Playing in Peru and Ecuador
 I have just returned from a concert tour of Lima, Peru and Quito, Ecuador, where our music was enthusiastically received. We were part of the third International Festival of Cajón Peruano sponsored by the Centro Cultural De España in Lima. We also had engagements in jazz clubs, schools, and in public parks. The United States Embassy in Peru also helped sponsor our tour and was very interested in the cross-pollination of our musical cultures. I went to Lima with my Peruvian colleagues, bassist Jorge Roeder, and drummer/percussionist Jorge Perez Albela. We also traveled with the amazing singer Sofia Rei Koutsovitis and with Eric Kurimski, a guitarist who has lived in Peru and studied the music there in depth. Peru has a very strong and deep tradition of rhythms and dances arising from its African/slave heritage – much like the United States where blues and jazz developed indigenously from a similar heritage. The Peruvian slaves, whose drums were confiscated by their owners, kept drumming, first on fruit crates, and then, as they evolved into what became their national instrument, a wooden box called the cajón. They developed rhythms and dances found nowhere else on the planet. Both US jazz, and Afro-Peruvian music starts with a four-beat measure and then divides each beat, into triplets. The North Americans feel the syncopated accents on the third triplet (right before the beat) – which gives jazz its familiar swing, while the Peruvians feel the up-beat on the second triplet. (right after the beat). This, in many ways, is a much more complicated rhythm which plays off of the ambiguity of hearing the music in “three” or in “four.” This is achieved by grouping the twelve sub-divisions in each measure (four triplets) as either six groups of two – or four groups of three. The four beat measure is also subdivided simultaneously into 16 subdivisions. All of which leads to an intuitive fluid and playful melding of three and four where feeling overrides math. But what was incredible – besides the phenomenal musicianship, enormous energy and devotion of the Peruvian musicians – was the way they so often heard and played their music in this 12/8 way of feeling the time. I would hear musicians play traditional Peruvian songs or Gershwin tunes or Beatles songs – all within this rich rhythmic framework. There is no end to the exuberance and virtuosity of the Peruvian musicians. I have always found that traveling in this way, in getting to hear, and meet, and play with musicians from other countries is of enormous value, in that it reminds me how important it is to put all of one’s heart into the music – every single time I sit down to play or practice. Afro-Peruvian music is gaining wider recognition and larger audiences worldwide. If you are interested in hearing some samples you can click the following links of some of my favorite artists. Eva Ayllón http://www.myspace.com/evaayllonmusic Peru Negro http://www.myspace.com/perunegromusic Susana Baca http://www.ilike.com/artist/Susana+Baca/track/Caras+Lindas Geoffrey Keezer http://www.geoffreykeezer.com/albuminfo.aspx?ID=920
Back from Japan
Flying back into the chaotic LA airport from Japan – I wondered what the reaction of a Japanese tourist might be. Not a speck of signage in their language and no apparent logic to any of the snaking lines filled with every shape and size and person imaginable many of whom were dressed immodestly or in grungy sweat suits. What would the Nihon-jin (Japanese citizen) think about the unwelcoming and miserable looking security guard who kept yelling at the new arrivals to stay behind an unnoticed red line on the floor. The disorder was disconcerting. What a striking contrast to Narita Airport with English language signs everywhere and information booths filled with uniformed smiling attendants and the whole scene populated by well dressed, quiet, and orderly citizens. No doubt, America does the multi-culti thing better than anywhere on the planet. This is hugely important - that we all learn to get along. But it is really striking to step off a plane from Japan and be confronted with the contrast at LAX International Airport. Japan a homogenous society with a strong prevalent group-minded culture and Los Angeles International Airport – where middle aged men with Mohawk haircuts and teenagers with tattooed necks and exposed cleavage (butt and breast) wait in the security lines with Moslems, Hispanics and African Americans. We can all agree that moving towards world peace will require that we learn to care more deeply about one another. It is pretty clear that the ideals of equality and human freedom proclaimed in our Constitution can foster this kind of caring. Americans are great about helping out - we volunteer and give to charities and participate in civic life in our communities. The example of Ted Kennedy, his life of public service and caring for the downtrodden as well as the way he cared for his friends shined a light on what is so great and inspiring about America. These activities don’t occur in the same way in Japan. Not at all. But one could say that Japanese citizens and their good manners point to a significant way in which caring for one another lifts up the entire society. Manners, after all, are largely derived from the wish not to offend others - which is the other side of the coin of respect for others. In a country where the harmony of the group is explicitly promoted as it is so openly in Japan – manners play a comforting role in managing the huge urban populations. No