A Day At Home, Let Your Mind be Free.and Don't PO your Hair !.

Hello Jazz lovers,

Today is Friday and another beautiful day in Bahrain,

I decided to make this day an at home day, and just enjoy. A day made for good music, and piddling around with things. A day for introspection and being alone with yourself,and enjoying the things you like. I am listening to "Sounds of Blackness" right now and the voices are just fantastic in the background allowing me to do other things at the same time! Now do I want to tackle the closets? Humm no too labor intensive for to day, because I want to go for a walk a little later but maybe ? I know I will cook for tonight! once done I will have time for a nice walk and then a nice dinner when I return. That sounds like a plan!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LMfkCfG_r8

One of the interesting things about giving yourself a day dedicated to you is that you can appreciate your own uniqueness, to free your mind of the outside world completely for a little while. You can be still . Today I did not choose music, I just pulled out randomly and put it in, "Sounds of Blackness just went off and a surprise! The next CD is " Atlantic Rhythm and Blues" 1947 thru 1074 is on now, I had forgotten some of these singers ! Lavern Baker, Ruth Brown,Joe Turner, The Drifters , and more! Sure brings back memories of some good times. My goodness there is Barbara Lynn on now! She had relatives in my neighbourhood she visited when I was a child, do you remember this song? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAnSyQA_fT4 I had forgotten that what amazed people at home was that she played left handed guitar, and the local stations Klou and Kaok played the dickens out of this song...

Now Big Joe Turner Is doing " Shake Rattle and Roll", http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20Feq_Nt3nM a song that has strong links to family lore! As the story goes, the song was written at my aunts kitchen table and first performed in Lake Charles in 1954. It is a good story and with all the things going on at that time possibly true,and only one person left in the family to confirm it. I will ask and then I will tell the story at a later date Jazz Lovers. My Mother's first cousin played Sax and Clarinet for Joe Turner's band. The possibility is real.

Another surprise just came on Big Mama Thornton (Willie Mae Thornton) originator of Hound Dog, 1952 check it out! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XUAg1_A7IE&feature=related I leave that one to speak for it's self.a day at home speaks to itself anyway. I listened to a lot of wonderful old stuff and tripped down memory lane, to the good times. How often do you do that? It was so easy to go to the good and not the bad times, even those are not so bad ( It is the ramifications I think we remember) in hindsight. Just remember you are a sum total today of all the wonderful things that happened to make you the wonderful person you are today. Listen to

one of my Fav Della Reese "The Games People Play" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhUm2fUT6mw. When I get up in the morning now I always feel something wonderful is going to happen today ! and you know what it does!

Saturday and Sunday were such beautiful days, I got a lot accomplished, even finished a good book, ( read the Tipping Point)some good hours in the gym and today was just as wonderful.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwGNrpX8KCM&feature=related Did I mention that I was having a love affair with my hair? and right now it is really POed with me, I vowed to stop cutting my hair at retirement and I did. But there is an old adage the hair that meets scissors is a healthy head of hair! Well last week I decided to have the ends clipped! well that was a mistake because I had just started letting it do what it wanted to do and I was very happy with what it was doing.Well after clipping the ends it has been sulking like crazy and really letting me know it is not happy. I will not do that again if we ever make up! I will keep you posted.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yd3Elm-X7c&feature=related

Some exciting news happened today, Studio Kalid is having a contest! The contest is posted on their blog ( it is now linked to this blog as a follower) http://studiokalid.blogspot.com/ . The contest is running for the whole month of May so check it out you just might win. The prizes are great.

Well Jazz lovers it is a short one today and I will see you later.

Keep The beat...


DWJazzLover

Recommendations: Blue Light Till Dawn, by Cassandra Wilson

Nina at the Village Gate , Nina Simone

I am adding just a little History here. Have fun Jazz lovers here is the Blues!!!

Big mama Thornton's last performance; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSAOHwQhPcQ

Here is another version; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMULTQ9G3Nc&feature=related

Another version with John Lee Hooker; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSNavkeDg54&feature=related


My Mother's Favorite song!http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ycw4uaXPRU&feature=related

Another version Sam Cooke; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qG0U2OBtHQE


Howlin Wolf ; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXrwiJEj7eg


DW Jazz lover

Letting Go and Living

Hello Jazz Lovers,





Another Beautiful Day in Beautiful Bahrain.



