sax colossus

sonny rollins was inspiring...these folks, like Kamau Brathwaite, Bob Dylan, Sonny Rollins, a couple or so decades older than I and still going strong, i realize there are few limits to what one can do if one is passionate about creating art, if one can't help but do it... Rollins's gait was a bit stiff as he moved across the stage, but his playing was fantastic. Powerful lungs, strong musical vision. The trombonist didn't have a very clear sound; it seemed muted and a bit fuzzy, nice complementary tone to the sax but not at all what one might consider virtuoso tone...interesting. the place was packed, the ted mann hall at the u of mn. people were very attentive and respectful, they really knew what they were seeing. i sat way up on the second tier where all the kids and less pecunious folk but diehard fans were; next to me were a tiny, smelly, ugly but magnetic old couple who spoke to each other in english but with strong accents, possibly german or swiss; that wouldn't have been my first guess, but i noticed later that the man's hat looked tyrolean...turns out she is a musician, a pianist, and knew quite a bit about jazz...she remarked in her thick accent to her date (or husband, or brother, cousin or friend) that "all the musicians" had turned out for the concert. i wonder who she is.

Today also finally the tree man from Matt's Tree Service (a gay or gay-friendly treework co) came and took away the parts of the willow and mulberry and that one i don't know what it's called, with the green-and-white leaves, that were touching the house...part of the anti-squirrel campaign. He remarked that since he works outside, he doesn't mind indoor type recreation. Like what? Book signings, he said. He liked to go to book signings. He'd just been to one by someone who'd written about Iraq, Paul Rykoff?? and Al Franken, and he'd wanted to go to Barak Obama's recent one but it had been during the day. A charming conversation. Minnesota's good at that. Gay, politically progressive tree people.