I never tire of these tiny, gemlike pieces.
Frederic Chopin (1810-1849), 24 Preludes (1835-1839); Sergio Fiorentino (1927-1998), piano, 1959
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lagniappe
reading table
Awake at night—
the sound of the water jar
cracking in the cold.—Matsuo Basho (1644-1694), translated from Japanese by Robert Hass
Where would we be without the tenor saxophone?
David S. Ware Quartet (DSW [1949-2012], tenor saxophone; Matthew Shipp, piano; William Parker, bass; Guillermo Brown, drums), live
Claude Debussy (1862-1918), Preludes, Book 1, Nos. 1-7, 9-11; Sviatoslav Richter (1915-1997), piano, live
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I am not a complete idiot, but whether from weakness or laziness have no talent for thinking. I know only how to reflect: I am a mirror . . . Logic does not exist for me. I float on the waves of art and life and never really know how to distinguish what belongs to the one or the other or what is common to both. Life unfolds for me like a theatre presenting a sequence of somewhat unreal sentiments; while the things of art are real to me and go straight to my heart.
passings
Allen Toussaint, songwriter, arranger, producer, singer, pianist, January 14, 1938-November 10, 2015
“Tipitina and Me,” 2005 (Our New Orleans)
One-word review: Wow!
Nicole Mitchell’s Sonic Projections (NM, flute; David Boykin, tenor saxophone; Craig Taborn, piano; Chad Taylor, drums), live, New York, 2014
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lagniappe
art beat: Sunday at the Art Institute of Chicago
Alfred Stieglitz (1864-1946), An Icy Night, New York, 1898 (Alfred Stieglitz and the 19th Century, through 3/27/16)
regal, adj. Characteristic of or resembling a monarch; splendid, magnificent, stately; distinguished. E.g., Mahalia Jackson.
Mahalia Jackson (1911-1972), “These Are They,” live (TV show), 1956 (Rejoice and Shout [2010], commentary by Smokey Robinson and Anthony Heilbut)
voices I miss
Albert Collins (1932-1993), “If Trouble Was Money,” live, 1990
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lagniappe
random sights
yesterday, Oak Park, Ill.
never enough
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750), Twelve Little Preludes
Tatiana Nikolayeva (1924-1993), piano
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lagniappe
random sights
yesterday, Chicago (Lurie Garden)
tonight in Chicago
They’ll be playing at the University of Chicago.
Wadada Leo Smith’s Golden Quartet (WLS, trumpet; Anthony Davis, piano; John Lindberg, bass; Pheeroan akLaff, drums; with Jesse Gilbert, video artist), “Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott, 381 Days” (W. L. Smith), live, Spain (San Sebastian), 2014
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lagniappe
art beat: yesterday at the Art Institute of Chicago
Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858), A Red Plum Branch against the Summer Moon
c. mid-1840s
music clip of the day 