The picture above is a symbol of the beautiful weekend I had this week and a symbol of all the beautiful things in life. I saw this piece for the first time this weekend and it is staying with me and took my thoughts into a very open place. This photo is taken early morning, I have another taken the first time I saw it which was at night, which I will post later at the right time. I learned a lot(!) this weekend about beauty and life and also placed some interestingly beautiful thoughts in my head. So today Jazz lovers I am going to listen to the beat, and (talk my head) see if I can find the tempo and just maybe get to the song. Is That Jazz?!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBSFSFrVlW4


Today is Sunday, (so I had better be true to myself) I am having (one of what Ms. Oprah would call ) an Ah Hah! Moments so I had better go there ! I know and you know a lot of people are losing their jobs, their homes, their businesses, and are losing hope! But Jazz lovers this is a new day and a new time, you can not change the past but you darn sure can change tomorrow and today. BIG BUSINESS is failing interestingly enough, BUT IT IS THE PERFECT TIME for small businesses to get it together, offer what people need at a good price all the way to the top. Get a (website let people know you are there) way to let people know you can help them save money while offering a good product! ( treat people as you want to be treated) The solutions are simple.Amazing Grace!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MkEMLeNByks&feature=related

I had as I said a weekend that opened a lot of questions more than answers ( the above paragraph speaks for itself) about this journey called life. Friday Night I had dinner with my newest friend KD and his brothers, and a few of their friends. The conversations were just flowing around the table in a very nice Japanese restaurant. As the night progressed through out dinner, some had other obligations and the left in small groups as necessary, as the group got smaller the conversations changed accordingly yet all the conversations were about art. When the group got smaller it became evident we were left with a group of people that were looking at a deeper artistic place. we spoke as people that has always known each other forever, (even though we had just met) as we took questions out of our heads we realized we all had the same questions. So the conversation was very spirited to say the least, it was wonderful!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1SWctJBVKw


It is so amazing to walk as though you are a foreign entity on this earth, when you know your heart is filled with love. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVwBaMLl-CA Now the reason I am throwing this song in the middle of this paragraph, is because I just had a call from (I knew this story had not ended ed ) (how Cassandra Wilson and Randy Crawford got me through or how I got over you!) one year and five months months ago. I am now Missed! I realized that I am over you and I do wish you well. But the most amazing thing is I really do wish you well! To love someone you must love the best about them, and realize that even when it is over,they still live in your heart for the good things. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uS3G7HzDjmY&feature=related
If you have loved someone, celebrate that, enjoy the memories, but know I am over you. The sky is still blue and laughter is still beautiful and free. Realize you have given your best. Then move on and look into the future with joy. Because something is beautiful around the corner.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCezuBWPiY0&feature=related



Well Jazz Lovers I will leave you here for today. its Sunday Thanks Rowaches:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFa5gKoYo_c

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFa5gKoYo_c


Until then keep the beat.

It is Sunday:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJg5Op5W7yw


Shan you are part of my heart:

Eliza I love you sugah

Al my dear brother, you are my heart.

DW Jazz Lover

When the Music Stops it is Time to Dance

Hello Jazz Lovers,

Another Beautiful Day in Bahrain.

This has been a very busy week, the Studio Kalid has started on the new fall winter collection and catalogs and they will be happy to send you one by email. It is going to be hot, If you are looking for great fashion this is the place to look.

studiokalid@gmail.com

http://studiokalid.blogspot.com/

I had not idea of what I wanted to write about this week, but a couple of interesting things happened. One of the amazing things about being outside looking in, (Sorry Mr.Colman) is that artist are observers. Be it musician, painter, sculptor,writer, or photographer the world is their reality,there are no over night sensations! Think about it. But it is about the beat, look at all the dumb things happening around you and the listen to the music, Gill Scott Heron is a good example of this. He has been painting a picture of the reality for 20 years and only those with their finger on the pulse has been and is still listening, and reflecting this reality in their art. Meeting and spending time with creative people is eye opening to the beautiful things all around us.It is a very positive place to be they don't seem to have time for negative thoughts or actions.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBSFSFrVlW4

