alone
These pieces, inspired by Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier, were dedicated to her.
Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975), 24 Preludes and Fugues (1950-51); Tatiana Nikolayeva (1924-1993), live (BBC studio), 1992
Nos. 4 and 5
***
Nos. 10 and 11
***
No. 24
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lagniappe
art beat
Helen Levitt (1913-2009), Mexico City, 1941
three takes
“What Would You Give in Exchange for Your Soul”
Marty Stuart (vocals, mandolin) & Del McCoury (vocals, guitar)
Live (TV show), 2009
***
Bill Monroe (vocals, mandolin) & Doc Watson (vocals, guitar)
Recording, 1963
***
Johnny Cash
Live (TV interview)
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lagniappe
art beat
Helen Levitt (1913-2009), New York, 1940
more Miles
Miles Davis Septet,* “Yesternow,” live, Norway (Oslo), 1971
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lagniappe
art beat
Lee Friedlander (1934-), Japan (Hiroshima), 1984
*MD (trumpet), Gary Bartz (alto saxophone), Keith Jarrett (keyboards), Michael Henderson (bass), Leon Chandler (drums), Don Alias (percussion), James “Mtume” Forman (percussion).
timeless
Hank Williams, “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry” (H. Williams), 1949
Note for note, syllable for syllable, this may be the most perfect song I know.
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lagniappe
art beat
Bruce Davidson (1933-), New York (Coney Island), 1959
basement jukebox
The Ohio Untouchables (feat. Robert Ward, guitar), “Forgive Me Darling,” 1962
***
Lonnie Mack, “Memphis,” 1963
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lagniappe
musical thoughts
Maybe, when this life is over, instead of listening to music, we’ll become it.
Three-word review: Don’t miss this.
Maurice Ravel (1875-1937), String Quartet in F major (1903); Hagen Quartet, live, Austria (Salzburg), 2000
1st movt.
2nd movt.
3rd movt.
4th movt.
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lagniappe
reading table
Can I get used to it day after day
a little at a time while the tide keeps
coming in faster the waves get bigger
building on each other breaking records
this is not the world that I remember
then comes the day when I open the box
that I remember packing with such care
and there is the face that I had known well
in little pieces staring up at me
it is not mentioned on the front pages
but somewhere far back near the real estate
among the things that happen every day
to someone who now happens to be me
and what can I do and who can tell me
then there is what the doctor comes to say
endless patience will never be enough
the only hope is to be the daylight—W. S. Merwin, “Living With the News” (New Yorker, 7/28/14)
never enough
Miles Davis Septet,* “What I Say,” live, Norway (Oslo), 1971
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lagniappe
art beat
Lee Friedlander (1934-), Japan (Kyoto), 1981
*****
*MD (trumpet), Gary Bartz (soprano saxophone), Keith Jarrett (keyboards), Michael Henderson (bass), Leon Chandler (drums), Don Alias (percussion), James “Mtume” Forman (percussion).
Why not begin the week with something beautiful?
Claude Debussy (1862-1918), String Quartet in G minor (1893); New England Conservatory Student Quartet (Minchae Kim & Harry Chang, violins; Heejin Chang, viola; Hsiao-Hsuan Huang, cello), live, Boston, 2014
*****
A big birthday shout-out to my son Alex (now twenty-seven), who’s enriched my life, musically and otherwise, more than he could ever know.
two takes
“I Know I’ve Been Changed”
St. James Missionary Baptist Church, Canton, Miss., 1978
*****
Tom Waits, c. 2006
only rock ‘n’ roll
Savages, live, Italy (Milan), 2013