one talks on cell phones in the subways. No one litters. People form orderly lines on the train platforms. There is a benefit bestowed to the whole society when its citizens follow and respect the law – even the little ones such as waiting at the corner until the light turns before we cross the street. I knew I was not in Boston when the jazz club owner, where we had just finished playing, accompanied us back up to the street at the end of the night to deeply bow as we parted. So let’s all start a little viral manners campaign out on the streets in the USA this week. Respect and connect. Maybe it will catch on and spread. I was struck by a story in the newspaper I bought in LA today about the American father who sent up the home-made helium balloon that he said his son was in. It is a dark story though. It turned out this was a publicity stunt dreamed up by the father for personal gain – a stunt that played upon the sympathies of millions of TV viewers. In Japan no one could face the shame of having misled so many people. That story would never have happened there. This was the twelfth year in a row that Kazumi Ikenaga has invited me to come to Japan to play music with him. He sets up a two-week tour with about 10 gigs and we work pretty hard – traveling to and from clubs and concert venues and setting up – and playing intensely night after night – we love doing this. It is such a huge affirmation of all of the musical work we do. For the past three years I have had a traveling companion on this trip, Renee came one year, then I brought my father along one year and last year I was accompanied by my friend Joe Innskeep. This year, I came alone, and I cut down on my sightseeing considerably; concentrating my energies, mental and physical, on the music. The songs that I have been writing these past two years at the MacDowell Colony, the ballads and the lyricism I try to bring to my playing has been so well received. I receive feedback in the way of comments from my listeners in Japan. These comments are so generous - expressions of such attentive listening - so open and heartfelt and appreciative. They can make me cry. The energetic part of our playing (up-tempo) has continued to evolve and intensify these past few years. I think because I have experienced how patience is such a huge part of making music work. I feel like I was able to put into practice for the first time the ability to watch and not judge and see where the energies of the other players were– not needing them to meet my expectations of where I think the rhythmic energies needed to be. And in that waiting – and the good manners implied in that - the grooves developed organically – and our stories unfolded night after night. Going to new places each time we performed and confirming for me what I most love about playing music. That it is an endless path and clearly one that is connected in relationship to the many people I play with and play for and for the many friends and family members who help sustain the blessing of these many connections. Onward, in kindness and harmony – which also sounds to me like a synonym for manners, bert
News You Can Use - Autumn 2009
The marsh grasses in Ipswich turned yellow and red this week - as the green life drained out of them - Renee just found out this week, on a nature walk she took at Crane's Beach, that these grasses which grow submerged part of the day in salt water, need the heat of summer to photosynthesize. The cold weather appeared suddenly last week and so these vast expanses of Spartina grass have seemingly changed color over night.
I am getting ready for an exciting Autumn season of music performances and I am writing just to let you know where I will be appearing.
Our trio gig at the Stone Soup in Ipswich is continuing every Thursday night. Mark Mapham, the owner, who is a really great chef and huge fan of ours, comes out of the kitchen to sit next to our drummer, Joe Hunt and listen to our last set. Mark has extended our gig - even though the tourist season has ended. I am really enjoying playing with Joe again on this gig. He was on my first couple of CDs in 1985 and 1987 - and we were working a lot together back then. He has such a deep feeling in his playing which is a joy to connect with. John Lockwood or Peter Kontrimas joins us on bass; and I am certain that the flow of the music has a lot to do with their maturity and energy as well.
For the first two weeks of October I will be going to Japan to play with my friend Kazumi Ikenaga (who was a dedicated student of Joe Hunt's) This is the twelfth year in a row that Kazumi has set up a tour and invited me to come and play. As you can imagine, I so enjoy this trip, Japan, its culture, people and language and the generosity of rapt audiences night after night. We have a terrific following and it is amazing to see our friends year after year at our gigs in Tokyo and Kyoto and surrounding areas. This trip always inspires me to work hard so that I am able to bring new material and some other form of musical growth to share.
Then when I get back I will be starting to play every Friday night at the Four Seasons Hotel with my good friends Nat Mugavero on drums and Barry Smith on bass. Nat has played with me for over 20 years - you have probably seen us play at the Taj or at the Bostonian before that. He is always getting us to ask new questions when we play - and in a most musical way, pulling the rug out from under us. Barry is a really conversant bassist and the three of us are excited about our chemistry as a trio.
