So I only saw Max Roach play once live, but it was up close and personal. I was living on Staten Island in New York and amazingly, he came to Sailors Snug Harbor. It was a long time ago.

It’s kind of a blur now, how many musicians, what they played, but I’ll never forget it. It was in what used to be an old church, one of the buildings they were renovating at the time. And we (Val, Sue and I) sat on an old pew. I remember Mr. Roach stopping to give us all a lesson in what he was doing. I don’t remember what pieces they played that night, but I do remember him showing us something about his art. It was incredible to see and hear him explain his work to us. It was something totally unexpected.

A few years later I caught him on a PBS special. He was sitting in front of his drums and explaining what he was doing. This part of the show was a lesson in what it was to play the drums. He talked as the things he was doing became more and more complex. He kept talking. He kept playing. Showing. And I never realized how much one person could do until I saw him perform his magic. It was nothing short of that for me and he did it like taking a stroll through Central Park. I’ve never seen anything like that. I had no idea that a drummer could have that kind of control, depth, order, ease, intelligence. I’ll never forget that or him. He’ll be with me till my dying day.

Was up north visiting some friends in Paris at the end of July till August 2nd. It was a great trip except for the TGV rides up north and back home. Major delays both ways. Two hours heading up to Paris because of a fire. Three hours heading south to Montpellier because of a broken cable. SNCF gives no confidence. Honest. I was ready to call the police.
My friend (she’s french) says France is just a little rural country trying to behave like a big modern one. SNCF can’t handle the amount of people traveling and the problems during the busy summer period. It would make an interesting survey, quizzing passengers over a years time to see about delays, problems, angst, and suffering.This is a store window on rue Jean-PierreTimbaud. The Fichier Ethnique portrays Nick Sarkozy as Petain’s son. Not a good thing. People, lots of them, don’t like Sarkozy. Some say he’s becoming Bush’s new lap dog now that Tony Blair vacated the spot.

Going back to Paris, visiting the old familiar neighborhoods, it was just great. I lived in the 12th arrondisment for nearly three years. I really miss it. If I could I’d love to live there again. On our corner there’s an epicerie run by this guy from Morocco. He’s a really sweet, gentle man who we often bought from. He had a close friend working for him, Hassan. He was thin and small with a gentle heart and a drinking problem. Even when we lived there he was often smashed. We went back to the old neighborhood and were sorry to hear that Hassan died two years ago. They found him in his apartment. Seems he slipped in his bathtub or something. Read the rest of this entry »