sounds of New York
Eli Keszler & So Percussion, “Archway,” New York, 2013
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lagniappe
reading table
“I shouldn’t have to see the pain, struggle and despair of homeless people to and from my way to work every day.”
—Daniel Duane, “The Tent Cities of San Francisco” (quoting Justin Keller), New York Times, 12/18/16
One should never underestimate, when living in a world so woeful, the therapeutic benefits, however fleeting, of dumb fun.
Shantel, “Disko Partizani,” 2007
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)
tonight in Chicago
She’ll be playing at Constellation (where I’ll be listening).
Okkyung Lee (cello), live, Netherlands (Nijmegen), 2015
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lagniappe
reading table
On the Anniversary of the Death of Matsuo Basho
Winter rain on moss
soundlessly recalls those
happy bygone days—Yosa Buson (1716-1784), translated from Japanese by Sam Hamill (The Sound of Water: Haiku by Basho, Buson, Issa, and Other Poets)
sounds of Christchurch*
Roy Montgomery, “Five Bears,” 2016
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lagniappe
reading table
The way “The Tennessee Waltz”
is about having heard“The Tennessee Waltz”
before:an almost floral
nostalgia,is what we call
beautiful.—Rae Armantrout (1947-), “Overhearing,” fragment (Veil: New and Selected Poems)
*****
the beat goes on
2,500 posts—and counting.
*New Zealand.
sounds of Kinshasa*
Baloji with Konono No. 1, “Karibu Ya Bintu,” 2011
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lagniappe
reading table
One needs to keep a clear head when facing pirates in the Amazon.
—Hubert Kinski, 43-year-old Polish explorer, quoted in “‘There’s No Law on the Amazon’: River Pirates Terrorize Ships by Night,” New York Times, 11/18/16
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*Democratic Republic of Congo.
sounds of Glasgow
Richard Youngs, “Back from a World Changing,” 2016
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lagniappe
art beat: other day, Art Institute of Chicago
Sally Mann (1951-), Deep South, 1998
sounds of Chicago
Here’s one of my favorite drummers, leading his own band, playing his own compositions.
Michael Zerang & The Blue Lights, live, Germany (Dortmund), 2015*
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lagniappe
art beat: other day, Art Institute of Chicago
Joseph Cornell (1903-1972), Untitled (Hôtel de la Duchesse-Anne), 1957
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*MZ, drums, compositions; Dave Rempis, saxophones; Emil Strandberg, trumpet; John Dikeman, saxophones; Kent Kessler, bass.
passings
Mose Allison, singer, songwriter, piano player, November 11, 1927-November 15, 2016
Talking, singing, playing (Mississippi Blues Commission, 2015)
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Pete Townsend, Georgie Fame, Elvis Costello talking about “Parchman Farm”
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“Parchman Farm” (M. Allison), 1957
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NEA Jazz Masters Tribute, 2013
passings
Leonard Cohen, songwriter, singer, poet, novelist, Zen Buddhist monk
September 21, 1934-November 7, 2016
With Sonny Rollins (tenor saxophone), “Who By Fire,” 1989
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“Closing Time,” 1992
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“Everybody Knows,” 2014
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“You Want It Darker,” 2016
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lagniappe
random sights
yesterday, Oak Park, Ill.
music clip of the day 