The White Rose

Let's get really obscure and bohemian. Does anyone know how to find the short film (1967) called "The White Rose," which is about Jay De Feo's huge painting? The score is by Gil Evans. I read about this work in The Accidental Masterpiece.

Jazz Grace

I had just left my dear mother's hospice room where I tried to show her love and appreciation, although she could not respond very well with words. She did grasp my hand tightly and manage a slight smile as I left after her husband and his friend came to visit. Mom didn't want to let go of my hand, but I told her that her husband was here, and she did

The emotion was welling up like a geyser within me: gratefulness and loss; warmth and pain--all mixed into one radiating lump at the center of my being. Our friend said that I might want to go to a used book store in town. I did, and there found two very rare and precious recordings as part of a minute used jazz section: Allan Holdsworth's "Secrets," which I had never seen except on line and a trio recording of Duke Ellington live that I was not even aware of. Both were modestly priced. I snatched them both up and savored the find (or rather the gift). And these gems they were mixed in with more than one Kenny G contaminent!

This was a small gift from God, an Omniscience who knows my musical loves and hates, and knows the joys I receive from music, which is, ultimately, his gift to us all. This does nothing to change the aweful facts of death, decay, and loss (see Ecclesiastes 12). Yet some light peaked through and shined down on me.

My mother had seen the Duke (as well as Count Basie) live in New York in the 1940s and 1950s. May you dance to their music again, my beloved mother, in The New Heavens and New Earth. We will swing and never sag on that divine dance floor.

Trane, Flame-out

See myAmazon review of John Coltrane, "At Temple University." It is a short lament.

"Mirror" by Charles Lloyd

Charles Lloyd, the veteran and journeyman saxophonist, has released a new ECM recording called, "Mirrors." This music is at once sparse, focused, and free. He is accompanied by Eric Harland on drums, Reuben Rogers on acoustic bass, and Jason Moran on piano. This group previously released a stellar live recording, but this is their first studio offering. They understand each other, and it shows.

Lloyd has a signature tone on the horn, both soft and intense. He does not have a big, round, deep tone, but rather projects a kind of airy, soulful array of notes. I hear "the cry" of Coltrane, but Lloyd is own man. The man has been living inside his horn for many decades. He is not afraid of silence, of space, of the aridity for the sake of beauty. This is not rich sound that washes over you, but a contemplative sonic pallet, offered patiently. Some of his repeated runs--on both tenor and soprano--can become a bit cloying, but the overall sound remains cogent.

Mr. Lloyd narrates a kind of Hindu poem--which speaks of "the Atman"--through the final piece. The source is not listed in the liner notes. It may be his own writing or from some other source. His voice is rather muffled, and the philosophy unsound. One wishes he would have stayed within that sound of his saxophone, sans commentary.

This is jazz worth savoring, worth listening to deeply.

Henry Threadgill

NPR did a thoughtful piece on the music of Henry Threadgill, composer and reed man. I have only heard one of his recordings, which I checked out from our local library some years ago. I would like to hear more. Let me know what you think of him.

A note from jazz pianist, Vijay Iyer.

Dear friends, This is Vijay Iyer wishing you a great summer. I hope this finds you well. It's been a few months since I wrote, and a lot has happened that I didn't get to email you about. I've included some of the highlights down below. But first: It's a stellar month for live music here in New York. I'm pleased to take part in it with a trio run at Birdland Jazz Club next week. WEDNESDAY-SATURDAY, JUNE 16-19 VIJAY IYER TRIO Vijay Iyer, piano Stephan Crump, bass Justin Brown (Wed-Th), Marcus Gilmore (Fri-Sat), drums BIRDLAND, 315 West 44th Street, NYC Sets at 8:30 and 11pm each night birdlandjazz.com tel 212-581-3080 half-price tickets available for some sets Our trio was just awarded the German equivalent of the Grammy, known as the Echo Award, for "Best Ensemble (international)." Above is an image from the televised ceremony for the Echo Jazz awards last month in Bochum, Germany. Deutsche Welle ran a nice article about the award (in English) and a radio feature. Then we'll be at the Montreal Jazz Festival on June 25 (where I'll also play a solo concert), and on tour in Europe for in the first part of July: Ljubljana, Warsaw, Copenhagen, Rome, Kiev, London, Gent, Porto, and Rotterdam. Then Rudresh and I team up for a couple of duo concerts in Spain and Italy. See the full schedule. ----- I just made my first solo piano album, titled Solo. It will be released at the end of August on ACT Music + Vision. I had a nice trip back to the Bay Area's OTR Studios to record and mix it. Like the cover to last year's Historicity, this album cover features a sculpture by the contemporary artistAnish Kapoor. ----- An audiovisual installation I created with filmmaker Bill Morrison, titled Release, is currently up and running at Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia. It also showed as an experimental short film at this year's TriBeCa, Sydney, and San Francisco Film Festivals and picked up a Golden Gate "New Visions" award in SF. It's now available as a DVD and Blu-ray directly from Eastern State. ----- In May I also resurrected my 2007 chamber orchestra piece Interventions in Los Angeles with the Idyllwild Arts Orchestra. The ensemble is made up of exceptional high school students from Idyllwild Arts Academy and local professionals from LA. I was blessed with two great performances of the work. And last weekend Arturo O'Farrill's Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra ripped through my first big-band piece, Mad Hatter, at Symphony Space in NYC. ----- I recently participated in a fascinating panel discussion, "Asian Americans: Redefining 'Mainstream' for the 21st Century." Check out this video of the entire discussion. ----- Lastly, I'm honored to have received five nominations for the JJA Jazz Awards, whose ceremony takes place this Monday afternoon in NYC. Should be a party!

----- Thanks for reading. I hope to see you at Birdland or elsewhere sometime soon. Feel free to spread the word! Best wishes, Vijay Iyer vijay-iyer.com

"Jasmine"

This is from "Notes to 'Jasmine,'" written by Keith Jarrett for "Jasmine," the exquisite new ECM release by Jarrett and acoustic bassist Charlie Haden:

Art is dying in this world, as is listening, as the world becomes more full of toys and special effects. With this death will come the undoing of many possible feelings: beautiful, tender, deep, trusting, true, sad, full of internal meaning and color. . .

Here is some music for you. Take it and its' your's. Charlie and I are obsessed with beauty An ecstatic moment in music is worth the lifetime of mastery that goes into it, because it can be shared.