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
*****
*Democratic Republic of Congo.
old school
Gospelaires of Dayton, Ohio, “Feel the Spirit,” live, Europe, 1966
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lagniappe
random sights
this morning, Chicago (Columbus Park)
*****
reading table
Talk is a way of not looking.
***
Nothing speaks for itself.
***
Most of the people you know are almost mad.
—Ann Lauterbach (1942-), Many Times, But Then (1979), fragments (“Then Suddenly,” “The White Sequence”)
This I could listen to all day.
Toru Takemitsu (1930-1996), Rain Tree (1981); Bard Percussion (Amy Garapic, vibraphone; Petra Elek, marimba; Zihan Yi, marimba), live, Annandale-on-Hudson (Bard College), New York, 2012
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lagniappe
random sights
yesterday, Chicago (Columbus Park)
*****
reading table
We see with memory. My memory is different from yours, so if we’re both standing in the same place we’re not quite seeing the same thing. Different individuals have different memories, therefore other elements are playing a part. Whether you have been in a place before will affect you, and how well you know it. There’s no objective vision ever—ever.
—David Hockney (1937-), A Bigger Message: Conversations with David Hockney (Martin Grayford)
like nobody else
Ran Blake (1935-), “‘Round Midnight” (T. Monk), live, Italy (Milan), 2015
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lagniappe
reading table
Not quite dark yet
and the stars shining
above the withered fields.—Yosa Buson (1716-1783), translated from Japanese by Robert Hass
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.
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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 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
voices I miss
Tenor saxophonist Von Freeman (1923-2012, MCOTD Hall of Fame), “Footprints” (W. Shorter), live, Minneapolis, 1996 (Live at the Dakota);* Dead of Summer (Jean Seberg), 1970
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lagniappe
reading table
Autumn weighs upon me
but tomorrow will come
and I will miss tonight—Yosa Buson (1716-1783), translated from Japanese by W.S. Merwin and Takako Lento
*****
*With Bobby Peterson, piano; Terry Burns, bass; Phil Hey, drums.
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
