never enough
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791), Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor (K. 466), excerpt (Third Mvt.); Hélène Grimaud (1969-, piano) with Camerata Salzburg, University of Salzburg (Austria), published 8/21/20
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lagniappe
random sights
yesterday, Chicago (Columbus Park)
*****
reading table
A world of trials,
and if the cherry blossoms,
it simply blossoms—Kobayashi Issa (1763-1827), translated from Japanese by Sam Hamill
two takes
Oliver Messiaen (1908-1992), O sacrum convivium (1937)
Susan Alcorn (1953-, pedal steel guitar), live, 2011
*****
Ensemble Aedes, live, France (Compiègne), 2013
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lagniappe
random sights
yesterday, Chicago (Columbus Park)
*****
reading table
So you must not be frightened . . . if a sadness rises up before you larger than any you have ever seen; if a restiveness, like light and cloud-shadows, passes over your hands and over all you do. You must think that something is happening with you, that life has not forgotten you, that it holds you in its hand; it will not let you fall. Why do you want to shut out of your life any agitation, any pain, any melancholy, since you really do not know what these states are working upon you?
—Rainer Maria Rilke (1875-1926), Letters to a Young Poet (1929, translated from German by M.D. Herter Norton)
sounds in the dark
Morton Feldman (1926-1987, MCOTD Hall of Fame), Clarinet and String Quartet (1983); KOAN Quartet and Katie Porter (clarinet), live, Los Angeles, 2/15/20
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lagniappe
random sights
yesterday, Chicago
*****
reading table
In the beggar’s tin
a few thin copper coins
and this evening rain—Kobayashi Issa (1763-1827), translated from Japanese by Sam Hamill
back to church
Vernard Johnson (alto saxophone), live, Texas (Roanoke), 2008
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lagniappe
random sights
this morning, Chicago (Columbus Park)
*****
reading table
At the ancient pond
a frog jumps into
the sound of water—Matsuo Basho (1644-1694), translated from Japanese by Sam Hamill
Feeling inert?
Not anymore.
Tomeka Reid Quartet (TR, cello; Mary Halvorson, guitar; Jason Roebke, bass; Tomas Fujiwara, drums), “Old New” (T. Reid), 2019
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lagniappe
random sights
yesterday, Chicago (Columbus Park)
*****
reading table
On these southern roads,
on shrine or thatched roof, all the same,
swallows everywhere—Yosa Buson (1716-1784), translated from Japanese by Sam Hamill
Something sweet for the strangest summer ever.
Bill Frisell (guitar) with Greg Leisz (pedal steel guitar), Tony Scherr (bass), Kenny Wollesen (drums), “Surfer Girl” (B. Wilson), live, France (Nevers), 2014
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lagniappe
random sights
yesterday, Oak Park, Ill.
*****
reading table
Brilliant moon,
is it true that you too
must pass in a hurry—Kobayashi Issa (1763-1827), translated from Japanese by Sam Hamill
basement jukebox
Otis Rush (1934-2018, vocals, guitar), “All Your Love (I Miss Loving)” (O. Rush), 1959
If you take the words from ‘Black Magic Woman’ and just leave the rhythm, it’s ‘All Your Love’—it’s Otis Rush.
—Carlos Santana
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lagniappe
random sights
yesterday, Oak Park, Ill.
*****
reading table
Roads run forever
Under feet forever
Falling away
Yet, it may happen that you
Come to the same place again
Stay! You could not do
Anything more certain—
Here you can wait forever
And rejoice at your arrival—Samuel Menashe (1925-2011)
basement jukebox
Dobby Dobson (July 5, 1942-July 21, 2020), “I’m a Loving Pauper,” 1967
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lagniappe
random sights
yesterday, Oak Park, Ill.
*****
reading table
A lifetime adrift in a boat, or in old age leading a tired horse into the years, every day is a journey, and the journey itself is home.
—Matsuo Basho (1644-1694), from Narrow Road to the Interior (translated from Japanese by Sam Hamill)
basement jukebox: sounds of Shreveport
B. L. Blade (Pastor Brady L. Blade Sr., 1939-, Zion Baptist Church; father of drummers Brady L. Blade Jr. and Brian Blade), “By His Grace We’ve Come a Long Way” (Parts I and II), 1982
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lagniappe
random sights
other day, Chicago
*****
reading table
bobbing and weaving
a know-nothing bird sings . . .
fallen leaves—Kobayashi Issa (1763-1827), translated from Japanese by David G. Lanoue
timeless
Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers (AB, drums; John Gilmore, tenor saxophone; Lee Morgan, trumpet; John Hicks, piano; Victor Sproles, bass), live (music starts at 4:25), Paris, 1965
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lagniappe
random sights
yesterday, Chicago
*****
reading table
If I had known
how sorrowful this world is,
I would have become
grass or a tree
in a deep mountain!—Ryokan (1758-1831), translated from Japanese by Kazuaki Tanahashi
