I went to the Syracuse jazz fest last night to see Toots Thielmans and Dave Brubeck (they were separate acts). They are both in their late 80s and playing beautiful, soulful and deeply inspiring music.
Brubeck cut an interesting figure, and I sat at his back, about 50 feet removed from the stage. The old man would lay his hands on his lap in an easy and experienced manner, while the rest of his outfit played wildly energetic music. His hands would stay poised there before jumping in to the tune with an enviable melodic line. His triumphant rhythm style celebrated every song.
Toots, for those who do not know, was probably the first jazz harmonica player. He's also my favorite. His set was comprised of mostly ballads and tunes suited to French movie scores (one of which actually was a score for one). very lyrical and hypnotic sound.
It was a great night.
No comments:
Post a Comment