I once wrote a poem with that title. Five years ago. Reading it again now, in the light of the past five years, I see a whole new perspective as the words take new meaning.
A friend recently observed, "Jazz is impromptu, improvised and very on the spur". That was a foot note to a conversation about how great classical music is contemplative. The music of that era is a result of days, possibly years of contemplation by genius composers.
My life is like a Jazz riff. Improvised, inspired by the spur of the moment and definitely impromptu. It starts with a blank sheet with ledger lines. No time or key signature, just a title. Something like, "Champagne Bubbles". There's a basic chord progression. It starts simple, with a few color chords, the kind of stuff that marks John Legend's music and just about every black Gospel artist from the early 50's.
The melody line is easy. Throw in a few trills and accidentals and suddenly you've got something groovy that starts to make more sense. It could sound crowded, but that's just a phase in the music sheet.
That's where I am right now - there's a lot happening. Trumpets, Saxophone, Percussion, Electric Guitar, Wurli Amp, Piano. In my opinion, the best part of band jazz is when all the instruments die down and the piano takes over, with a simple chord progression and a one-finger melody line. A sultry voice like Shirley Horn or Diana Krall would definitely help.
This is my piano solo with sultry female vocals. 11.38pm at the end of a crazy, busy day. Did I work today? Umm, doesn't feel like it. Can't wait to wake up tomorrow for another day in the life and times of jb (which, btw, used to be the title of this blog, until I decided to change it to jbdisiac - a moniker for all the things that I consider my aphrodisiac. Jazz, chocolate, dance, late night inspired writing).
I'm also learning to say the two most important words in any language. Thank You. For taking the time to read my blog.