I call this an "emerging universal consciousness", I am finding it in "stillness", to just be! I am finding I can be still in the noisiest or busiest place because stillness comes from inside. In stillness you can step out of the situation and observe, you will be amazed at what you see. On yesterday as I was going to the gym I was so into the beauty of the day that I felt good just to be where I was at that moment, (there was an inner joy). When I arrived at the gym location which is enclosed in a courtyard with Palm trees and greenery and a pool at the center, decided to sit awhile before going into the gym. There was total silence and my mind was clear and open and I was aware of something much bigger than me and I had this wonderful sense of peace, then slowly I became aware of the sounds of the birds, the soft breeze in the trees, I could actually hear the ripples in the pool it was a wonderful feeling. Pleasure is in the simplest things. The rest of the day was just as beautiful and full of awareness.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3hCQcrfg28&feature=related

Today when I arrived in the courtyard of the gym I decided to sit for a while and enjoy the silence once more and in this silence I heard Jazz and I mean good Jazz! They were playing JAZZ! on the Hotel sound system at the pool! A first! people jazz has arrived in Bahrain! The beat is moving. I was sitting in sunshine on a beautiful day listening to very good stuff I stayed for a while then went in and had a very good work out. When I was in the dressing room after my workout I discovered that a hotel guest had had a heart attack in the pool at 5 pm the previous day.My day of silence, he was 40 years old, life is short and we really don't know when or where, don't you think it time to start finding some joy in your lives ? To stop chasing and to realize what is really important? Because the things you are worrying about now, on a highway to San Francisco 50 years from today who is going to give a damn ?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrD_dPIhWas&feature=related

So I guess today's blog is really to take a minute to tell that young man who died yesterday somebody cared that he lived.Somebody that he didn't know thought about him today.

Well Jazz Lovers until next time keep the beat.

Recommendations: Anything by Gill Scott Heron

Percy Mayfield: This is the first song I remember hearing as a child and still my favorite song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PoZlcq9eL1k

DW JAZZ LOVER

Amazing Grace Part 2

Hello Jazz Lovers,

Today was a remarkably beautiful day here in Bahrain.

When you open yourself to the universe with a positive heart,life is wonderful, joy is possible in every thing. Just to breath, to smile,to appreciate all the real beauty around you naturally is just amazing (Amazing Grace).Maybe half the things the world is going through right now is is a wake up call, telling you to slow down, as sister Alice Walker says in The Color Purple, "Maybe God is trying to tell you something"

http://www.imeem.com/blue1989/video/ZqWeMJ8T/the-color-purple-maybe-god-is-trying-to-tell-you-something/

I am meeting fantastic people who are moving forward, shedding layers of false personality every day. The artist, the designers, the photographers, the dreamers are speaking once more, making others uncomfortable by holding a mirror up to the world. People are so afraid to give up their misery because it is comforting to know what the day will bring even if it is more misery. But to step out on a limb and change is very frightening, people are really afraid to test their belief ( so they go bungee jumping) think about it...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=micADoqu99E&feature=related

This page started out as Sundays blog, which should be about Gospel and I was going to complete it next Sunday. but I am learning Gospel is every where all the time. Sunday was such a fantastic day filled with such beauty that has carried thru to Monday, Tuesday, until today that I need to keep it going. The day itself was filled with such a brilliance that it just felt good, everything had its own beauty. Sunday was truly a "Zippdy DO Dah" Day! ( If you are not in my age group or from Louisiana you might not know what that means!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqvBIR0k1_o

Kalid (the designer) and I had a wonderful time with a scheduled fashion shoot,that was held at an Italian Photographers studio, Loredana and her husband, are two of the most beautiful and wonderful people I have ever met. Please check out Loredana's website and you will see some great art at ,http://www.lorephoto.com/. We met with another Photographer at the studio that also volunteered as the model, which was a most wonderful way to see beauty come alive, Valentina was just wonderful on the other side of the camera. At the end of the shoot we were invited to the opening of a photo exhibit(Transformation of Memories) at a new gallery that had opened in Al Ali mall. So if you are in Bahrain please visit Al Riwaq Gallery until April 30 2009. You will not be sorry.The people were some very beautiful people ,from all walks of life. The artist were delightful to converse with and a lot of compliments on my Leopard print shirt!( have a laugh).

http://www.alriwaqgallery.org/home.php

Now this week I am really going to recommend an interesting music artist that you jazz lovers with taste will definitely appreciate. When we were driving home remarking on how beautiful the night sky over Bahrain was that night. Kalid put this artist on the car stereo, if you are a jazz lover that appreciate Billie's Phrasing, Ella's Style, and Sarah's sweetness, then do not I repeat argue with me or doubt me on this one! Go to the record shop, or look on Amazon, or where ever you buy music and get this CD ! His name is David McAlmont, The CD is "Set One --You Go To MY Head", jazz lovers this is going to be a collectors item, trust me on this one. (The Man knows his ancestors!!)I was driven home to this wonderful voice ,( that epitomizes what an acoustical guitar and bass can really do) under the most beautiful night sky I had ever seen here in Bahrain. ( I took a photo from the balcony of the gallery and will up load it next blog.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKWNCsg9Buk\

Well Jazz Lovers, keep the beat until next time.

