No Bushel for Tommy

Recently, an online friend turned me onto Tommy Emmanuel. And now I can't stop listening to and looking at this: Certainly, he is a fantastic musician, but it's the joy he exudes that has me continually fascinated with what he's doing.

Here's another one:

I was so moved by his unabashed pleasure in playing, I looked up some background on him and discovered he's a believer!

And Tommy's revealed something about how he sees performing, "It's my job to get out and play the guitar and let God do the rest. Stay out of his way. Just play the guitar and do what you're meant to do. That's my job."

May we all have such humility and joy in our jobs.

One more and a wonderful word from Tommy about playing and living:

That just never gets old.

Tommy will be in Denver sometime in February 2014. Details will be forthcoming on his site.

This one was for you, Bob. :D

We Need More Mel

Does this guy look like he's having a good time or what? I can't stay upset about anything when I listen to him. He's a joy. One of my disappointments is that I did not get to see him and George Shearing when they came to my hometown years ago. At the last minute something came up, and I couldn't go. Thankfully, I've got YouTube even if it can't really equal a live performance.

If you read my blog much, you realize you're going to get posts like this. I'm serious so much of the time that music is a wonderful outlet for me and especially swing. This has been true for most of my life, and I don't see it changing any time soon. So I hope you enjoy the music!

And now for something...

a little different. Bossa Nova, the Latin version of swing. This piece was originally titled Águas de Março (uh, Portugese for Waters of March).



A while back my brother told me about seeing Jane Monheit. I had never heard of her, and he said there was one song in particular that was fantastic. I didn't realize at the time that it was a song I already loved which had been recorded by the talented but tragic Susannah McCorkle. I love both versions now but feel free to compare.



and if you're really into it, you can listen to the version by the talented but tragic Elis Regina. Wonder if this song is cursed? Hopefully, Jane is third time lucky.

Oh yeah

this is what I like.



I guess when you're fifty you're supposed to like this stuff, but I've liked it since I was oh, about eight years old.

I can remember about second grade trying to pick out a Duke Ellington tune on the piano -- Satin doll. Still adore this tune. There was just something about swing that called to me and still does. Maybe because I've got that swing rhythm going on all the time. Don't know if some are born with it, but I really don't remember not having that beat permeate my body.

When I was in college, I finally got a chance to really talk about jazz and swing in particular. There were actually other kids who didn't think I was nuts to listen to hours of Duke Ellington, and there was one guy, David, in the music department who was a few years older than the rest of us, and I really loved talking to him. He's the one who gave me a much broader perspective of jazz and turned me onto Dave Bruebeck, Joe Pass and I don't even remember who else. He even took me to see a jazz concert that featured Oscar Peterson, Ella Fitzgerald, Ray Brown and Joe Pass. I can still hear it. What a treat. David also had great stories about his time on the road as a jazz drummer, and he could play any instrument and well. I didn't know anyone other than my dad who really could do that, so David was pretty special in my eyes.

But what I really spent time doing was playing jazz. I probably played at least four hours a day, and it was tough to get that time in when I was going to school and working and had a lousy piano at home. So I used to sneak into the practice rooms at school until a music major would kick me out. Most of the time they didn't care if I was in there doing the odd hours that no one wanted, and I didn't mind weird hours if it meant I got to play those concert grands.

And now, thirty plus years have passed, and I haven't played so much the last few, but I'm being inspired by, of all things, YouTube. Yes, I have loved listening to Mel, and Bill Evans and Thelonious Monk and on and on. But I've been inspired to play by 7notemode, davebeeboss, lot2learn and several others. They have made me think about playing in a way that I only dreamed about in my 20s. Thank you, guys!