blasted clean and empty

There are less glorious ways to greet a Sunday morning than with Mahavishnu Orchestra. Listening to Between Nothingness & Eternity first thing in the morning is akin to surveying a cluttered room for a minute before spending the next twenty running a gas-powered leaf blower over it until ever nook and corner is blasted clean and empty.

There is a lot of music to walk to the dog to, Yusef Lateef being as good a choice as any. I had read somewhere about his "symphony" albums Concerto for Yusef Lateef and Yusef Lateef's Little Symphony, wrought on the most cheddar of keyboards, and considered one of them for this sojourn, a nice follow-up to the aformentioned orchestra. I like the way he incorporates his name into the sterile servility of classical composition names. I picture him in a skit referring to himself by his full name - "Yusef Lateef is going to eat Yusef Lateef's hamburger now!" But ultimately, this hipster jazz won out - one needs to have one's stroll on while walking the dog.


The weird opening track "The Plum Blossom" with the jug-sounding muted flute against that ratatat beat and idle tambourine - it's like if you were drumming your fingers and so were the people around you and somebody yawned and suddenly everyone at once realized it made a song.

Ed. to add: My daughter and I were listening to this on repeat as we cleaned up the back yard. "I like that song you were playing. It sounds like jazz." she remarked. I told her, "It is jazz."

"Hmm" she said. "Weird. I don't usually like jazz all that much."