3n
Matthew Shipp Trio (MS, piano; Michael Bisio, bass; Whit Dickey, drums), live, Cold Spring, N.Y., 2011
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lagniappe
reading table
Don’t be too eager to ask
What the gods have in mind for us . . .—Horace (65 BC-25 BC), Ode I.11 (excerpt; translated from Latin by David Ferry)
They play each note as if, at that particular moment, nothing in the world is more important.
György Kurtág (1926-) and Márta Kurtág, live, Kurtág (Játékok [Games]) and Bach (miscellaneous transcriptions), Paris, 2012
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lagniappe
musical (and other) thoughts
Q. One last question—are you a believer?
A [G. Kurtág]. I do not know. I toy with the idea. Consciously, I am certainly an atheist, but I do not say it out loud, because if I look at Bach, I cannot be an atheist. Then I have to accept the way he believed. His music never stops praying. And how can I get closer if I look at him from the outside? I do not believe in the Gospels in a literal fashion, but a Bach fugue has the Crucifixion in it—as the nails are being driven in. In music, I am always looking for the hammering of the nails. . . . That is a dual vision. My brain rejects it all. But my brain isn’t worth much.
—Alex Ross, New Yorker blog, quoting György Kurtág: Three Interviews and Ligeti Homages (2009)
rock ’n’ roll, n. where electric guitars and drums collide.
True Believers,* live, Austin (SXSW, Mellow Johnny’s Bike Shop), 3/13
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lagniappe
reading table
I said, Annie, I’m only forty-eight. There’s lots of time for me to be totally wrecked—if I live, I mean.
—Grace Paley, “Friends”
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*Alejandro Escovedo (vocals, guitar), Jon Dee Graham (vocals, guitar), Javier Escovedo (vocals, guitar), Denny DeGorio (bass), Rey Washam (drums).
No piano or organ. No guitar. No bass, no drums. So many things aren’t here. But nothing’s missing.
Heavenly Gospel Singers, “Sit Down Servant and Rest Awhile,” live, St. James Missionary Baptist Church, Canton, Mississippi, 1978
achieving world peace: a how-to guide
Last night, at FitzGerald’s (see the last two posts), everybody was intoxicated by music. Violent behavior? None. Here, at this club 7,500 miles away, the story’s the same, as you’ll see. The way to world peace seems plain: put a club on every corner.
Fendika, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
tonight
These guys will be at FitzGerald’s (see yesterday’s post)—me, too.
St. Paul and the Broken Bones, “Broken Bones and Pocket Change,” live, Nashville, 2012
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Went to Mercury Lounge tonite. I have seen the future of music & the name of the band is St. Paul & the Broken Bones.
—Rosanne Cash, Twitter, 6/5/13
Happy 4th of July!
It’s easy, sometimes, to take even great blessings for granted, like, for instance, living within walking distance—yes, walking distance—of a wonderful club (FitzGerald’s), where, last night, at their annual American Music Festival (three stages, four days), now in its thirty-third year, I saw these folks.
Joe Hall & The Louisiana Cane Cutters, live, Louisiana (Breaux Bridge), 2009
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Sleepy LaBeef, “Strange Things Happening Every Day” (plus interview), TV show (Late Night with Conan O’Brien), 1994
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The Paladins, “Kiddeo,” live, Netherlands, 2007
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lagniappe
radio
Today, celebrating one of his birthdays (a long story), WKCR-FM (Columbia University) will be playing Louis Armstrong—and nothing but—all day.
what’s new
I don’t understand a word of German. No matter. Commitment and passion don’t require translation.
Carolin Widmann (violin), playing and talking; Morton Feldman (1926-1987), Violin and Orchestra (1979); CM, Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra (Emilio Pomarico, cond.), ECM Records, 5/13
This is, to these ears, just perfect.
Sonny Rollins Trio (SR, tenor saxophone; Henry Grimes, bass; Pete La Roca, drums), “Weaver of Dreams,” live, Netherlands (Laren), 1959
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lagniappe
random thoughts
What will the world be like without you?
