A Day To Remember; A Life To Celebrate
Sean MurphyAugust 30, 2002* Everything that is good about me is because of my mother. Fortunately, I was able to convey this simple truth many times in my adult life, but…
What’s It All About, Then? Part One: Jazz, Featuring Eric Dolphy (Revisited)
Question: What's it all about? Answer: I don't know. But I do know a few things. I know some of the things that make me tick. Even though I write…
Robert Johnson: A Celebration in Covers
As was mentioned in the piece revisited yesterday (see HERE), Robert Johnson's body of work was small but unsurpassed in terms of import and influence. Perhaps the best way --aside…
Robert Johnson: The Centennial of an American Genius (Revisited)
5/8/2011: Does any single figure loom as large over an art form as Robert Johnson? Bach and Shakespeare come to mind, but classical music, like literature, took centuries and multiple…
The Only Band That Mattered, Part Three
After spending a reasonable amount of time on this planet, I'm convinced there are two types of people in the world: Those who recognize that Sandinista! is a bloody masterpiece,…
Beauty is a Rare Thing: Celebrating International Jazz Day (Revisited)
All hope is not lost. At least enough people are still making --and listening to-- jazz that we can even attempt to initiate what hopefully becomes an ongoing occasion. In…
Adam Yauch, R.I.P. (One Year Later)
This hurts. Word is hitting the wires that Adam Yauch, a.k.a. MCA, has succumbed to cancer. This is awful news, obviously, but also surprising since it sounded like he had…
Props for Pops (71st Birthday Edition)
I have written more than once about my mother (here and here) but I haven't said a great deal (here) about my old man. That is, in part, because he…
Albert Hofmann, R.I.P.
Talk about better living through chemistry! Albert Hofmann, the chemist who invented/discovered LSD, has passed away at the dignified, enviable age of 102. On April 16, 1943, he made history. On…
Spring*
95 South: Eventually, the skyline turns from gray to green, with trees instead of telephone poles and hills instead of hotels on either side. On the tops of these hills,…