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To
begin, a perennial favorite...
On Music, from
"The Sufi Message Of Hazrat Inayat Khan"
A
small book's worth of transcribed speeches about music
given by Inayat Khan, an Indian Sufi vina player and later
teacher early in the previous century. Some of the deepest
and most beautiful writing about the nature of music that
we've ever come across.
"As to what we call music in everyday
language, to me architecture is music, gardening is music,
farming is music, painting is music, poetry is music.
In all the occupations of life where beauty has been the
inspiration, where the divine wine has been poured out,
there is music. But among all the different arts, the
art of music has been specially considered divine, because
it is the exact miniature of the law working through the
whole universe."
"The ancient singers used to experience
the effect of their spiritual practices upon themselves
first. They used to sing one note for about half an hour
and observe the effect of the same note upon all the different
centers of their own body. They noted what life current
is produced, how it opened the intuitive facilities, how
it created enthusiasm, how it gave added energy, how it
soothed and how it healed. So for them it was not a theory,
it was an experience."
More
favorite excerpts
“New Sounds” on radio
John Schaefer, on his radio show “New
Sounds,” the
long-running series on WNYC in New York, has given voice
to a wide range of musical artists with an equally wide
range of interests. (Schaefer also authored a great book
by the same name, a very useful reference for the world of
music outside pop.)
The common thread of all the wildly divergent music he plays
is the extra-ordinary level of imagination. Last
week, for instance, he had on successive nights Mickey
Hart, Indonesian gamelan, music of mad instrument inventor
Harry Partch, Trilok Gurtu, and California ambient synth
guys.
New Sounds airs daily at 11PM Eastern time
on 93.9 FM in the New York City area, and,
www.wnyc.org/shows/newsounds
You can listen to it live, or download archived shows (if
you’re willing to deal with RealAudio – no other
option's offered.)
From www.wnyc.org :
“New Sounds provides a place for
your left and right brain to unwind at the end of day.
Host John Schaefer combs recent recordings for one of
the most educational and enchanting hours on radio. For
20 years, he's been finding the melody in the rainforest
and the rhythm in an orchestra of tin cans. The program
offers new ways to hear the ancient language of song.
With guest musicians from David Byrne to Meredith Monk
to Ravi Shankar, Tune in for the next wave or the most
ancient forms of music.”
Steve Reich
Love
this guy's music... heavenly cycles of sound.
SteveReich.com
-- the composer's site
Steve
Reich Page
-- a fan's Steve Reich homepage
www.slis.keio.ac.jp/~ohba/srhome.html
Recommended
Recordings --
- Sextett/Six
Marimbas
-
Four Sections/Music for Mallet Instruments, Voices, & Organ
-
Music for 18 Musicians
("...18 Musicians" is his early
magnum opus, a solid hour of beautiful, intricately interconnected,
slowly evolving themes that will either drive you insane
or lift you into another world.)
Mickey Hart
And
his...
| "Bringing together
the two most elemental instruments of human
communication -- the Drum and the Voice." |
Planet
Drum
|
"From the Diga Rhythm Band to Planet Drum, Grateful
Dead drummer Mickey Hart has done a lot for world fusion
music by creating opportunities for master musicians
from around the world to play together."
The Mickey
Hart catalog on Rykodisc's Ryko.com
Josef Zawinul
A
good, long 1998 interview
with the composer/ keyboardist and cofounder of Weather
Report.
members.ozemail.com.au/~bjhardy/zawinul.html
"Heavy
Weather", one of their greatest
John Coltrane (official
site)
What can you really say about John Coltrane? All you can
really do is hear him.
(Except maybe to say, if you haven't yet given him a
good listen, look for the early 60's recordings, originally
on Impulse Records. They all feature what's known
as the classic Coltrane Quartet, with McCoy Tyner, Elvin
Jones, and Jimmy Garrison.
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