I hope that you will look at my web site and refer to the "gigs" page for specifics about my schedule. I would so enjoy seeing you.
It just doesn't seem possible that summer sped by so fast. My hope is that the fall season inspires all of us. There is a lot to look forward to....even to see what shade of brown the grasses will turn next.
New CD - Just Out
I am excited to tell you about this new CD, which I am calling “Lima Beans.” For the past year I have had the great privilege of rehearsing with the legendary Afro-Peruvian singer Eva Ayllon. My band mates on this CD, Jorge Perez Albela and Jorge Roeder, introduced me to her. They patiently taught me the exciting and tricky 12/8 “festejo” rhythm, which is finding its way into my heart and musical expression. And we played our first concert with Eva in April at Cornell University in New York. Boston, Massachusetts, where I live, is often referred to as “Bean Town”. Both Jorges are from Lima, Peru and both originally came to Boston to study music. Hence, the title of this CD: “Lima Beans.” We recorded on January 29 and March 26, 2009 at WGBH Fraser Performance Studio and were assisted by the very skilled and musically astute recording engineer, Antonio Oliart Ros. He captured a warm and strikingly clear room-sound in this brand new studio, which has 40-foot ceilings, a nine-foot Hamburg Steinway Concert Grand Piano and wooden floors and surfaces. This is my best sounding CD by far. I composed all of the tunes except “Everything I Love,” which was written by Cole Porter. The tenth track on this album (think of it as a bonus track), contains my singing debut. It brought me great joy to write and learn to sing this song, but it should be pretty obvious early on that I am not a singer. Still, I hope that you will enjoy the sing-along nature of this melody and the beautiful message it conveys. The lyrics for “When Singing Just Sing,” were taken from the book of the same name by Narayan Leibenson Grady. She teaches at the Cambridge Insight Meditation Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts, which she helped found in 1985. I wish to extend my gratitude to all of you, my colleagues, friends, and fans, who continue to find something in the music I play and produce that brings us closer. I am heartened by your support and interest. I hope you will enjoy this music. “When breathing just breathe. In each moment be aware, ever resting in the heart, undistracted, calm and clear.” Narayan Leibenson Grady.
What I do when I meditate
Sometimes I am asked to explain something about meditation or Buddhism and more than occasionally I find it difficult to know where to begin. The explanations about what I am doing and why are always evolving. Of course, some of the reasons why I meditate remain constant. The practice itself is an endless source of learning, inspiration, clarity, and inner strength. My faith in the efficacy and necessity of this practice in my life increases. This is intended then as an explanation of what I do when I meditate and why I keep at it. I love that this practice encourages both a beginners mind and some healthy skepticism. The Buddha when he taught this practice of meditation over 2500 years ago said in his native Pali language, “Ahi Passiko” which translates as “Come and See.” That is, he said (to paraphrase) “Don’t take my word for it – you don’t have to believe anything I say. See if it is true for you. See if you can discover if what I am teaching is true through your own experience, your own observation.” I take as my starting place what I know to be true: that all human beings as we have known them and can know them, (including myself) will die. The conditions that support life will change and eventually – at a time that we cannot predict our body will give out and cease living. One could say then that our days are numbered – or numerable. Even though we can never know what that number will be, I can still conclude that they are precious because they are finite. This is something I know in my bones – that life is precious. This knowledge gives me perspective, a sense of balance that can help me bear with the many ups and downs that we all experience daily in our lives. It becomes easier to see how being able to be with things – the way they are – with an abiding appreciation for life is a way to cultivate an inner sense of contentment. The question then is - how not to take life for granted. It becomes obvious pretty fast how difficult it is to actually put into practice the intention to appreciate life at every moment. (Since we have already concluded that each moment of life is indeed precious.) In reviewing my states of mind at the end of a day I can easily see places where the awareness of life’s precious nature had evaporated. I can see periods of annoyance at myself or someone else. I can see how lost I had been in that annoyance or regret or desire. I can see how justified I felt in that annoyance and how feeding or following or proliferating these trains of thought keeps me from being able to remember the perspective I had vowed to value. It turns out that the Buddha had discovered a method, a system of training the mind and heart to address exactly this quandary. The training requires one to go back to the very beginning – to something utterly simple (but not easy) sitting and doing nothing except paying attention. The instructions that the Buddha taught require only a mind and a body and we all have these. Immediately it turns out that these skillful instructions he gave us are most useful – not only in sitting meditation - but in every waking hour. (Perhaps some yogis can even practice in their sleep.) So what does one do? How does one meditate? We start by taking a seat, on the ground, in a chair, on a cushion; it doesn’t matter. We make some effort to come into an upright posture, and then we consciously relax what we can relax; our face, our eyes, our chest, shoulders and abdomen. Then we choose an object to pay attention to. This could be our breath, our body, or sound. We are instructed to rest our attention in this one-pointed way. Coming back each time when our mind wanders off to the primary object – the rising and falling of our breath, the sensations of the sitting bones on the cushion or chair, or the arising and passing away of sounds. We are at this stage of meditation developing the power to sustain our concentration. Practicing meditation in this way, which is cultivated by relaxation, a willingness to proceed, and a gentle non-judgmental attitude gives rise to a steady calmness and sense that we are making a home for ourselves in our