Erie, Pennsylvania is a fairly small town. I think we have about 100,000 people who live in the city. Two of them are the Blisschick and me, of course.
But, don't let the small town thing fool you. We still get plenty of excitement here. If you saw my post from Memorial Day weekend, you'll see we went to the Russian Festival, the local brewpub, and many days over the past week, when I had some days off, we went to the beach.
But, wait-- it gets better.
Within a few mile radius of our home (a.k.a. The Lilypad), are two universities within the city limits. One of them, Mercyhurst College, often has AMAZING concerts at their D'Angelo Performing Arts Center.
And this past weekend, their amazing concert was none other than...
If you're a jazz fan, you're probably already familiar with Dave Brubeck. But, if you're not, check out this video. It will give you an idea of what you've been missing:
Of course, that video is from a few years ago. Now, he's almost 90.
I have loved Dave Brubeck for most of my life. When I told my mom we were going to see him, she said, "How exciting! Your father and I used to listen to him when we were in college." Then, she added to my father: "Who knew he was still alive?"
Well, Mom, hopefully someone did. Preferably himself.
Dave Brubeck has done so much to change the face of jazz. The Blisschick and I were just discussing the other day how we can totally hear his influence on everything from other jazz musicians like Brad Mehldau to alternative groups like Spoon.
It was amazing to watch Dave Brubeck on stage. Though he's been in and out of the hospital-- he said he'd only played one other time in the past two months-- when he sat down at the piano, it was like he was 40 years old.
And the other guys in his quartet were simply AMAZING.
We even got the extra special bonus of hearing Matt Brubeck, Dave's son, play the cello. Yes, the jazz cello, the improvisational jazz cello. What a treat to see father and son on stage. He was so proud of his son. A lot of the time, when his son was playing, he would just sit back and smile. Or clap. Or dance. Cool.
Seeing Dave Brubeck was meeting a lifelong goal. And it was a total accident that it happened. I just happened to come across info about the concert a week and a half before. And, there just happened to still be tickets left.
Well, that's fine with me.
It's like the Universe really wanted us to see Dave Brubeck.
Thanks, Universe.
Too bad Miss Zoe couldn't go. She would have loved it.
4 comments:
Wow! What an incredibly awesome opportunity. Truly an historic occasion, I'd said.
Good for you :-)
Wow, what a series of coincidences that fell into place to allow you to realize your dream. Dave Brubeck, truly an innovator, and from your post his son will be following in his footsteps. What an extraordinary experience.
I'm so glad you both got this opportunity! Yay!
And this post makes me think of a great idea: bunny concerts! They'd take place in lush fields. The music coudl be performed by humans for the rabbit's humans. The bunnies could enjoy snacking, sunning, and socializing during the concert. :)
I loved reading about this on your blog and BC's. There are so many musicians redefining age at the moment: Cohen in his 70s on a seemingly never-ending world tour, Tony Bennett headlining at Glastonbury a few years back and seems to have no plans to retire.
There seem to be fewer women singers still performing in their 70s+. But loads coming up currently in their 50s and 60s: I'm going to see Marianne Faithfull in concert next month, and I'm delighted that neither Chrissy Hynde nor Annie Lennox seem to be fading away.
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