alone
Steve Lacy (1934-2004; soprano saxophone, compositions), live (“Staples,” “Zeal,” “The Oil,” “The Owl,” “Torments”), Kyoto, Japan, 1975
**********
lagniappe
random sights
other day, Chicago (Columbus Park)
*****
reading table
Even in Kyoto—
hearing the cuckoo’s cry—
I long for Kyoto.—Matsuo Basho (1644-1694), translated from the Japanese by Robert Hass
more
Rev. Al Green, “Jesus Will Fix It,” live, Tokyo, 1987
**********
random sights
other day, Oak Park, Ill.
wake up!
Peter Brötzmann (alto saxophone), Fred Lonberg-Holm (cello), Paal Nilssen-Love (drums), live, Japan (Chiba), 2011
**********
lagniappe
random sights
other day, Chicago
Why not begin the week with something slow, and quiet, and beautiful?
Jürg Frey (1953-), Petit fragment de paysage (Ko Ishikawa, shō; Mari Adachi, viola), Wen 16 (Seiko Takemoto, cello), Petit fragment de paysage (Mari Adachi, viola; Seiko Takemoto, cello); Wen 29 (Mari Adachi, viola); Petit fragment de paysage (Ko Ishikawa, u; Seiko Takemoto, cello), live, Tokyo, 2016
**********
lagniappe
reading table
even poorly planted
rice plants
slowly, slowly . . . green!—Kobayashi Issa (1763-1827), translated from Japanese by David G. Lanoue
string quartet festival
day two
Elliott Carter (1908-2012), String Quartet No. 5 (1995); Pacifica Quartet, live, Tokyo, 2004
**********
lagniappe
reading table
The book itself is sort of a perfect metaphor for a human being. It’s got a front and a back, it’s got a spine, and it’s bigger on the inside than it is on the outside.
—Chris Ware
How about a trip to Tokyo?
Japan’s Hidden Listening Bars: SHeLTeR, 7/9/19
string quartet festival
day three
György Ligeti (1923-2006), String Quartet No. 2 (1968); Arditti Quartet, live (studio), Tokyo, 2018
**********
lagniappe
random sights
last night, Oak Park, Ill.
Ever heard this instrument before? (Me neither.)
Kazue Sawai (1941-), bass koto, live, Tokyo, 2009
**********
lagniappe
reading table
All of old. Nothing else ever. Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.
—Samuel Beckett (1906-1989), “Worstword Ho” (1983)
Close your eyes.
Listen—just listen.
If you don’t have time for this, what do you have time for?
Toru Takemitsu (1930-1996), From me flows what you call Time (1990); La Jolla Symphony (Steven Schick, cond.), live, San Diego, 2008
**********
lagniappe
reading table
Come, see
real flowers
of this painful world.—Matsuo Basho (1644-1694), translated from Japanese by Lucien Stryk and Takashi Ikemoto
sounds of Japan
Frothiness is next to godliness.
Perfume, “Pick Me Up,” 2015
