Take Two

Just about to leave to play shakuhachi at the New York Botanic Garden for the Kiku Festival. My second and final performance of this festival which runs thru Nov 18 - anyone in the NYC metro area, if you have the chance to check it out, I would highly recommend it!. The shot above is from Friday last (19th) and I am remiss for not following up and writing about it.

It is VERY cool. The Kiku fest not only showcases the Chrysanthemum (more like a choir of chrysanthemums in a HUGE pot - but all one plant), but also many AMAZING bonsai trees (a major fave of mine, the Bonsai: old:wise:small:counter-intuitive... rather yoda-like).

It is a great space to add shakuhachi and the people were very in to it, asking lots of questions and listening intently before moving on (there are four of us set up variously around the grounds playing). So it really gave me hope that there is an audience out there for this instrument, this sound, this music - esoteric as some of it is...

Shakuhachi News

Playing shakuhachi today from 12-4 at the New York Botanic Garden in the Bronx - across the street from the Bronx Zoo. I am playing for a festival called "Kiku - the art of the Japanese Chrysanthemum" (this is the kind of thing that is a turn on for a Botanist). It looks pretty cool, actually.

I started back with Jim a couple of weeks ago - onto the optional, and final, level.

But he is out of optional level Honkyoku books and is very busy now. So I offered to make up a batch - as ongoing teacher training. Not to mention the practical fact that I need to make up my own books to teach with.

First steps of opening the Yoraku Dojo!

I have substitute-taught for Jim a few times over the years, but taught my first beginner lesson for him last Wed. Nice guy - Andrey. He has had only a couple of lessons. It was a good experience for me. I remember being that guy! Shak is a challenging - but rewarding - undertaking. Patience a must! Andrey is doing great. He seems really into it.

I'm back in to a daily practice. I'm playing Rokudan everyday as an exercise (not to mention to really learn the thing!). Little bit of almost everything in Rokudan.

Unrelated People

It's a stormy one tonight in NYC. It held off all day and into the evening and started letting loose about 8:00 as we sailed around the harbor.

I'm actually really digging it.

We've had no rain and indeed, warmer than normal temps for a long spell now. I'm not complaining, mind you. We had a stunning Sept here in the teeming metropolis and October has been a summery surprise (which for you lawyers out there has GOT to beat a summary surprise).

But the CHANGES are inevitable and they are here and they are manifesting themselves.

I had a thought one night months ago as I was walking home from the gig - one night that for no apparent reason had a sort of feeling to it that the night before did not have, nor I believe the night after - and that thought was,

"sometimes life - a brief moment in life - just feels like poetry"
not sentimental or saccharine - it is difficult to describe in PROSE.

what i mean to say is that there comes a time occasionally when all the pressing issues of your life - all the things you have to get to, all the stresses and pressures, all the things you have to keep TRACK OF, recede for just a glowing instant and whatever it is you are looking at at that moment becomes the visual analogue of the poetic moment.

sometimes helps to have a soundtrack on the ipod.

it is more of a feeling than an emotion.

that is what i saw in the much missed rain tonight.

^^^^^^^^^^^

As for the unrelated people, I will pick two:

Fantasia,

from American Idol who is now doing The Color Purple on Broadway.

&

Vicente Fox,

former President of Mexico 2000-2006.

Fantasia was on the Bateaux tonight hanging out with some friends. Including a rapper I'm too unhip to have heard of Young Dro. Didn't sit in. Danced a few.

And my man Vicente walked right by and nodded as I played a trio gig last Sat. with Paul Shapiro at Bergdorf Goodman Men's on 5th Ave.

I instantly recognized him b/c I had just heard Jon Stewart on fri. mention that he was going to be a guest on the Daily Show this week (he was on Monday night). And who could forget those long heart to heart photo ops he had on horseback with his good cowboy neighbor to the north George W.

I thought he looked a little casual in his khaki shorts and no security detail until later when it occured to me - Oh yeah, he's not prez anymore.

Just another dude walking around NYC. Well, except that he was walking around a store that offers $1700 sweaters, $5,000 suits and at least one $25,000 attache made of some kind of soon-to-be-extinct animal hide. Nothin' but the best, eh?