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
tenor fest
day one
Dexter Gordon (1923-1990), “Blues Up and Down” (G. Ammons, S. Stitt), live, Denmark, 1967*
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lagniappe
reading table
Withered grass,
under piling
heat waves.—Matsuo Basho (1644-1694), translated from Japanese by Lucien Stryk and Takashi Ikemoto
*****
*With Kenny Drew, piano; Niels-Henning Orsted Pedersen, bass; Albert “Tootie” Heath, drums.
Whether you live for 50 years, 500 years, or 5,000 years, it makes no difference: always there are new things to hear.
Dieter Ammann (1962-), Violation (1999); Lemanic Modern Ensemble (William Blank, cond.) with Karolina Öhman, cello; live, Russia (St. Petersburg), 2014
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lagniappe
reading table
The old pond—
a frog jumps in,
sound of water.—Matsuo Basho (1644-1694; translated from Japanese by Robert Hass)
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)
Why not begin the week with something beautiful?
John Cage (1912-1992), In a Landscape (1948); Shira Legmann (piano), live, Boston
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lagniappe
reading table
Winter garden,
the moon thinned to a thread,
insects singing.—Matsuo Basho (1644-1694; translated from Japanese by Robert Hass)
basement jukebox
The Capitalaires, “Holy Ghost” (c. 1964)
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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)
alone
Mochizuki Harutaka (alto saxophone), live, Japan (Hamamatsu), 2011
#1
#2
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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)
*****
art beat: yesterday at the Art Institute of Chicago (lunch hour)
Ilse Bing (1899-1998), Three Men Sitting on Steps at the Seine, Paris (1931)
sounds of Chicago
Before “A Change Is Gonna Come,” before “Chain Gang,” before “You Send Me,” before . . .
Soul Stirrers (feat. Sam Cooke [1931-1964])
“Touch the Hem of His Garment,” 1956
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“Nearer My God To Thee,” live, Los Angeles, 1955
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lagniappe
reading table
Gray hairs being plucked,
and from below my pillow
a cricket singing—Matsuo Basho (1644-1694; translated from Japanese by Sam Hamill)
passings
Roy Campbell Jr., trumpeter, September 29, 1952-January 9, 2014
Live (RC, pocket trumpet; Rasul Siddik, trumpet; Jobic Le Masson, piano; Aldridge Hansberry, drums), Paris, 2006
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lagniappe
reading table
In the dirty city
one rare glimpse—
mountain moon—Matsuo Basho (1644-1694, translated from Japanese by David Young)
Something quiet, and lyrical, and beautiful to begin the year.
Frederic Chopin (1810-1849), Nocturne in D-flat major, Op. 27, No. 2; Shura Cherkassky (1909-1995), piano, 1956
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lagniappe
reading table
year after year—
the monkey wearing
a monkey’s mask—Matsuo Basho (1644-1694), New Year’s Day, 1693 (translated from Japanese by David Landis Barnhill)
music clip of the day 