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Every evening at exactly seven o’clock, Leonard climbed onto the windowsill and waited. Not for dinner. Not for birds. For music. His owner, Margaret, taught piano lessons from the living […]
Bob Wiseman
the philosophers and machine made music
Socrates and Plato walked through the Agora when they encountered a crowd gathered around a curious bronze box. From within came music. Not merely melodies. Entire symphonies. Love songs. Funeral […]
dialogue
John Coltrane and Louis Armstrong found themselves seated on a park bench overlooking a city. Music drifted through the air from every direction. None of the musicians were visible. ARMSTRONG: […]
wes chimes in
Most of the time, growth is invisible. Then, one night after a concert, another musician approaches. Not a fan. A peer. Someone who knows what it costs to arrive at […]
the miracle
The open stage: A retired accountant arrived with a Martin guitar and sang a ballad about his wife of forty-three years. His voice wandered in and out of tune as […]
on the park bench we kissed and then
I found an unfinished song the other day. It must be at least twenty years old, maybe thirty. I finished it. What struck me wasn’t the song so much as […]
the dialogue
Socrates was sitting beneath an olive tree when a man appeared wearing round purple glasses, black clothes, several silver crosses, and an expression suggesting he had survived both history and […]
about sick
There are concertsno audienceever sees. The morningyou manageone page. The afternoonyou stopbefore forcing it. The eveningyou deciderestis not surrender. I used to thinkpracticemeant repeatinguntil mastery. Nowit sometimes meansreturning tomorrow. The […]
how come you taste so sweet
“Have you heard Foreign Dialogue yet?” asked Martin. “It’s fantastic.” Elaine sipped her coffee. “I heard it.” “Do you agree?” “Depends.” “It sounds like Some Girls.” “That’s a problem.” Martin […]
hardest parts
The musician wasn’t opposed to activism. Some of the greatest songs ever written were acts of protest. They opposed wars, exposed hypocrisy, confronted racism, and gave courage to people who […]