Approximately a year ago, I was introduced to the music of Nik Baertsch by a former friend who knows me enough to know I would definitely resonate with his style. Nik Baertsch is a Swedish Pianist/Composer who describes his music as "Zen Funk." I found myself hearing something I had never heard before - but more so "listening" to music differently. The music is beyond polyrhythmic and I always find it a challenge when listening to find the down beat. My music theory minded ears would otherwise dismiss this music but, my open ears discovered another world. . Very similar to your experience, I approach listening with open ears and mind. I have grown from the rigidity that music theory can sometimes present in how I listen to music. And for this I am grateful. There is however one definitive caveat - I either like it or I don't. And that's what makes the world go round. Thanks for the mirror - as always!
Bret, I was like you, shying away from Coltrane's experimental stuff. That was until I took a jazz class with John Swed (wrote a great book on Sun Ra) when I was a grad student at Penn in the 1990s. Lugging a box of tapes in with him, he picked out just the right things to play so we could begin to understand Trane's vision and humanity.
If you haven't already, I highly recommend checking out some of Alice Coltrane's work, especially the Impulse! albums. I wrote this about her today on the occasion of her birthday:
Excellent writing. I saw Alice live a number of times, including a late 90s concert at Town Hall where Alice and her son Ravi, shared the bill with Ravi Shankar and his daughter Anouska.
Guess, I need to meditate more. I could only hear about 15 minutes of that. It's just too frantic for me. But your experience of letting your mind go with the flow, reminds me of when I read Samuel Beckett the first few times, especially Watt. I found I had to just let me mind go with the flow in order to attempt to appreciate what he had to say.
Thank you for writing about Pauline Oliveros, a true American musical pioneer. Her early electronic works were groundbreaking. Listen to “Bye Bye Butterfly” as an entry point to her work.
Make friends with all. Everyone and everything. Try it. You'll like it 👌🏾
"One of the tasks of true friendship is to listen compassionately and creatively to the hidden silences. Often secrets are not revealed in words, they lie concealed in the silence between the words or in the depth of what is unsayable between two people."
Thanks for the interesting read and sharing. I am so unevolved. I have always been aware of it and deeply bothered by my lack of discipline in all things. Now at 70, I survive in accepted resignation and have high hopes for better luck in my next life.
I took my first LSD in 65. I continued for the next five years to delve into that. I was playing drums. In 67-68 I was in Detroit at the Artists' Workshop. I was in the w'shop late one night about 3 in the morning and I had a copy of Meditations. I was ridiculously high ; the walls pulsed, you know the whole bit. After listening to Trane I began to play. Oh my! Playing on acid is something else, something spooky and ecstatic. If you don't have some chops you're screwed. The strangest thing was that as I played my cymbals began to give off Arabic lettering. They flew out in circles of text with the brass ringing under drumsticks.
What's my record collection like? Like yours, I bet. Bought Free Jazz at a department store.
The acid takes over. It's like inviting some unknowable force into yourself. That's why chops are important. Otherwise things get chaotic. I LOVED playing psychedelic. I never knew what was going to pop out but it felt as if SOMETHING else was playing. I don't think it was the devil.
Approximately a year ago, I was introduced to the music of Nik Baertsch by a former friend who knows me enough to know I would definitely resonate with his style. Nik Baertsch is a Swedish Pianist/Composer who describes his music as "Zen Funk." I found myself hearing something I had never heard before - but more so "listening" to music differently. The music is beyond polyrhythmic and I always find it a challenge when listening to find the down beat. My music theory minded ears would otherwise dismiss this music but, my open ears discovered another world. . Very similar to your experience, I approach listening with open ears and mind. I have grown from the rigidity that music theory can sometimes present in how I listen to music. And for this I am grateful. There is however one definitive caveat - I either like it or I don't. And that's what makes the world go round. Thanks for the mirror - as always!
Bret, I was like you, shying away from Coltrane's experimental stuff. That was until I took a jazz class with John Swed (wrote a great book on Sun Ra) when I was a grad student at Penn in the 1990s. Lugging a box of tapes in with him, he picked out just the right things to play so we could begin to understand Trane's vision and humanity.
If you haven't already, I highly recommend checking out some of Alice Coltrane's work, especially the Impulse! albums. I wrote this about her today on the occasion of her birthday:
https://substack.com/home/post/p-172104324
Excellent writing. I saw Alice live a number of times, including a late 90s concert at Town Hall where Alice and her son Ravi, shared the bill with Ravi Shankar and his daughter Anouska.
Guess, I need to meditate more. I could only hear about 15 minutes of that. It's just too frantic for me. But your experience of letting your mind go with the flow, reminds me of when I read Samuel Beckett the first few times, especially Watt. I found I had to just let me mind go with the flow in order to attempt to appreciate what he had to say.
Thank you for writing about Pauline Oliveros, a true American musical pioneer. Her early electronic works were groundbreaking. Listen to “Bye Bye Butterfly” as an entry point to her work.
Make friends with all. Everyone and everything. Try it. You'll like it 👌🏾
"One of the tasks of true friendship is to listen compassionately and creatively to the hidden silences. Often secrets are not revealed in words, they lie concealed in the silence between the words or in the depth of what is unsayable between two people."
~John O’Donohue
Very true.
The exploration of sound and being vulnerable to new sounds takes big ears.
Ellington reputedly said thst there are two types of music: what you like and what you don’t.
Bring open to new music is growth.
Where I’d personally draw the line is willingness to be patient with the moral-and political.
Being open to perspectives is indeed important for growth. Knowing what is either nonsensical, amoral or dangerous is more important today than ever.
That’s not the mere passing of judgement but having a moral compass with truths that are unassailable.
In today’s world of AI and bumptious leaders, it’s easy to shrug and believe what you see or read-or hear.
That’s not necessarily growth, but myopia.
Thanks for the interesting read and sharing. I am so unevolved. I have always been aware of it and deeply bothered by my lack of discipline in all things. Now at 70, I survive in accepted resignation and have high hopes for better luck in my next life.
Thank you for this; it resonates. Listening to more jazz though, allowed me to open up space to start meditating. It was there when I was ready for it
Some people just grow older, some people grow older and wiser. Let the door swing both ways. Space is the place. ☯️
Just read this article, which reminded me of your post.
As the old song goes “Music Music Everywhere “
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/aug/27/florida-oyster-decline-jazz?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
I took my first LSD in 65. I continued for the next five years to delve into that. I was playing drums. In 67-68 I was in Detroit at the Artists' Workshop. I was in the w'shop late one night about 3 in the morning and I had a copy of Meditations. I was ridiculously high ; the walls pulsed, you know the whole bit. After listening to Trane I began to play. Oh my! Playing on acid is something else, something spooky and ecstatic. If you don't have some chops you're screwed. The strangest thing was that as I played my cymbals began to give off Arabic lettering. They flew out in circles of text with the brass ringing under drumsticks.
What's my record collection like? Like yours, I bet. Bought Free Jazz at a department store.
Jerry Garcia gave Carlos Santana some Acid before Santana's set at Woodstock. Carlos looks kinda spaced out in the movie. But he played great.
The acid takes over. It's like inviting some unknowable force into yourself. That's why chops are important. Otherwise things get chaotic. I LOVED playing psychedelic. I never knew what was going to pop out but it felt as if SOMETHING else was playing. I don't think it was the devil.