The here and now... and what and why

Complacency is a trap. At least that’s what I was thinking when I up and left the comfort of a Yankee prep school gig, where I taught music, amongst other things, for 28 years. There was also that life long career as a composer, musician and artist.

First, it was a year in St. Thomas, USVI, working as a reporter and shooting photography and then, a year in San Agustin Etla, Oaxaca, Mexico.
Time passed.
More time passed and a year back in the Athens of America followed by a hasty return to Oaxaca where it is all happening.
A couple of years in San Sebastian Etla and now, just down the road in San Pablo Etla. Life is good.

Click on an image to see it larger.
For additional photography please visit my flickr page.
You can find my music on Jango (World & latin - Worldbeat) and at iTunes and most online stores.
¡Soy consciente de todas las tradiciones del Internet!
If you are coming to Oaxaca, please contact me for tours or advice.

Santo Domingo

Santo Domingo
The view from Corazon del Pueblo

The hereafter re me

My photo
Oaxaca, Oaxaca, Mexico
Musician, photographer, videographer, reporter, ex-officio teacher, now attempting to be a world traveler

Friday, January 21, 2011

I read the news today, oh boy

It was depressing.

So, a few weeks early, 'cause we all need it, the best singer in the world.....
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Posted by at

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Oh yeah! True musos seem to digest the text (in this chestnuts case perhaps well pre-digested by us all) and truly repurpose it, way beyond the average "sample" maestro's concept of repurposing... as a snare drum is just a reverb excitement source, a vowel is a warm vibration to wrap ones tonsils, tongue and lips around.

I am old and jaded, and my attitude has blinded me to great young instrumentalists like this woman. I might wish she had material that matched her audacity, the style so beautifully played by the band, was almost forty years old ("play pretty for the people now"). She was like John Coltrane playing in Paul Whiteman's band. Must have set the way-back machine's dials wrong (but then I'm not opinionated, no sir).

All a theory that allows me to remain grumpily asserting that Jazz died somewhere in the mid-late seventies and they have been propping her body up all over town "No she's not dead, just because after 70 years of constant growth and change she has wanted to play the same thing over and over for thirty years! Why would you say such a thing? Here, Jazz, say something... " (hand up back moves) "urg" "See!"

Thank you for the introduction to such a great talent, that kind of good still can make me cry with happiness. I'd stay away from the news, but remember, the trend line for human kind (over millennia) is up, uP, UP!

January 27, 2011 at 11:38 PM

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