back to church
“The Day Is Past and Gone,” live, Shiloh Institutional Baptist Church, Charlotte, North Carolina, 1988
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lagniappe
*****
reading table
Children,
let’s go to the mountain
to view violets.
If they scatter away tomorrow,
what can we do?—Ryokan (1758-1831), translated from the Japanese by Kazuaki Tanahashi (Sky Above, Great Wind: The Life and Poetry of Zen Master Ryokan, 2012)
Three minutes of magic.
Friedrich Gulda (1930-2000, piano), live: Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750), Air on the G String (adapted from Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D major, 2nd Mvt.)
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lagniappe
random sights
yesterday, Oak Park, Ill.
*****
reading table
Autumn advances
and I become
a bit sad
closing the gate
to my hut.—Ryokan (1758-1831), translated from the Japanese by Kazuaki Tanahashi
timeless
Swan Silvertones (feat. Claude Jeter, Percell Perkins), “All Aboard” (P. Perkins), 1951
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lagniappe
random sights
other day, Chicago
*****
reading table
Blue sky, cold geese honk.
On a bare mountain, tree leaves flutter.
At dusk in the village, smoke billows from every house.
Alone with my empty bowl, I head home.—Ryokan (1758-1831), translated from the Japanese by Kazuaki Tanahashi
like nobody else
Nina Simone (1933-2003), “Ain’t Got No, I Got Life” (J. Rado, G. Ragni, G. MacDermot), live, London, 1968
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lagniappe
random sights
yesterday, Oak Park, Ill.
**********
reading table
Rising from sickness, I lean on a cane and stand by the river.
Countless peach petals flow downstream.—Ryokan (1758-1831), from “Upon getting up from sickness in late spring” (translated from the Japanese by Kazuaki Tanahashi)
sounds of Chicago
Kimmel/Ali/Harris (Jeff Kimmel, clarinet, electronics; Ishmael Ali, cello, guitar, electronics; Bill Harris, drums, synthesizer), live, Chicago (Constellation), last night
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lagniappe
random sights
other day, Oak Park, Ill.
*****
reading table
Summer night
transforms to daybreak.
I count fleas.—Ryokan (1758-1831), translated from the Japanese by Kazuaki Tanahashi
sounds of India
This I could listen to all day.
Sashank Subramanyam and Rakesh Chaurasia (flutes), Anubrata Chatterjee (tabla), Patri Satish Kumar (mridangam), live (Rag Hamsadwani), India (Velliangiri Hills), 2014
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lagniappe
random sights
yesterday, Oak Park, Ill.
*****
reading table
Not yet disappeared
like a dewdrop
on a blade of grass,
I am still in this floating world,
moon in the morning.—Ryokan (1758-1831), translated from Japanese by Kazuaki Tanahashi
more
Blind Willie Johnson (1897-1945), “Jesus Make Up My Dying Bed” (trad.), 1928
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lagniappe
random sights
yesterday, Chicago
*****
reading table
Mingling with the wind
the snow comes falling;
mingling with the snow
the wind comes blowing;
by banked coals
I stretch my legs,
idle, idle,
in this grass hut
a shut-in,
and counting, find
that the second month too
like a dream
has come and gone—Ryokan (1758-1831), translated from Japanese by Burton Watson
sounds of Paris
Edgard Varèse (1883-1965), Ionisation (1931); Ensemble Intercontemporain (Susanna Mälkki, direction), live, Paris, 2012
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lagniappe
random sights
other day, Chicago
*****
reading table
In the mountain’s shadow
my grass hut’s
so cold
I’ll be up burning firewood
all night long—Ryokan (1758-1831), translated from Japanese by Burton Watson
two takes
“Manhattan” (R. Rodgers, L. Hart)
Blossom Dearie (1924-2009, vocals, piano), 1959
*****
Sonny Rollins Trio (SR, tenor saxophone; Henry Grimes, bass; Charles Wright, drums), 1958
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lagniappe
random sights
yesterday, Oak Park, Ill.
*****
reading table
How did you wriggle
your way
into my dream path
through such deep snow
on the night mountain?—Ryokan (1758-1831), translated from Japanese by Kazuaki Tanahashi
Why not start the week with something small, quiet, beautiful?
Patricia Brennan (vibraphone), “Solar” (P. Brennan), live (studio), New York, 2018
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lagniappe
random sights
yesterday, Chicago
*****
reading table
Only thing
the thief left behind—
moon in my window.—Ryokan (1758-1831), translated from Japanese by Kazuaki Tanahashi
music clip of the day 