#653 Musings Beyond the Bunker (Saturday May 6)
Good morning,
MUSIC
From Mark DiMaria, a meditation on jazz, with two of my favorite jazz pieces from two of the giants of the genre:
…Certain rhythmic patterns seem to have an intrinsic visceral appeal to us (or at least certain of us, depending on one's musical tastes).
One such pattern that I simply can't get out of my head appears in two of the most classic jazz pieces of all time, each a towering achievement in the "cool jazz" idiom. It is a repeating two bar theme in four/four time, in which a short melody in the first bar (usually with an odd number of notes) is followed by two strong half notes, the second of which is slightly syncopated…
My first exemplar is the John Coltrane classic, Blue Train, from the album of the same name, recorded by him in September 1957 on Blue Note:
The second is the Miles Davis recording, So What, from the album Kind of Blue, recorded in March 1959 on Columbia Records:
Hear it? The theme starts in from the outset on Blue Train, but only picks up in So What about 35 seconds in. Interestingly, Coltrane and his bassist Paul Chambers were part of both recordings. It would have been interesting to hear their take on the similarity of the two themes, particularly as many regard the Davis piece as the greatest jazz tune on the greatest jazz album of all time. But both are long gone (and Davis wouldn't give anyone the time of day in the first place).
POETRY
Dreams
by Langston Hughes
Hold fast to dreams
for if dreams die
life is a broken winged bird
that cannot fly.
Hold fast to dreams
for when dreams go
Life is a barren field
frozen with snow
SAYONARA, SATURDAYS!
After threatening to reduce the number of Musings, I’ve decided it’s time to drop to five days a week—BEGINNING IN JUNE. It is bad enough to demand attention over the five “work” days of the week but I think asking you to pick up these Musings on Saturdays as well is just a bit too much. As such, no more Saturdays. I will, however, focus on adding poetry, quotations, and music regularly—primarily adding them on Fridays for a “weekend edition.”
I’ll still be around five days a week. Hopefully, with fewer to read, you may decide to read more!
Have a great weekend,
Glenn
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