bodies. A home that the Buddha said, “no flood can overcome.” There is great value in learning how to relax, how to calm oneself. In cultivating a deep sustained calm during long periods of meditation there is the likelihood of experiencing profound bliss. But we are not looking for a particular blissful experience when we meditate – or we would easily be tempted to cling to that experience and to try to repeat it every time we sit. Blissful mind states are amazing, but the Buddha was very clear that this was not what he was searching for. Rather he taught how to use this calm and steadiness of heart to look into the nature of our experience to gain insight into the way things work. This learning is the work and the reward of meditation. It is indeed how we learn about the very thing that is keeping us from remembering our original intention to appreciate each moment of life. So the instruction shifts at this point – on day number four of an eight-day retreat, or halfway through a daily sitting practice. As this is no longer just a calming/concentration practice we now widen the field of attention to include whatever has become predominant in our attention and observe it with the same mindful non-judgmental interest that we used in attending to our primary object. What is predominant will be constantly changing, (first maybe our breath – then a noise – then a strong sensation in the body – or a little one like an itch – then a desire for lunch – then the breath again – then the memory of an old regret). It is not that we need to go out looking for anything to learn from – these things just appear. But as the meditation is evolving into an awareness/wisdom practice, it will require great skill and patience to be able to observe what is predominant without getting lost and absorbed into it. We have been training the mind to pay attention in the present moment to the breath or body or sounds and we need to keep this allegiance to the present moment to keep ourselves from getting swept away in thoughts, plans, memories, fantasies or judgments as they become predominant. We can do this over and over by just trusting that awareness is always present if we call on it: awareness that sitting is occurring, awareness that planning is happening, awareness that we have been in a conversation with someone in our minds – and that someone is 1000 miles away. That awareness brings us back to the present. As our trust in that awareness grows we understand that by being able to be aware of the present mind/body experience, (where we are and what is happening in the present moment) we have a much better chance of being able to be- with whatever is predominant in an interested, non-judgmental way, so that we can learn from what is arising and respond to it with wisdom and compassion. Practicing in this way – we begin to see how reactive we usually are and how lost in our reactions we so easily and habitually get. The question in this type of meditation becomes, “How am I relating to what is occurring?” If a pain in the shoulder is occurring are we observing the sensations of that pain coming and going – or are we blaming ourselves for it. Are we thinking, “This pain shouldn’t be happening to me.” “If I was a better meditator this wouldn’t be happening.” If a desire is occurring – are we lost in scheming how to fulfill it or are we aware that we are sitting and that a desire to be somewhere else, doing something else is occurring? Can we come back? Can awareness allow us to see in that very moment of life – right there – that we can unclench our hearts and see that what is happening is already precious enough? If we want to get up and do something else, can we learn something about restlessness and our aversion to it. Is it possible to see it as a conditioned thing arising and passing away as conditions change? Can we sense it in our bodies - the discomfort of restlessness - and watch it as it changes with interest. This is where we learn about freedom because we see how we do not need to get pushed around by these reactions when we can remember to bring awareness to them. But we have to be able to remember the question, “How are we relating to what is coming up?” With practice we can do this off the cushion as well. At first the insights we gain in meditation are personal. We start to learn how to care for our minds and bodies and how not to be swept away by emotions. We learn how to use language more effectively in a kinder and more connecting way. We learn how a foundation of ethics provides safety and stability and how to gain an allegiance towards calm and stability in our hearts and minds. As we gain confidence in our ability to learn and to put into practice what we are learning we find that our trust in our own wisdom grows and allows deeper less personal insights to be discovered and worked with. These include seeing the impermanent nature of all conditioned things, seeing that no conditioned thing can ever provide lasting happiness, and seeing how we ourselves are conditioned things – and how these conditions change every moment. We see that we are not separate independent entities – but as nature – part of nature – we are connected inseparably from all the conditions that influence our minds and bodies in each moment of our lives. These insights allow us to soften our attachments to our strongly held agendas and find more acceptance, more equanimity in the flow of the events of our lives. It is certainly not as if there becomes less passion or juice as we become better observers. We are more available for all experiences when we aren't lost and pushed around. A more intimate connection with every moment of our life becomes possible. Joy accompanies us. Meditation, which is this training of the heart and mind to be present and calm in the midst of everything, is not possible without patience. And if we define patience as - sustaining a loving attention - then all the attention and interest that we practice in meditation can help us to grow kinder towards ourselves and towards others and more patient as well. The attention that we learn to pay to everything – the gentle effort to bring awareness and wisdom to our inquiry into our reactions - allows the space for softening those reactions and for appreciation to flower. We find more and more that we are indeed living our lives in appreciation of each precious moment. And as Narayan Liebenson Grady, the teacher I study with in Cambridge Massachusetts at the Cambridge Insight Meditation Center, the place which she helped found 23 years ago says, “It is from inner peace that peace in the world begins.”
