Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Ornette Coleman, Sound Grammar (Sound Grammar)


Who would we be without ghosts? They don't exist, precisely the point. I'll explain better: Every time Nirmala has read my cards, I realize that I believe not a bit in the Tarot. This makes the correctness of her divinations of my future all the more enjoyable when they come to pass. I have two explanations for this phenomenon. First, in any given situation, there are only a limited number of possible outcomes; but there are just enough possible outcomes that they defy rational comprehension, you can't predict the one outcome because your mind cannot fathom the 297,154 permutations set in front of it. The Tarot: a limited number of symbols that may be arranged in multiple, yet still finite, configurations, just enough to boggle your mind and predict your future. The second explanation is a bit more unsettling: nothing exists without its negation. Which is to say, nothing exists. If a thing exists, its nothing must also not exist. No meaning without nonsense. No life without afterlife. No body (or mind) without ghosts. But, of course, ghosts do not exist. We've come too far as a species to fall back into superstition, material reality is fine by me. Ghosts do not exist, but no mind (or body) without them. This is why we have Ornette Coleman, in all his harmolodic splendor.

Suggested Wine Pairing: You're going to need something tough, thick, and dark to make it back to daylight, something to flood your palatte with life before its tannins and alcohol evaporate into your sinuses. Domaine Berthoumieu, Rouge Madiran, 2004.

Lee Morgan, The Sidewinder (Blue Note)


Some times you need Finnegan's Wake. But not oftentimes. You need Joyce, the world needs Joyce. But some times you want John Updike. Some times you need Eugene Ionesco, but some times you want Tennessee Williams. Some times you need Duchamp, but some times you want John Singer Sargent. Some times you need Vallejo, but some times you want Neruda. Some times you need Pierre Ferrand Selection des Anges, but some times you want Jameson's on rocks. Some times you need "Revolution 9," but some times you want "Satisfaction." Some times you need "Hiroshima, Mon Amour," but some times you want "Duck Soup." Some times you need pan-seared fois gras served on poached pears, but some times you want a chocolate shake and fries. Check that. You always need pan-seared fois gras on poached pears. But when you get the chocolate shake and fries it still makes you very happy. Like all things in life. We always need someone or some thing difficult, someone or some thing to show us new ways to see hear smell taste touch, however painful the process. But some times we just want something that is beautifully crafted, and it helps if it's got some serious groove. Some times you need Ascension. Some times you want Lee Morgan's Sidewinder.

Suggested Wine Pairing: Something good to wash down the shake & fries? I'll take Earthworks Shiraz, Barossa Valley Australia, 2007.

TO ALL MY FAN (S)

Apologies for the delay in getting posts up on Jazz du Terroir. Over the past several weeks I've been secluded for the most part, immersing myself in Walter Benjamin and high-end avant-garde Brazilian pornography. (Alas, there are worse fates.) In any event, as a result this has turned into a slow-blog, and no one likes the slow-blog. New posts later tonite.

In the meantime, might I recommend you open a bottle of your favorite, maybe go through all those Ahmad Jamal records you've been saving for this very occasion...