In my previous post, I reference the traces of Phineas Newborn Jr. in Kenny Drew Jr.’s piano. Here is a video of Phineas playing Oleo, showing his gift of speed and precision. I think William will appreciate it. Nevertheless, sometimes I prefer the same story to be told with fewer notes.
And don’t worry, I will be back to my usual digressions as soon as I have a little free time away from drafting contracts.
Filed under Jazz
John Coltrane’s “My Favorite Things” (shown here with a 22 year old McCoy Tyner on piano) was one of the first pieces of Jazz that really turned me onto the genre. I think that listening to a standard or a popular song interpreted by a Jazz musician gives the listener a good idea of what the musicans are trying to express through their art form. For example, here one can see how Coltrane is trying to recreate the tune “My Favorite Things” through his own vision of music and the world in an entirely new way.
Last night after seeing Martirio with the Kenny Drew Jr. Trio, William and I had a long conversation about Jazz. Here are some of my impressions:
Filed under Jazz
Here is a great video by the Roots, poking fun at your standard Rap videos. Very good, very funny.
Filed under Digressions
Mi querida amiga, Laura, me ha señalado hoy que una de las razones principales por no seguir mi blog con regularidad es que apenas le dedico los posts que corresponden a su importancia en mi vida. La única respuesta que le puedo dar es que hasta yo mismo tengo algunas cosas que guardo solamente para mi y no comparto con los demás.
Sin embaro, le dedico este cuadro de Gauguin y estas palabras de Neruda que expresan mi cariño por ella:
. . . te amo como se aman ciertas cosas oscuras,
secretamente, entre la sombra y el alma.
Filed under Friends / Family
Mi poema favorito de Féderico García Lorca que además va muy bien con este cuadro del nascimiento de Venus:
Venus, así te vi
La joven muerta
en la concha de la cama,
desnuda de flor y de brisa
surgía en la luz perenneQuedaba el mundo,
lirio de algodón y sombra,
asomado a los cristales,
viendo el tránsito infinito.La joven muerta,
surcaba el amor por dentro.
Entre la espuma de las sábanas
se perdía su cabellera.
Filed under Digressions
Tomorrow evening (inshala), I am going to see Martirio accompanied by the Kenny Drew Jr. Trio at the Festival de Jazz de Madrid. When I tell people that I am a Martirio fan here in Spain, everyone looks at me as if I were a total freak. Apparently, Martirio has a reputation in Spain as being exactly that, a freak. She always wears dark sunglasses and her hair in crazy styles. Nevertheless, she has a remarkable voice, and in the past ten years or so, she has made great albums such as “Coplas de Madrugada” and “Flor de Piel” fusing Jazz, flamenco and traditional coplas and boleros. Kenny Drew Jr. is the son of the famous pianist Kenny Drew who played on John Coltrane’s “Blue Trane“.
Filed under Jazz
This is my favortie clip of Thelonious Monk playing. Not only does it display Monk’s music at his coolest, it also portrays the fullness of Monk’s piano in the trio setting. Direcly in front of Monk watching with a grin (that supposedly annoyed him) is Count Basie. Notice the white guy in the background has no idea of how to react to what he is experiencing.
Filed under Jazz
Here is the trailer to Zidane, un portrait du 21e siècle, filmed entirely during a Real Madrid v. Villareal game in 2005.
Filed under Zizou
Este domingo se jugó el partido entre el UB Barça y el Burgos donde se enfrentaron las ex-compañeras Rose Superstar y Sonia Blanco. Salió vencedor el Barça 58-54. Es una pena que no pudiera presenciar el encuentro y ver a mis dos amigas. Ojala en breve pueda asistir a algún partido del Barça con la mega-Laurita para animar a nuestra Rose Superstar.
Filed under Rose Superstar
Today, one of my closest friends here in Madrid, Waya, gave birth to a healthy boy. I would like to welcome Leo Varsavsky Quiviger into this world. This world is sometimes difficult, but most of the time, if you stop for just one short second to reflect and to look around you, you will experience an incredibly beautiful place, especially with a family who loves you. Leo, from today onwards, November 4th will always be your very special day.
Filed under Friends / Family
Grave Error 