About the new CD "Near and Far"
I am very happy to announce the release of a new CD "Near and Far KJB"Kazumi Ikenaga ... drums John Lockwood ... bass Bert Seager ... piano This is the third CD that this trio had recorded and released. It features many more of my original tunes (7 of 10) than the previous CDs did. That is because I have written so many more tunes lately ... see the news posting below this one called "The MacDowell Colony." Every year for the past eleven years, my good friend Kazumi has invited me to come to Japan to go on a two week club/concert tour with him that he sets up for us. Kazumi, who I met and played with in Boston almost 20 years ago, moved back to Japan after college here (Berklee College of Music) and a few years in New York City. He is a very sensitive and talented drummer. We have played a lot together over the years and it shows in our musical rapport. John Lockwood, bassist in KJB. and I have played together nearly every weekend for the past six years, and we have been playing in many contexts together here in Boston for the past 25 years. Our friendship and easy communication is evident in this music as well. If you want to buy or listen to some of the music from the new CD please click on the "Albums" button at the bottom of this page. If you want to buy a track or two, they are available to download. Just click through to "iTunes" at the bottom of this page as well. My favorite tracks are One For My Baby One Note Waltz Learning to Trust in Love Namely You Thanks so much for your interest and support.
The MacDowell Colony
For the past two years I have been accepted as a fellow at the MacDowell Colony in Peterborough, New Hampshire. This is an artists colony that was started by Marion MacDowell, the wife of Edward MacDowell one of the first famous American composers of classical music. Artists in many different fields, (composers, painters, writers, sculptors, photographers, filmmakers, and architects) apply for residency and are selected by a jury of their peers after submitting an application that includes work samples. If one gets selected, one can choose to stay between one and eight weeks. I stayed three weeks each time. Each artist is given a studio to use. These studios, all independent structures are not so small cottages that are designed for the discipline of the artist who will stay there. Mine, for instance, had a Steinway grand piano where I sat all day and wrote music. The colony is situated on 450 acres of forest and meadow just to the east of Mount Monadnock. Each cottage has a lot of privacy as they are spread out in a way that you cannot see anyone elses studio from your own. It is so wonderful really. There is a main building which includes a dining hall where we all have breakfast. Then we each go back out to our studios and work. At about noon a hot lunch with a thermos of soup and coffee is delivered in a picnic basket and placed outside the studio door. Almost every day I was so absorbed in my work that I did not even hear the basket being dropped off. At 6:30 we gather back in the dining center for dinner served family. Then at 7:30, almost every evening, one of the artists shares some of his or her work, (writers read, painters show slides, I played piano playing the tunes I was writing.) A discussion usually follows sometimes going until 11 or later at night. People play ping-pong or pool and hang out together. It is so stimulating and so inspiring to be among such talented, creative and hard working people. Also the grounds at MacDowell are incredibly beautiful and wild. Just walking in the woods outside is often all the inspiration one needs to recharge. I am filled with gratitude that a place like MacDowell exists. And I am especially grateful that they thought I was talented enough to make me a fellow two years in a row. It is amazing how productive one can be when there are no phones or computers to distract you. Their website is quite wonderful too if you want to learn more about it or apply for residency yourself. Be sure and look at their little 5 minute video called MacDowell Moments to get a flavor of this very magical place. http://www.macdowellcolony.org/index.html
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