Home : Plato's Words : September 2001

September 2001

Lately it seems, I have been listening to more and more instrumental groups and fewer vocalists but for a couple of days in August as I vigorously cleaned and reorganized my music studio I listened to vocalist Dianne Reeves several times. Her recording "In The Moment" specifically is what I played over and over. I've always liked the idea of music being created "in the moment" when it comes to jazz. I like the feeling of unpredictability and newness of singing a song I may have sung hundreds of times before. The song becomes fresh and surprising again because of who you are playing with and what tempo is chosen, what harmonic colors are played and by the intensity that can be felt at times depending on the connection amongst the musicians. This of course doesn't always happen but when it does…wow! On Diane Reeves "In The Moment" there are obvious clear and tight arrangements and frame works for the tunes but there is also an exciting sense of abandon and risk taking that I find liberating to hear. She uses every part of her voice and in some of her vocal improvisations is scatting while at other times she is almost "speak singing" like "sprech stimme" that you hear in opera where the singer is singing in a more conversational than melodic manner. There is a unique connection that I feel as she sings about some very personal aspects of her life in telling stories about despairs and joys that she has experienced so far. Together with the band her energy grows and kicks into high gear as the tunes are shaped and taken on a journey that truly seem to unfold "in the moment" with that sense of abandon that I find exciting to hear. Of course this is a live recording so it is not just a title, it is the truth for this CD, everything happening right now with no over dubs or additions or changes made.

For a week in August while on vacation I listened to two Ritchie Beirach recordings several times. "The Snow Leopard" was recorded with George Mraz and Billy Hart. On one of the listens I was looking up at the mountain scene before me on a sky blue perfect clear day and I involuntarily cried as the notes to "Peace Piece" were played. This is a composition by Bill Evans and this version is absolutely sensitive and powerful at the same time. It really seemed as though everything was at peace as I looked up at the massive grandeur of the mountain on that August day. I wonder what Bill Evans was looking at or thinking about when he found inspiration and heard that beautiful melody in his head.

On "Trust" Beirach recorded with Dave Holland and Jack DeJohnette. These three stellar musicians create music on a level that I aspire to understand in some way on my path of being a student of jazz and improvized music. Each of the players of course are such incredible musicians that when the three creative minds come together magic seems to ensue. The listening journey I would say is like driving on a road that winds and twists with each corner leading you to a new surprise, a new vista that has not been seen before.

Everyone of us, it seems can relate to the excitement of going to hear your musical heros perform live. You already have a frame of reference from listening to their recordings and radio broadcasts of their concerts. I was excited to hear a singer at the end of August who is not famous and who I had never heard before. Without any frame of reference at all it was that I was able to hear several singers and a great band perform on a hot August night. Several singers took their turns strutting their stuff, so to speak, with the same band. I was one of those singers too. The singer who touched me was in fact a singer who truly did not strut any stuff. She did not entertain or draw attention to herself or wildly improvise or anything of that nature. Man, could she sing! With a big voice, beautiful pitch and with honesty in her expression and delivery she had me believe every word she sang. One of the songs she sang that evening is one of my all time favorites, "Lazy Afernoon". She created a most quiet whispering kind of mood that pulled you into the words she was singing; simply singing with no theatrics or other "singer stuff" that I see sometimes happen with performers. Her name is Lynn Bush and she will be releasing her first ever recording this fall in the States. I hope she gets to come and sing in Vancouver some time.

On the performing front I am still working on the final details to my first ever Eastern Canadian tour with guitarist Bill Coon. The "Tis Autumn" tour will begin in the middle of October and has me feeling excited with anticipation. The only negative aspect is that Bill and I have to miss Keith Jarrett who is performing here in Vancouver on October 30. I imagine that this will be an amazing concert to attend so I am disappointed that it happens to land on the date it does but you can't have everything you want, can you?

Karin