Brubeck concert, briefly.

[mrissa]

I told aedifica I would post a concert report about last night's Dave Brubeck concert, but markgritter beat me to it, here. Mostly I agree with Mark; I think he's keener on jazz standards than I am, but I enjoyed the Brubeck versions as well, and I had told myself that I was not going to get very much of the weirdo original stuff that is why I like Brubeck (and I was right, and therefore not disappointed).

I'm very glad to have had a chance to see him once. He's one of my favorite jazz musicians ever; almost certainly my favorite living jazz musician.

I was very amused at the choice of Brahms's lullaby for the encore. It was the most final-sounding encore I've ever heard.

Comments

[ellarien]

I'm glad you enjoyed the concert -- also rather relieved to see you post. I'd been hearing alarming news about tornadoes somewhere close to your part of the world. (If I'm doing the local equivalent of confusing Tucson and Flagstaff, please excuse me.)

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

No, it was the Twin Cities area, but it was definitely the north Twin Cities area, and we are south -- to the point where I found out what happened by reading the news this morning. The sirens never sounded here. markgritter planted tomatoes happily with nary a care in the world, and we never stopped to think whether we should go to the concert or not.

[fredcritter.livejournal.com]

He's one of my favorite jazz musicians ever; almost certainly my favorite living jazz musician.

Hm. Interesting. While I like Brubeck… Hmmm. Interesting to think. I've always been inordinately fond of Gerry Mulligan—I had my father take me to see him back in the mid-60's at Dayton's auditorium [ !?. Yes, really. That was also where I saw the Yardbirds and the New Vaudeville Band (which I understand was cobbled together after "Winchester Cathedral" was a hit, since the original was done by a bunch of British studio musicians who didn't really want to travel… but that's another story) and probably some others I can't bring to mind at the moment. People just hadn't yet quite figured out where to put / what to do with … hmmm … touring bands that didn't fit into the traditional "dance" venues such as The Prom Ballroom].

Oh, sidetracked. Me? Naw. ADD never laid a hand on me and I have the— Oh, look, S*P*A*R*K*L*E*Y!!!!

Ahem. ANYway… I also like Thelonious Monk a lot, a lot; Benny Goodman; Babatunde Olatunji; and Charlie Byrd; and I'm learning to like John Coltrane. And Gene Krupa was a god, of course. Oh. Wait. Living? That's a bit tougher. I guess Gary Burton would be a candidate for that (I do love good vibes. mmmm … Lionel Hampton). Not entirely sure who else.

In any case, I'm very glad you enjoyed the concert and had the opportunity. Yes indeed.

Hope you don't mind my having chased the butterflys…

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

markgritter is a jazz sax player, so I've heard a fair amount of Gerry Mulligan and liked it all right, but I am fond of the piano, so his pianoless periods are just not my thing so much as Mr. Brubeck and some of the others. But yes, "living" makes all the difference in the world, I'm afraid.

We bought a board book for reading to extremely small people (niece and godkids so far) that teaches the said extremely small people how to scat, while not giving them pages to rip. Charlie Parker Played Bebop. It's pretty cool -- very silly, which we appreciate.

You may chase as many butterflies as you like in this lj.

[bettybaker.livejournal.com]

Brahms's Lullaby as an encore? That's stylin'.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

It was an extremely classy, funny way to say, "I'm eighty-seven damn years old; there will be no second encore."

[aedifica]

Thank you for the link to markgritter's report!

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

We were in the second tier of balcony, so "saw" may be an approximation. But heard, oh yes. The man can still command the entire Orchestra Hall, even if he does have to cling to the piano when he stands up. (As who among us doesn't....)

[dichroic.livejournal.com]

The thing I have seen about getting old is that if you're lucky, you can do the things you do for a very long time, even well after you get shaky at doing the things around them. (I'm thinking specifically of watching an 80-year-old man who had just rowed a thousand-meter race more or less crawl out of his boat.)

I am hoping that at the very *least*, the vertigo soon recedes to the point where it doesn't interfere with you doing the main Things Mrissas Do. Preferably enough not to interfere with anything you want to do.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

Well, thanks.

[dichroic.livejournal.com]

I wrote the first half of that and then realized if I were you I'd read it and think something like, "Insensitive bitch!"

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

Well, if we're lucky is certainly a pretty big part of it. As much as I think attitude and persistence are important, I get very frustrated with people who chirp that, "Age is a state of mind!" and, "You're only as old as you feel!" Dwelling on one's age and being gloomy about it is obviously not the solution even for 95-year-olds, and finding out what one can do rather than assuming one can't is a great idea at any age. But on the other hand, it's very easy to look on from an able-bodied youth or middle-age and blame Auntie for acting old when, in fact, she is old, and she feels it in ways that she can't stop by putting her fingers in her ears and singing, and that's very real. I think there's a certain cultural attitude that if only we're stubborn enough, we will keep on living and won't have any of the down sides of getting old. Just not true.

It is hard to have health concerns interfering with the things I do best and most fundamentally. I certainly appreciate recognition of that.

[dichroic.livejournal.com]

It's amazing what you can do by ignoring disabilities. I know a woman in a wheelchair who just rowed across the Atlantic. (In a two-person boat with a double amputee.) On the other hand, rowing across the Atlantic leads to everything from claustrophobia to saddle sores and not everyone wants to put up with that level of discomfort. Nor should they be expected to.

If you're lucky, though, age comes from the outside edges in. First you're like the people I played Ultimate Frisbee with, when I was in my early twenties and they were ten years older. They could play ten times better than I could - but then after practice we'd go out for beers and after sitting still for an hour or two I could jump right up, while they'd have to pry themselves out of a chair. The you get to where you can still do the central things, but not as fast, like the aging rowers I mentioned. If you're unlucky, you get to where you can't do them as well either. Then you get to where you can't do them at all, but if you're really lucky that doesn't happen until right before you die, at an advanced age.