DW Jazzlover

Eliza I love you baby

Albert I am happy that you are part of my life too, keep the beat,

I will get the hang of this, and learning is such a joy.....Moss Bluff Elementry

I rest my case!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AO7Oi11EQh8&NR=1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5yomwRN-no

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVi8xWFKC9U&feature=channel_page

How music carried me through Part 2

Hello Jazz Lovers,

A beautiful rainy day in beautiful Bahrain.

Before leaving Dinah Washington,If you really want to hear voices that will never die, please check the Verve Remixed CD, Produced by Jason Olaine and Dahlia Ambach Caplin. It covers Dinah, Billie, Carmen McRae,Shirley Scott, Nina Simone, and Sarah, brilliantly remixed and well worth the listen.

http://www.vervemusicgroup.com/artist/releases/default.aspx?pid=10684&aid=4558

Now once more installment in How Music Carried Me Through or How I Got over YOU! One year and five months ago I broke up with the love of my life. Someone that was in my blood, torrid love, consuming love, that Aretha Franklin, "Dr Feelgood Love", that Esther Phillips, Dr. Long John" love,that Anita Baker, "What Ever it Takes"kind of love ! Jazz lovers you know what I am talking about ! Just listen to Bonnie Pointer's "More and More"or Etta James " At Last", they were my theme songs!(LOL)

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewProfile&friendID=345753857

But Jazz lovers we can choose to be a fool as long as we want too, I chose to walk away,( yes Jazz Lovers I felt it!) before I started playing Natalie Cole's " I'm Catching Hell". To be Continued...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=isVNuNZa-Zg

Remember this blog is still finding it's beat, its tempo, and its song.

But today Jazz lovers I want to talk a little about Ethiopian Music, and about when I entered my fav "hole in the wall"today they were playing Ethiopian music. Ethiopian music has one of the most haunting beats,it is simple and yet very complicated at the same time and it will grab you when you least expect it(keep in mind that jazz and blues in any language is still jazz and blues).You will definitely recognise the sound deep inside your soul.(Home) The music has some of the same changes and complexities found in our jazz and blues greats. In some of the music there is definitely a Zydeco beat( Louisiana, I found where it started! I think).

http://nazret.com/blog/index.php?blog=14&title=dink_amharic_and_afaan_oromo_music&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1

The next time you are in a music store (that is in the know) have a look at the worlds music section for Ethiopian Singers ( you will not be disappointed, I garrontee) . I would like to make one suggestion though, when you first buy a CD don't, I repeat don't rush home and put it in the player! No save it for a while until you have a quiet evening at home with friends, or quiet dinner conversation, or just relaxing and put it in as background music and not really listening and Volia!Then please write to me...Smile.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKfXi4qjAh0

Today there were a group of six Ethiopian women visiting the keep.( Oprah said once that "there were no ugly people in Ethiopia" and she is right) They were breath takingly beautiful, and with the Ethiopian music and their melodic voices, it just felt...right. they had brought lunch to share with the keep while they visited. Like people in this part of the world, before they started to eat they came over and offered for me to join them (sounds like Moss Bluff). I politely declined as was expected even though the offer is sincere, so they made a small plate with a taste of everything and brought it and placed it before me..Of course it would be very impolite for me not to taste everything on the plate, it was delicious!(sound familiar). I get to have these experiences every day.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGAc3lgdiQM&NR=1

This is why I love about this place, it reminds me of the more innocent times growing up in Moss Bluff. You can take the man out of Louisiana but you can't take Louisiana out of the man!

Well Jazz Lovers until next time.

Keep the beat,

DW Jazz Lover

Recommendations: Ashford and Simpson with Mya Angelou "Been Found"

Dee Dee Bridgewater, " Love and Peace"

Louis Armstrong "Tiger Rag" on success label.