
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lagniappe
random sights
this morning, Chicago (Columbus Park)
*****
reading table
Spring and All
by William Carlos Williams (1883-1963)
By the road to the contagious hospital
under the surge of the blue
mottled clouds driven from the
northeast—a cold wind. Beyond, the
waste of broad, muddy fields
brown with dried weeds, standing and fallen
patches of standing water
the scattering of tall trees
All along the road the reddish
purplish, forked, upstanding, twiggy
stuff of bushes and small trees
with dead, brown leaves under them
leafless vines—
Lifeless in appearance,
sluggish dazed spring approaches—
They enter the new world naked,
cold, uncertain of all
save that they enter. All about them
the cold, familiar wind—
Now the grass, tomorrow
the stiff curl of wildcarrot leaf
One by one objects are defined—
It quickens: clarity, outline of leaf
But now the stark dignity of
entrance—Still, the profound change
has come upon them: rooted, they
grip down and begin to awaken
back to church
Center Baptist Church Hymn Choir, “What a Time,” live, Gastonia, N.C., 2009
**********
lagniappe
random sights
yesterday, Oak Park, Ill.
*****
reading table
Windowed I observe
The waning snow
As rain unearths
That raw clay—
Adam’s afterbirth—
No one escapes
I lie down, immerse
Myself in sleep
The windows weep—Samuel Menashe (1925-2011), “Downpour”
three takes
“The Storm Is Passing Over” (C. Tindley, D. Vails)
Gospel Challengers, live (TV show), 1960s
***
Detroit Mass Choir, live, Detroit, 2001
***
DeLois Barrett Campbell and The Barrett Sisters, 1982 (Say Amen, Somebody)
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langiappe
random sights
other day, Chicago
sounds of New York
Reverend Gary Davis (1896-1972), “Death Don’t Have No Mercy,” live
**********
lagniappe
random sights
yesterday, Chicago (Columbus Park)
*****
reading table
Clear skies ring with the honk of wild geese
On deserted hills, leaves whirl in the wind
Twilight on a smoky village road
Carrying an empty begging bowl and walking home alone—Ryōkan (1758-1831), translated from classical Chinese by Ryūichi Abé and Peter Haskel
back to church
“What I Am,” Mt. Moriah Baptist Church, Chester, S.C., 2003
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lagniappe
random sights
yesterday, Oak Park, Ill.
*****
streaming
From jazz pianist Fred Hersch:
Mini Concert Every Day
I hope everybody is safe and healthy and will remain that way. This is an unprecedented challenge to everyone on the planet and we all need resilience and resourcefulness going forward.
Starting this Sunday, every day at 1pm EST
I will do a live mini concert of piano music from my home.You can see and hear the concert here:
https://www.facebook.com/fredherschmusic
Wishing you all strength and much love,
Fred
timeless
Famous Blue Jay Singers of Birmingham, Alabama, “I’m Bound for Canaan Land,” recorded in Chicago, 1947
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lagniappe
random sights
other day, Oak Park, Ill.
*****
reading table
Where did my life come from?
Where will it go?—Ryōkan (1758-1831), from an untitled poem (translated from classical Chinese by Ryūichi Abé and Peter Haskel)
testify!
Vernard Johnson (alto saxophone, vocals), live, Fort Worth, Tx.
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lagniappe
random sights
yesterday, Oak Park, Ill
back to church
Mt. Do-Well Baptist Church Hymn Choir, “That Morning Train,” live, McConnells, S.C., 2006
**********
lagniappe
random sights
yesterday, Oak Park, Ill.
basement jukebox
The Mellotones, “Everything’s Gonna Be Alright” (J.B. Scaife), 1963
**********
lagniappe
random sights
yesterday morning, Chicago (Columbus Park)
*****
reading table
Two dangers never cease threatening the world: order and disorder.
—Paul Valéry (1871-1945), Analects (quoted in Lyn Hejinian, “The Rejection of Closure”)
music clip of the day 