Natural splendour, real musics, wines, wordpower
…or discovering him.
Arguably one of South Africa’s two pre-eminent improvising pianists, Bheki Mseleku was also an arresting saxophonist and vocalist.
His music deserves to be much more widely known.
Anyone who deeply admires Abdullah Ibrahim, McCoy Tyner and John Coltrane is highly likely to appreciate Bheki Mseleku.
Comments closedOur hero lost his “sacred” status when his Australian-ness was recognised!
As is true of many birds, Threskiornis molucca – the Australian white ibis – is wonderfully elegant when high in the sky, but rather less so when on terra firma, or in the process of becoming airborne.
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Many self-declared “jazz lovers” would not recognise his name, nor have ever heard him…wittingly, at least.
That said, I am far from alone – and am in some very good company – in having long regarded Frank Kimbrough as one of the select few improvising pianists who ought be described/remembered as “one of the greats”.
if I were only ever allowed another listen to just ten “piano trio tracks”, his sublimely beautiful Waiting in Santander would be one of them:
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“Our” planet’s water surfaces are all shifting, always.
This reality is not always readily apparent.
It is, however, strikingly evident when one looks across a substantial intertidal zone when the tide is “out”.
This post’s musical component is Surface Level III – a particularly beautiful piece from Appearance, Chris Abrahams’ 2020 solo piano album.
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(this post includes photographic advice and a musical bonus)
Officially, Perth’s November 21 2020 sunset occurred at 6.59 pm.
Effectively, on the west side of Lake Monger, the sun had set some minutes earlier, thanks to the (modest) hill/stabilised dune which rises behind the lake’s western side.
Where I took the featured image, the golden hour’s most magical moment was at 6.43 pm.
One CommentResidents of the Australian Perth – a prodigiously sunny city – tend to be very sooky about rain, clouds and cool weather.
Many of them believe that Western Australia’s southernmost coastal region is a “bleak” place, one that only mad persons would voluntarily visit at any time other than summer.
In fact, globally speaking, WA’s Deep South enjoys a warm temperate climate, and even in winter it would not be at all odd to see Mandalay Beach looking as it does in this post.
Comments closedI took the photo on a glorious autumn morning almost exactly one year ago – 10.26 am, 29 October 2019, Labahe, Sichuan, China.
In Scotland, more than half a century earlier, Robin Williamson wrote my favourite autumn song.
Allegedly, October Song was the first song he ever wrote, as a teenager.
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This is a sequel to the immediately preceding post.
It involves the same vantage point, on the same morning, but this post’s image (copyright Doug Spencer) was taken 13 minutes later, at 7.03 am, with a longer lens. (400mm, effectively)
Again, its musical complement is the work of a troubled genius who died young.
One CommentIts tautological title notwithstanding, the song is one of the loveliest “jazz standards”.
As is true of many “jazz standards”, it was not written as a jazz song.
This post’s photo (copyright Doug Spencer) was taken recently on a beautiful Spring morning in my favourite “Deep South”.
Australians do not need a passport to access it, but internal border closures currently render it “off limits” to most Australians.
Comments closedMost – around 80% – of southwestern Australia’s flower species are endemic.
Many naturally only occur in very particular, small portions of WA’s southwest.
Almost all are extraordinary.
Some are very obviously beautiful and/or highly unusual.
Others – this one, for instance – only reveal their singularity if you stop walking, get your head down to where the flower is, and look closely.
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