Autumn Stays

Now it is beginning to feel like Fall, looks like it as well.  Sun rises later, sets sooner, and it's tougher (for some) to get moving (alright, for me to get moving).  Here are a number of selections that may get you thinking or set your feet to moving or just settle your nerves.

John Mayer - "Daughters" -  John Mayer, a college drop out and great singer- songwriter (and a native of Bridgeport, CT).... love this song and the wisdom it shares. (B. Rosenbaum)

(Editor's note - A number of contributors to this blog are fathers to daughters (the contributor is a mother to a daughter!) and I would be surprised if this song does not resonate with the men as well.  Rachel, our youngest, is still "my baby" - she just turned 38, is a mother of two children (one daughter), and I struggle to remember her as a child.)



Can't resist adding this Paul Simon song that he wrote for 2002 "The Wild Thornberrys Movie" - he even received an Academy Award nomination!

The Cast of "Wicked: The Musical" - "Defying Gravity" - In honor of my amazing wife, who has overcome some life challenges, I offer "Defying Gravity" from the Broadway musical "Wicked". It’s a song of hope and inspiration when things look bleak. (C Hakala) - (Editor's Note - The voices you hear are those of Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth and the recording is the official Broadway soundtrack. There is a movie version coming in 2019 - the picture on the left is the official poster.)

Kaushiki Chakrabarty - "Raga Multani" - Here’s an Indian artist I’m blown away by Kaushiki Chakrabarty. She sings in the Thumri style, which is considered semi-classical by purists. Her pitch accuracy is scary good, and I love how much sheer swagger she has. I’ve chosen what I hope is a fairly accessible performance of shorter length (these performances can last hours), but even abbreviated the ensemble passes through a multitude of different time feels and colors in the exploration of one raga. (K. Saulnier)

Antonio Vivaldi - "Autumn: The Four Seasons" - This week I am going with a classic classical (T. Williams) - Antonio Vivaldi (born in Venice in 1678 and died in Vienna in 1741) created an impressive selection of pieces for his favored instrument, the violin. In fact, 230 of his concerti for solo instrument with string orchestra and harpsichord were composed for violin while the next largest amount was 40 and that was for bassoon!  "The Four Seasons" is his most famous and a delight from start to finish. (RBK)

Our selection today features violinist Fredereike Saeijs and the Netherlands Symphony Orchestra from 2014:

The Beatles - "I, Me, Mine" - In these times of government greed I would like to suggest “I, me, mine” composed by George Harrison and performed by The Beatles.

"I Me Mine" wasn't officially recorded during the "Let It Be" sessions for the movie or the "Abbey Road" sessions, but The Beatles recorded it later when it needed to be included in the "Let It Be" film. It was their last song recorded together: on the 3rd of January 1970. (D. Dugre-Martin) 

The lyrics:

All through' the day
I me mine, I me mine, I me mine
All through' the night
I me mine, I me mine, I me mine
Now they're frightened of leaving it
Ev'ryone's weaving it
Coming on strong all the time
All through' the day I me mine

I-I-me-me mine, I-I-me-me mine
I-I-me-me mine, I-I-me-me mine

All I can hear
I me mine, I me mine, I me mine
Even those tears
I me mine, I me mine, I me mine
No-one's frightened of playing it
Ev'ryone's saying it
Flowing more freely than wine
All through' the day I me mine

I-I-me-me mine, I-I-me-me mine
I-I-me-me mine, I-I-me-me mine

This version, from The Beatles "Let It Be", features "sweetening" (strings, horns) from co-producer Phil Spector:

Benjamin Boone & Philip Levine - "Soloing" - Saxophonist and composer Benjamin Boone first met poet Philip Levine (1928-2015) when the poet was a visiting professor at California State University/ Fresno where Boone had been teaching since 2000. Levine had a lifelong fascination for jazz, incorporating musicians and songs into his poems throughout his long and varied career.  The poet remains one of my favorite American writers and I use his poem "What Work Is" in my FYS classes whenever I can.  Once, he appeared at Wesleyan University with a vibraphonist. Here, he is backed by Boone's trio with special guest Branford Marsalis on tenor saxophone, performing a poem that harnesses the spirit and vision of John Coltrane plus serves as a remembrance of the relationship Levine had with his mother in her later years.

Here's the trailer that Origin Records released along with the album Boone and Levine recorded titled "The Poetry of Jazz":