Posted by Anthony on July 30, 2003 at 22:38:02:
In Reply to: music for the soul posted by Tim on July 30, 2003 at 15:37:42:
I recently caught a jazz group from Detroit called "Straight Ahead", 4 African American women who were possibly the finest musicians I've ever had the opportunity to see live. Their hour-long performance was so full of energy that there wasn't a second gone by that I wasn't completely teared up in awe. The flutist was particularly astouding.. virtuosic hard bop soloing on top of incredibly complex bebop multiphonics... if ever I wanted to propose to a complete stranger, that was the moment!!! The drummer blew me away as well.. beautiful young lady, tiny thing in her mid 20s(looked like).. if you thought Art Blakey was something, you should have heard this girl! I seem to recall hearing that her father was a musician of note in the Detroit area.
(about 2 minutes into the show my father, a non-musician, leaned over to me and said "Is there something wrong with me, or are these ladies really incredible?", and by that time I was already at a loss for words) If anyone ever gets an opportunity to catch this act, you will remember it for the rest of your life!
...and if you're asking particular pieces, Monk's mistitled "Japanese Folk Song" really wets my whisle right now.
Anthony