sounds of New York (day two)
Here, as in the city itself, density and spaciousness coexist.
Tim Berne’s Cornered,* “Embraceable Me,” live, New York, 10/12/14
*TB, alto saxophone; Oscar Noriega, clarinets; Ryan Ferreira, guitar; Matt Mitchell, piano; Michael Formanek, bass; Ches Smith, drums, vibraphone.
sounds of New York (day one)
Tamio Shiraishi, live, New York, 10/12/14
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lagniappe
reading table
Even in Kyoto—
hearing the cuckoo’s cry—
I long for Kyoto.—Matsuo Basho (1644-1694; translated from Japanese by Robert Hass)
two takes
“A Little Lost” (A. Russell)
Sufjan Stevens (1975-), 2014
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Arthur Russell (1951-1992)
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lagniappe
art beat
Helen Levitt (1913-2009), New York, 1940s
only rock ‘n’ roll
The Ex, “Every Sixth Is Cracked,” live (studio performance), Netherlands, 2014
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lagniappe
art beat
William Klein (1928-), Dance in Brooklyn, New York, 1955
passings
Joe Sample, keyboard player, composer, February 1, 1939-September 12, 2014
Digable Planets with guests Lester Bowie (trumpet), Melvin “Wah Wah Watson” Ragin (guitar), Joe Sample (keyboards), “Flyin’ High in the Brooklyn Sky,” live, New York, 1990s
As much as I love Lester, a MCOTD Hall-of-Famer, this performance could get along without him. Same with Wah Wah Watson. Not Joe—he makes everybody sound better.
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lagniappe
random thoughts
Life doesn’t end; it stops.
composer, n. somebody who wants to hear sounds nobody’s ever heard before.
Mario Diaz de León (1979-), Prism Path; International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE),* live, New York, 2011
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*Claire Chase, flutes; Eric Lamb, flutes; Joshua Rubin, clarinets; Cory Smythe, piano; Nathan Davis, percussion; Mario Diaz de León, electronics.
Let’s return to New York for another take on piano and string quartet.
Vijay Iyer (piano) and the Brentano String Quartet, from “Time, Place, Action” (V. Iyer), live, New York, 2014
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Happy (88th) birthday to my mother, who’s been dead almost two decades. When it comes to longevity, my genes are lousy. But, always, there’s today.
Let’s start the week with something that jumps.
Dirty Projectors, “Imagine It,” live, New York (Silent Barn, Brooklyn), 2007
tonight in Chicago
This guy will be playing at the Hideout.
Daniel Levin, cello
With JP Carletti (drums), live, New Haven, Conn., 2013
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With his trio, live, Jersey City, N.J., 2008
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Solo, live, New York, 2009
2ⁿ
Taylor Ho Bynum (cornet) & Tomas Fujiwara (drums), live, New York 2014
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lagniappe
art beat
Helen Levitt (1913-2009), New York, c. 1940
music clip of the day 