Archives for November 9, 2008

You see this?\r\n\r\n

\r\n\r\nIt”s really this.\r\n\r\n

\r\n\r\nThat”s right: SNOW.\r\n\r\nMy first radar image of the stuff this year.\r\n\r\nYou”re looking at what”s falling outside my apartment right now–beautiful, fluffy, white flakes, pirouetting gently out of the black November night.\r\n\r\nI can barely contain my glee, which is somewhat less than my urge to break down into uncontrollable weeping.\r\n\r\n”We”ve only just beguuuunnnn…” Five months of winter whiteness lie ahead. One-hundred-fifty days, give or take, of snow, ice, road salt, slush, slippery roads, freezing temperatures, and seasonal affective disorder. But then, I”ve always been an optimist. Tack on another few weeks for April, the transitional month. Heck, even May could produce a blizzard.\r\n\r\nThat is so wrong.\r\n\r\nNo, I mean, that is so exciting. Yes. It”s all a matter of keeping a positive mindset. These months ahead are fairly bristling with excitement, provided you define “excitement” as gazing forlornly out the window, watching icicles form on the eave troughs.\r\n\r\nHeaven help me, I need an attitude adjustment. Michigan winters are not getting any easier as I get older.\r\n\r\nSo okay, this winter I”m going to take a different approach. I have some snowshoes, and I”m going to use ”em at least a few times. Once centerfire deer season is over and grouse season recommences, I”m going to take to the woods with my shotgun a few times. And as I”ve already mentioned in a previous post, I”m going to bone up on my forecasting skills. An upbeat, proactive approach to winter–that”s the ticket. I can do it, yes I can. As the green and yellow on my radar turns to purple and pink, I can smile. I can be happy. Life is good.\r\n\r\nAaaaaghh. I need a beer.

I just watched a fascinating YouTube video of Brett Primak”s film, Like Sonny. A jewel-like documentary on the friendship between tenor saxophone giants Sonny Rollins and John Coltrane, the video offers generous clips of each player performing in live settings, along with interviews with sax men Paul Jeffrey, Jimmy Heath, and of course Sonny Rollins himself.\r\n\r\nReminiscing on his friendship with Coltrane, whom he met back in the late 1940s on a gig with Miles Davis, Sonny shares thoughtful insights into Trane”s and his own playing styles, attitudes toward music, and respect for each other.\r\n\r\nThis is a wonderful video on two of the most important saxophone luminaries of modern jazz, one of whom is still going strong today. It”s filled with music, images, and the insights of veterans who have lived a lifetime of jazz. \r\n\r\nThe words of Jimmy Heath strike me in particular: “Sonny and I still practice. All the older guys–Benny Golson, all of us–we still practice. Because nobody knows all of the music, and nobody has a monopoly on it. So that”s why we”re in this field of music, creative music–because it”s such a wide-open field. Ornette Colemen, anybody, will tell you it”s open as the sky.”\r\n\r\nI find it inspiring to think that guys like Sonny and Jimmy still spend time in the woodshed, continuing to explore new musical directions in private, searching for fresh ideas. That tells me something about the importance of staying on top of my own instrument.\r\n\r\nFor more on Sonny Rollins, visit his superb website. It”s full of audio and video clips, podcasts, and abundant information–truly a class act. But then, what else would you expect from Sonny Rollins?