How simply stated and totally true. Bret-you have inspired me to create a blog where I I will share my own writing. This made me cry and laugh and forced me into an instant meditative state. I am grateful for you. And Evans. And Coltrane.
You are a human being, with all that means. You''ve analyzed your reality to the point that you can organize your desires and aversions with wisdom. That's quite an achievement. There's probably some Buddhist term for this state. You also have Boldness; you don't shrink from the worst case. You face it down. Let me share something with you. For the past months I've been struggling to master the song "Angel Eyes". I'm in year 5 of my piano journey. It took a long time. It kept eluding me! I kept going, studying the tutorials. This week I can play a lucid version of the song. A real breakthrough!
In high school I had four years of Russian. I can read Cyrillic but I've forgotten almost everything. A few phrases. I follow Ukraine news assiduously, and I can refresh some of it by reading text on vehicles etc. I keep a Russian/English dictionary on hand. So...on to Angel Eyes. I'm now singing it...and it's very interesting how freely this song allows itself to be interpreted. Every version on Youtube is different. Some in different keys but mostly in B flat.
.Dear Bret, Just now discovering your stuff--including your piece on the unique Elmo Hope. Didn’t know about him, but does he ever fill in a hole. He really was the “third man”!
I love that line, “a kind of beauty held at a slight remove from the listener.” Seems like each of us, in our unique art, will always be--or ought to be--at that slight remove. On “Bertha,” the final chord is so “modernistic” that I can’t think of an allusion. The man followed his own trail, and only he could see the end.
I like to think about the “In between” pieces of jazz--blue notes and swing beats. Elmo seems right between Monk and Powell, but in his own space.
P.S. Would love to have heard him with Clifford!
On Bertha, I love how drums weave through melody. On 1:24-1:30, had Elmo and the drummer (who is he?) rehearsed this? Or was it wavelength synchronicity? It goes on--including the 1-bar cadence at 2:36-38.
On the bass solo, Elmo tosses in flower petals of song.
Anyway, just an appreciation and thanks for your great work!
That was so human. You've inspired me again. Thank you for this assignment - I'll spend a few minutes reflecting before running wildly back out into the chaos
Ah, thanks for inviting us to share what we love: katydids,walking sticks, praying mantises, the satisfaction of saving leftovers in a jar that fits perfectly, when I write a good poem or take an excellent picture, petting my poor dying skinny cat, sleeping with pooches, cooking something delicious for my husband and
How simply stated and totally true. Bret-you have inspired me to create a blog where I I will share my own writing. This made me cry and laugh and forced me into an instant meditative state. I am grateful for you. And Evans. And Coltrane.
Let me know the URL for your blog!
You are a human being, with all that means. You''ve analyzed your reality to the point that you can organize your desires and aversions with wisdom. That's quite an achievement. There's probably some Buddhist term for this state. You also have Boldness; you don't shrink from the worst case. You face it down. Let me share something with you. For the past months I've been struggling to master the song "Angel Eyes". I'm in year 5 of my piano journey. It took a long time. It kept eluding me! I kept going, studying the tutorials. This week I can play a lucid version of the song. A real breakthrough!
I'm learning Spanish and it is.....impossible. Love Angel Eyes, one of the great ones.
In high school I had four years of Russian. I can read Cyrillic but I've forgotten almost everything. A few phrases. I follow Ukraine news assiduously, and I can refresh some of it by reading text on vehicles etc. I keep a Russian/English dictionary on hand. So...on to Angel Eyes. I'm now singing it...and it's very interesting how freely this song allows itself to be interpreted. Every version on Youtube is different. Some in different keys but mostly in B flat.
.Dear Bret, Just now discovering your stuff--including your piece on the unique Elmo Hope. Didn’t know about him, but does he ever fill in a hole. He really was the “third man”!
I love that line, “a kind of beauty held at a slight remove from the listener.” Seems like each of us, in our unique art, will always be--or ought to be--at that slight remove. On “Bertha,” the final chord is so “modernistic” that I can’t think of an allusion. The man followed his own trail, and only he could see the end.
I like to think about the “In between” pieces of jazz--blue notes and swing beats. Elmo seems right between Monk and Powell, but in his own space.
P.S. Would love to have heard him with Clifford!
On Bertha, I love how drums weave through melody. On 1:24-1:30, had Elmo and the drummer (who is he?) rehearsed this? Or was it wavelength synchronicity? It goes on--including the 1-bar cadence at 2:36-38.
On the bass solo, Elmo tosses in flower petals of song.
Anyway, just an appreciation and thanks for your great work!
All best,
Peter Gerler
Newton, MA
pgerler@verizon.net
www.jazztalks.com
Appreciate the kind words.
That was so human. You've inspired me again. Thank you for this assignment - I'll spend a few minutes reflecting before running wildly back out into the chaos
A content departure - blasting off into a digitally dynamic, un-gendered Cosmo orbit.
Helen Gurley Brown is smiling down, up, and sideways. That ain’t easy, bet her face hurts
Ah, thanks for inviting us to share what we love: katydids,walking sticks, praying mantises, the satisfaction of saving leftovers in a jar that fits perfectly, when I write a good poem or take an excellent picture, petting my poor dying skinny cat, sleeping with pooches, cooking something delicious for my husband and
myself, my husband, a full moon, old friends.
I love reading Syncopated Justice. Really!