Time Run Out: Dave Brubeck

 

Among the first jazz records The Leopard ever listened to in a semi-serious way was Miles Davis'  seminal Kind of Blue,  John Coltrane's My Favorite Things and Dave Brubeck's Time Out. Miles' album made me appreciate the sensual intricacies of improvisational music, Coltrane the fiery expression, and with Brubeck, the seemingly limitless possibilities of the medium.

Tunes such as "Blue Rondo A La Turk", " Kathy's Waltz" and the massively popular "Take Five"  expressed what jazz could be, and where it was going. it could be crazy popular (Time Out was the first jazz recording to sell over a million copies), but also challenging. Brubeck was a visionary.

 As Donald Fagen Of Steely Dan immortalized in his tune "New Frontier":

I hear you're mad about Brubeck

I like your eyes, I like him too
He's an artist, a pioneer
We've got to have some music on the new frontier".

Click here for the Dave Brubeck composition "Blue Shadows In The Street". 

Chick Corea ""From Miles" band at the Blue Note

There was a moment this week while attending a concert at the Blue Note Jazz Club with the brilliant jazz chameleon Chick Corea and his sturdy From Miles band - Wallace Roney on trumpet, Eddie Gomez, sax, Jack Dejohnette, drums, and Gary Bartz bass,  when the walls of the esteemed club seemed to fade and the sounds of the streets outside grew silent. All that mattered was the direct communication between the musicians and the listener, and every sound - the light crash of a cymbal, the blast from a horn, the touch of a piano key, - took one out of everyday existence.

We felt transported to another time and place, maybe where Davis' band played in some small club -- The Keystone Korner in San Francisco, maybe - with many of the original musicians present.

The bright, serpentine horn of Roney, flawlessly channeling Miles' unmistakable sound, was like an organic time machine. When I closed my eyes for a moment, I was sure I was as close to experiencing the 1974 era Miles Davis band as I would ever be.

Thanks, Chick, for bringing us back Miles, even for a moment.

Leopard's Book Shelf

From time to time, folks ask the Leopard what he's reading. Unfortunately, the answer is somewhat complicated, because I usually have several books going simultaneously. The Leopard's reading habits are somewhat idiosyncratic:  I tend to read one book for a while in spurts, then switch to another sometimes several times a day. Often the subjects can be fairly diverse, as I have many interests. But they tend to be centered around the arts.  Were I forced to make a choice of what kind of books I read the most under torture (say, someone pulling nose hairs out one at a time with a pair of tweezers), it would be probably be biography, because I am most fascinated by what makes a person become what he or she becomes.

Here's a list of some of the books I'm reading at the moment. We'll add more books to the shelf as they become available.

1. Skim by Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki A beautifully drawn graphic novel about two teenage girls in high school in a very special friendship.

2. Introducing Kafka by David Zane Mairowitz; Illustrated by Robert Crumb A beginner's guide to Kafka, magnificently illustrated by Crumb.

3. Bicycle Diaries by David ByrneA fascinating travelogue around the world on a two-wheeler by the former Talking Head.

4. It's About That Time by Richard Cook One of the many books I've read on Miles Davis, this one is notable for an LP by LP assessment of every significant ( by the author's estimation) record Miles ever made.

5. No One Belongs Here More Than You by Miranda July

A collection of short stories so original that I'm re-reading them. A Wonderful quirky style. By the brilliant filmmaker/performance artist/writer/actress.

6.  Thelonious Monk  by Robert D.G. Kelley The definitive biography about the genius musician composer Monk.

7.  The Talented Miss Highsmith by Joan Schenkar Entertaining and superbly written, Schenkar's biography of the novelist responsible for Two Strangers On A Train, The Talented Mr. Ripley and many other stories is remarkably candid.