Sunday, April 30, 2006

Mr. Corea in Boston

Boston is a strange city, but perhaps only because I live in a town.
My parents and I, along with Ben, his friend Danny, and Al arrived in Boston at about 7pm last Friday. Ben and Dan and I went for a walk to a local record store which had a wonderful selection. Unfortunately time restraints and desperate needs for a bathroom called us away so we went into a pizza/sub place. I swore I saw one of my sisters friends who goes to Berklee working there. I wasn't sure if it was him so I didn't bother to say anything but I'm pretty sure it was him.

We headed back to the doors of the performance center and walked in at 7:45 to get our seats and take in the ambiance. The seats weren't bad but both times I've been there before have been better for viewing. It's a fairly small place though so there aren't really bad seats.

The trio (Chick Corea, Eddie Gomez, and Airto Moreira) began walking around the stage with different types of shakers and noise makers to begin what sounded like an improv at first. Chick eventually sat down at the keyboard and Airto began to sing from behind the drums. It wasn't really singing, more like like chanting. I have heard chanting like that before, but never in person. It takes on such a different presence when someone is doing it in front of you. Airto seemed to be an endless wellspring of ideas and sounds. They played an improvisation that hit a peak (for me at least) about half way through when Airto began to throat sing. I have never heard anyone throat sing along with an eclectic improv like this and I hope it wasn't the last. His voice took on a different tonality altogether. It hardly sounded human, but it was wonderful. They played a few standard jazz tunes and a few latin/brazilian tunes, which were the highlights for me. Although it would be silly for me to think of anything less than superb being played I was still amazed at how much I was hearing that I hadn't heard before. Oh if only I could speak of it as it deserves I may not feel so stupid writing this. Curse me!

"Intentional action generates intentional results and unforeseeable repercussions.
Unintentional action generates unintended consequences and inevitable repercussions."- Robert Fripp

Friday, April 14, 2006

Hymn of Good Friday

Yesterday, for seemingly no reason, an intense wave of misery washed over me like an illness. The morning was fine, but I was not able to work so I read. After reading I began to think of what I should do with my time but could find nothing and this pressure started to fill my mind and body like a plague that was layed upon me because of some unspeakably horrible sin I had committed. Although to my knowledge I could not find what unmentionable sin against God or man this could be aside from my everyday fallings I nevertheless inwardly suffered a great torment that gave me no rest. It was almost comforting to be back in this position as it had harassed me for many years before my depression was overcome and I could look at it as an old friend that I once had a longstanding quarrel with but, upon remeeting this old friend did not know why I felt the hatred I felt toward them before, but knew there was a definite reason for it. I thought for some time of why this burden suddenly forced itself on me again even though I had done nothing to call it back, despite its long absence from its role in my life. I walked at night in hope that it would perhaps be relieved if the new spring air could blow it away, but it didn't. My feet carried me to the cemetery across from the highschool and I walked to the top of one of the two hills to sit. I thanked God for the opportunity to feel the air in that way again and marveled at the way this sorrow had brought back my past mental afflictions, but also how it forced me to recall how I used to perceive my surroundings and the change that has been made because of recent efforts to carry certain weights differently than I once did.
There was a lurking madness to the sky that I hadn't seen for years that seemed to warn me that they were going to break but that this break would be controlled. I noticed immediately that it reflected my current state, and that despite this overbearing sorrow it was nonetheless controlled and I had no need to worry, and only thankfulness that this would be turned for a greater good very soon. I recognized this all as it has happened before but now it was shown in a different light. My prayer was answered that I would be able to know plans like these as they were happening, and not to be blind to them, no matter how painful they may be in the moment, and not to look eagerly, but to wait and be patient because it will be shown at the right moment, and I am not the one to say when.
A peace replaced this sorrow earlier that needed to be shown to me so that I may rest and be trusting that I should not try to do that which I am not capable of, but to grow on that which I have. Ask and yee shall receive. But I am only to be patient.

Wednesday, April 12, 2006

Slow music

Tuesday has somehow turned into a miracle night. Niles, Gary and I began to play at around 9 o'clock Tuesday night with no particular aim or purpose. This began, and continued throughout to be nothing of real worth. It had all pretty much happened before for about the first 50 minutes or so. There was a window that opened just enough so we could stick our fingers in little by little and lift it so the air could move freely (allegorical travesty). There were many points where it was a mutual feeling that the attempts at creating something worthwhile were hopeless, but persistance proved to be aimed in the right direction. At around 9:55 there was a shift and something poured out that seemed like it had been waiting there the whole time waiting for us to find it. It formed itself into its own seperate piece. We each contribted very little but the whole was so complete. Right when it was over Gary said "Church Bells... just wrote it". I gathered immediately that he meant it was so complete that it was as if we had spent a good amount of time working it out, but in reality it had formed itself that way. He went on to describe the meaning of "Church Bells" and how he remembered when he was younger in '74 and his dad took he and his siblings outside and around his town to the church when the official end of the Vietnam war had been declared and every church that had bells in America rang at the same time. I believe that was the story. Suddenly the music carried so much more meaning.
Thank God we happened to be recording. So now I have 3 tracks of not so great stuff (sometimes borderline painful) and one track of something that will resonate for quite a while.

One peice I would die happy were I to hear it in a live performance if I were actually there would be 'The Deception of the Thrush'. Just thought about that today and it had no bearring on anything whatsoever but I will keep it there.

The Bot is in dyer need of a new compressor which unfortunately will cost me a bundle. Actually it'll be fine without one but I will certainly need one in the summer. It heats up like a sauna with the smallest amount of sunlight shining on the interior. Anyway, now that the first paragraph that had anything to say is long overwith, I will not waste anymore time.