what’s new
Hot 8 Brass Band, “Love Will Tear Us Apart, 10/24/18
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Here’s the original (remastered).
Joy Division, 1980, 2010
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lagniappe
random sights
this morning, Oak Park, Ill.
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reading table
Deep autumn—
my neighbor,
how does he live, I wonder?—Matsuo Basho (1644-1694), translated from Japanese by Robert Hass
more
Jürg Frey (1953-), Klavierstück Arrangement Nr. 1-3 (1991); Keiko Shichijo (piano), live, c. 2011
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On a journey, ill:
my dream goes wandering
over withered fields.—Matsuo Basho, 1644-1694 (translated from Japanese by Yoel Hoffmann; Japanese Death Poems, Yoel Hoffmann, ed.)
spring!
Blossom Dearie (1924-2009; vocals, piano), “They Say It’s Spring” (M. Clark, B. Haymes), 1958
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Bob Dorough (1923-; vocals, piano), “Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most” (T. Wolf, F. Landesman), 1997
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Sun Ra Arkestra (SR, 1914-1993, piano; June Tyson, vocals; John Gilmore, tenor saxophone, et al.), “Springtime Again” (S. Ra), live, Rome, 1980
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First day of spring—
I keep thinking about
the end of autumn.—Matsuo Basho, 1644-1694 (translated from Japanese by Robert Hass)
The lights are going out
in the doll shops—
spring rain.—Yosa Buson, 1716-1784 (translated from Japanese by Robert Hass)
Not very anxious
to bloom,
my plum tree.—Kobayashi Issa, 1763-1827 (translated from Japanese byRobert Hass)
what’s new
John Prine, “Summer’s End” (J. Prine), 2/8/18
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lagniappe
reading table
This road—
no one goes down it,
autumn evening.—Matsuo Basho, 1644-1694 (translated from Japanese by Robert Hass)
what’s new
St. Vincent, “Pills” (Masseduction, 10/13/17)
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lagniappe
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A crow
has settled on a bare branch—
autumn evening.—Matsuo Basho, 1644-1694 (translated from Japanese by Robert Hass)
mesmerizing
John Luther Adams (1953-), Four Thousand Holes (2010)
Taka Kigawa (piano), Chris Graham (percussion), live, New York, 2017
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lagniappe
reading table
This road—
no one goes down it,
autumn evening.—Matsuo Basho, 1644-1694 (translated from Japanese by Robert Hass)
never enough
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750), The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1
András Schiff (piano), live, London, 9/7/17
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Cold night: the wild duck,
sick, falls from the sky
and sleeps awhile.—Matsuo Basho (1644-1694), translated from Japanese by Robert Hass
Sometimes I want to hear something that will quicken my pulse; sometimes I want something that will slow it—like this, for instance, which I heard the other night in Chicago, played by the group for whom it was written (a.pe.ri.od.ic). One sound . . . another . . . another . . .
Jürg Frey (1953-), Fragile Balance (2014), excerpt; Ensemble Grizzana (Jürg Frey, clarinet; Mira Benjamin, violin; Richard Craig, flute; Emma Richards, viola; Philip Thomas, piano; Seth Woods, cello); 2015
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lagniappe
reading table
Winter seclusion—
sitting propped against
the same worn post—Matsuo Basho (1644-1694), translated from Japanese by Sam Hamill (The Sound of Water: Haiku by Basho, Buson, Issa, and Other Poets)
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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Autumn again
getting old is like
a bird flying into a cloud—Matsuo Basho (1644-1694), translated from Japanese by David Young
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
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Seen in plain daylight
the firefly’s nothing but
an insect—Matsuo Basho (1644-1694; translated from Japanese by Sam Hamill)
music clip of the day 