“Trinity Isle”- Now at the West End Gallery
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I have just three things to teach: simplicity, patience, compassion. These three are your greatest treasures.
—Lao Tzu
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Too tired today. It’s been a combo fatigue, both physical and mental, that has been building and really hit this morning. That just woke up but want to take a nap fatigue.
I think I am going to take a short break, a few days off to not think about stuff, to not worry about things that are out of my control. To not push. To not write.
Catch up on some reading. Listen to some music. Maybe focus on the words of Lao Tzu.
Simplicity. Patience. Compassion.
Or is it Simplicity- Patience-Compassion-Camera-TV?
See? I need a few days off.
We’ll see how it goes.
Stay cool and take five, okay? Here’s Dave Brubeck with his always cool Take Five. See you in a few days.
Redtree Times 
That’s one of my favorite albums; I’m sure I’ve mentioned that before. And the painting really appeals; it feels uplifting.
I believe that is a favorite album for a great many folks out there. It’s always a pleasure to return to it after not hearing it for a bit. Restorative.
I always think of the structure of his music as “accessible complexity.”
That’s a great way of putting it.
I love that breathy saxophone technique of Paul Desmond’s. Still, my favorite from that album has got to be Unsquare Dance.
Enjoy the break 🙂
Who doesn’t need a break.
Thanks, Dave. Easy to slip into this. Nice retro feel.
Thanks Gary for posting the L. Cohen song on your blog. Coincidentally, I was talking with an old friend the other night about the time we saw the movie McCabe and Mrs Miller in NYC in 1971 (it turned into quite an adventure, but that’s another story). Anyway, it was then that I truly began my lifelong appreciation LC’s music. (Laura and I lucked out and were able to see him in concert in 2009 when we were on our honeymoon in Barcelona on what was his 75th birthday!) I was telling my wife Laura about the conversation with Larry and we decided to see if we could find a way to watch the movie, which we did, on Amazon Prime for $3.99! The movie and the music still hold up. It was always amazing to me that Altman chose that music for the movie. So perfect!
Also, I’ve been meaning to send you a photo of one of the other paintings of yours that Laura and I bought for my son and his wife as a wedding present. I’m not sure, but we might have bought it at one of your shows at the Principle Gallery. In any case Laura remembers an exchange with you when it came up that either you or her imagined the guitarist in the painting as John Prine, which along with loving the painting, added significance to it for me since JP has always been one of my all time favorites since that first 1972 album which I wore the grooves off of. I too remember the JP connection to the painting, but can’t remember why. Can you solve the mystery; did you imagine the guitarist as John or did she or did we? John Prine, what a loss. I don’t know how many people who never met him in person have said, since his death, that they always somehow felt like he was a personal friend. Best, David
PS: one of the reasons I posted the song This Is Your Night was because you had posted the Brubeck song and I happen to know that The Flat Five are big Fans of Dave. Not to state the obvious, but there’s a ton of talent in that group – Scott Ligon also plays with the latest incarnation of NRBQ. This morning I was looking for some NRBQ with Scott playing and guess what!
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I haven’t seen “McCabe and Mrs. Miller” in many moons. I guess I will have to look it up again soon. I envy you on getting to see the Cohen show in Barcelona. I’ve seen video from that show. Cohen is like a gift that keeps giving. He will fade out of my playlist for quite some time then one day I will remember to throw something of his on and it’s almost like hearing it for the first time. There’s always something fresh and illuminating in it, even in the oldest work that I have heard many times..
As for the John Prine piece, I believe that the connection to the painting might be on your end. I generally don’t see the figures, especially guitarists, in my pieces as specific musicians. Now, that being said, the painting may have been featured on a blogpost along with a John Prine song since I have used his work many times over the years. Like you, that first album took a lot of turns on the turntable for me and still holds up as an almost perfect album nearly fifty years on. What a talent he was.
Loved the NRBQ video. I saw them a couple of times back in the 70’s and they were, and are, so much fun. Like Cohen or so many others, I always kick myself for forgetting to play them more.
Take care! All the best–gary
Hey Gary, You were right about posting a John Prine song with a painting similar to the one we picked out! I looked in your blog archives from around the time we would have purchased the painting and found this!
https://redtreetimes.com/2013/07/30/speed-of-the-sound-of-loneliness/
Mystery solved! ✋
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Glad to have it solved. Damn, that’s a great title! His wordplay was wonderful.
“This inversion of the norm is obviously the conflict, one that I am still struggling to reconcile even after fifteen years of doing this on a full-time basis. Maybe I will have it straightened out in my head in fifteen more.“
Just think, you only have another eight years to go before you get it figured out! 🙂
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