“(T)he emotional response to music … is widespread and probably not only cortical but subcortical so that even in a diffuse cortical disease like Alzheimer’s, music can still be perceived, enjoyed and responded to. One does not need to have any formal knowledge of music — nor, indeed, to be particularly ‘musical’ — to it at the deepest levels. Music is part of being human …”
-- Oliver Sacks in Musicophilia
Sunday morning came down from a clear blue sky, the coffee and Amish friend cake were tasty and the silence was golden but soon would be broken … albeit with care.
This began in Berlin in ’29, not a very good year but the one Andre Previn was born in. He and his family came to America within 10 years to escape Hitler’s death grip on Jewish throats.
Previn has been conductor of philharmonic orchestras in Pittsburgh, Houston, London and Los Angeles.
He’s been knighted by Elizabeth II and has written operas and other seldom-heard music.
He occasionally, uh, gets down. On Aug. 15, 1989 he got together with a couple of jazz giants — Ray Brown on bass and Joe Pass on guitar — and laid down 11 tracks on “After Hours.” Now available on CD, (new $6.98, Amazon) its sweet, rhythmic sounds fell across my living room like a light comforter.
Of course this led to all sorts of worthless philosophical comments, one: I’m sitting here patting my foot to music. How long has it been since that happened? No matter, it is a response of joy. That’s one of the purposes of music: Joy.
Yet, some of today’s best selling pop CDs are joy impoverished.
Duly noted: Music’s history is rife with sadness
The Previn collection opens with a lively “There’ll Never be Another You” and moves to “I Only Have Eyes for You”.
But the pièce de résistance is Track Four, “Limehouse Blues”. Believe it or not. The essential genius of the three performers may be seen … and felt in this rendition that can be described by us musically inarticulate as “wonderful.” Limehouse has been recorded 1,647,261 times. Of these, this is the best.
The set closes out with “I Got It Bad”, etc. and “Laura”.
It has been a wonderful Sunday morning.
God is good.
(Further information: I live in the world of ’60-‘70’s rock, to which I turned when jazz became too cool, about ‘65. This CD is pre-bop, meaning it is jazz as played before Dizzy and the ‘Bird began their landmark collaboration. However, the CD gets pretty Left Coast toward the end. At any rate, it isn’t for everyone.)
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