like nobody else
How about a trip to Paris?
Blossom Dearie (1924-2009), “C’est le Printemps” (“It Might as Well Be Spring”)
(R. Rodgers, O. Hammerstein II; adaptation, J. Sablon), “Plus je t’embrasse” (“Heart of My Heart”) (B. Ryan; adaptation, Max François), live, Paris, 1961
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lagniappe
reading table
Autumn again
getting old is like
a bird flying into a cloud—Matsuo Basho (1644-1694), translated from Japanese by David Young
This I could listen to all day.
Morton Feldman (1926-1987, MCOTD Hall of Fame), Three Voices (1982); Sonya Holowell (live and recorded voices), Australia (Sydney), 2016
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lagniappe
reading table
Absolutely unmixed attention is prayer.
—Simone Weil (1909-1943)
*****
baseball: Chicago Cubs
Greg Maddux on tonight’s starting pitcher, Kyle Hendricks:
If it was a radar contest, then why play the game, right? Velocity is nice, but command and movement are better.
***
He has the ability to throw a two-seam fastball to both sides of the plate. Most pitchers are four-seam to one side and two-seam to the other. If you can throw your two-seamer to both sides of the plate, that’s an advantage to the pitcher.
***
He has the ability to recognize when a hitter is sitting on a certain pitch and throw something else.
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He relies on the low fastball that sinks pretty good. Very good at trying to keep the ball in front of the outfield with that pitch. That’s what it’s about—locating your fastball, changing speeds and keeping the ball in the ballpark.
***
He’s fun to watch.
sounds of Chicago
Common (with Robert Glasper [keyboards], Bilal [vocals], et al.), “I Used To Love H.E.R.,” “Letter To The Free,” “The Day The Women Took Over,” “Little Chicago Boy,” live, Washington, D.C. (White House Library), 10/3/16
sounds of New York
Nate Wooley Quartet (NW, trumpet, compositions; Chris Pitsiokos, alto saxophone; Brandon Lopez, bass; Dre Hocevar, drums), live, New York, 10/6/16
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lagniappe
reading table
Seen in plain daylight
the firefly’s nothing but
an insect—Matsuo Basho (1644-1694; translated from Japanese by Sam Hamill)
more
Jürg Frey (1953-), 60 Pieces of Sound (2009); a.pe.ri.od.ic, live, Chicago, 2013
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lagniappe
reading table
a solitary
crow on a bare branch—
autumn evening—Matsuo Basho (1644-1694), translated from Japanese by Sam Hamill
Bob Dylan, “High Water (For Charley Patton)” (B. Dylan)
Live, Irvine, Calif., 2013
No matter how often he changes styles, he keeps coming back to the blues.
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lagniappe
baseball
Javy Baez (Chicago Cubs infielder), defensive highlights
more
Jürg Frey (1953-), Memory of Perfection (2010); Mira Benjamin (violin), live, London, 2013
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lagniappe
reading table
autumn wind
through an open door—
a piercing cry—Matsuo Basho (1644-1694), translated from Japanese by David Landis Barnhill
sounds of Mali
Toumani Diabate (kora), live, Switzerland (Geneva), 2013
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lagniappe
reading table
like clouds drifting apart,
a wild goose separates, for now,
from his friend—Matsuo Basho (1644-1694), translated from Japanese by David Landis Barnhill
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
*****
random sights
this morning, Oak Park, Ill.
what’s new
Banabila & Machinefabriek, “Kaleidoscope,” 2016
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lagniappe
random sights
yesterday, Chicago (Columbus Park)
*****
reading table
Whenever I sleep
with my socks on
I have bad dreams—Yosa Buson (1716-1783), translated from Japanese by W.S. Merwin and Takako Lento
music clip of the day 