There was music in the air ...

We had to choose some articles from the Sunday papers for a discussion and today the topics were once more diverse. There was an article on the relationship between the US and Russia. It was extra interesting to hear the comments from our friends from Russia, the Ukraine, Ouzbekistan, and Kazakstan on this article and how the same item is covered in their respective countries. Another article was about how children of criminals often end up in criminality and how this is mainly connected to drug abuse. The number of prisoners is staggeringly high: half of the black male population is in jail, 1 in 25 white males, 1 in 4 black children's parents. With on top of this an unemployment rate of 60-70% in certain cities, the future looks grim.
Our third article touched upon the increased tourist taxes and Bruce explained the complicated - and unfair - taxing system. In Massassuchets there is the 2 1/2 tax law which prohibits cities to increase taxes by more than 2 1/2 % without referendum. With the present inflation rate, costs cannot be covered and yet if a referendum were to be held, noone would want more taxes. A vicious circle again.

Fortunately, after the break we could start off on a brighter note. The talented Steve Tracy, professor of Afro-American Studies at the University of Massachussets gave us a most enjoyable lecture on "West-Africa, Jazz and the Blues". He brought his harmonica along and played a few tunes. Amazing grace in different versions with a full range of emotions that made me shiver. He told the story of how music from West-Africa crossed the ocean on the slave ships and started leading a new life, forging a new identity, faithful to its roots. The music may sound discordant and distorted at times, the melody may seem lost, it feels like your heart skips a beat, it allows countercurrents to be detected, it lets many players in at the same time.
It's what the essence of art is about, either a part of your life, or something you hang on your wall. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcKDTXpeYqA

In the afternoon, we had some time off, so I hurried to the Dickinson Homestead for more information for my project. I walked to Austin and Susan Dickinson's house "The Evergreens", to the bookstore and visited the Amherst Historical Museum.
Back at the dorm, I continued work on my lesson plan. It's starting to take shape and I hope to finish it tomorrow.

And then more music. Tonight we went to a Jazz in July All-Star Concert at the Bowker Auditorium at the University of Massachussets. It was a wonderful concert with very talented musicians: Bob Ferrier, Chip Jackson, Catherine Jensen-Hole, Steve Johns, Tiger Okoshi, to name but a few.
You can check out the following links:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pw1l2J6D1p4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJ7BS_FF7N4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5hradQwTGo

It was hard to sit still. We felt like swinging along.
Our lecturer this morning said that for a musician, the instrument is like an extension of the voice, after enjoying tonight, I would say that the instrument is an extension of their body and soul.