Just Another Day

Yeah, yet another day that I'm almost grateful that death has spared my mom and my dad from having to see... the very worst of inexplicability and helplessness, and, well, hopelessness.

The Duke

"The Duke" is Dave Brubeck's greatest composition, and a great tune. Inspired by Ellington and Darius Milhaud, with whom Dave studied briefly, the best version is, as many songs are, by Gil Evans with Miles Davis on, I think, Miles Ahead. (I won't check my vinyl in the garage.)

1. Chord progressions that, on a cheat sheet look arbitrary, sound to the ear organic.
2. Not so much the birth of the cool as the puberty of the cool, "the cool" being more or less the west coast response to bebop.
3. Really fun to play if you can wrap your head and hands around the constantly morphing chord changes.
4. Played in the exact right tempo, it swings hard whether solo piano or quartet or big band.

Though more often than not, Dave's experimentation with polyrhythms and progressive harmonies feuded with both Paul Desmond and what ended up being the legacy of novelty in jazz, and most hardcore (and arrogant!) jazzers would find Dave's music ultimately gimmicky. Understandable, but not necessarily fair.

Album to own: Time out.

Definitely a worthy ambassador of jazz and a tremendous human being. Which is more important we'll still never know.

Whew.

Well, Dog and I made it through deer season again, without getting shot, or shot at this time.

Good job, Dog!

Ken Burns' "Dustbowl", A Review

Wow.

Company

Good Steve Sondy show. But enough about me.

My sister, Julie, and her husband, Steve, came up yesterday from Athens, Ohio, for a visit. Nice time.

Steve is a former SeaBee, and they weren't here 10 minutes before he fixed the light on the '90 Ford that goes above the plow. Later we put the plow back on.

What a day. The weather the last several days has been nothing short of cruel. Moonpie, even with visitors, has spent the majority of the last 24 hours camped beneath a tree in Tom's tree line to the northeast. Raccoon. Damn I love that dog.

Shelves and mom's books. I need to talk more about this because there's an earnestness and alleged annoyance about it that wasn't there mere weeks ago.

Today prettier than yesterday, but a turn for the cold next week.

Please note deafening reticence re: Alabama game yesterday.

Whew.

You're welcome.

Alabama versus LSU

Whew.