It is raining gently for the first time in many many weeks. Verily – Amen.
The drought has been severe, and everybody has been hoping for this rain. All the plants, and trees, and creatures, stressed by the lack of life-giving moisture. There are almost no mosquitoes or bugs this summer – and that in turn is hard on the birds. And so on.
I am writing this newsletter to share my enthusiasm about the fall season, school starting again with no masks or testing required – and a tentative normalcy in the relationship with our collective health and living with the unknown. Perhaps the exposure to uncertainty on the scale that we have been living with – for years now – is producing a greater sense of appreciation for all of life; for friendship, for quiet, for the seasons, for the ordinary, for nature, and for culture and city life. This can be a beautiful way of living, all of us doing our best to connect to each other, experiencing a heightened gratitude for the miracle of it all. Leading to more kindness. Verily – Amen.
It has been a year now since we began playing again on the first Wednesday of each month at the Lilypad in Cambridge MA. I have been playing there for at least a dozen years and from the beginning you have supported me – we have all supported each other in this room – wearing masks when necessary – co-creating a community of listeners and musical responders with a playfulness that can only happen in the moment. Please get together with your calendar and mark some of these first Wednesdays. We play an early set, 6:30 PM to 7:30 PM on each month’s first Wednesday. Plenty of wonderful places on the block to go for dinner after the show. Lilypad 1353 Cambridge Street. Cambridge MA (Inman Square.)
I am calling it the Bert Seager Residency and feature different guests each month, which offers the opportunity to experience some new ways of playing. Though I am sticking with the imaginative and deeply grooving Tetraptych rhythm section that I adore and continue to learn from. These are my good friends, Max Ridley on upright bass, and Dor Herskovits on drums. And then …
On Wednesday, September 7, at 6:30 PM we will feature the exquisite tenor saxophonist Rick DiMuzio.
On Wednesday, October 5, Rick will be with us again but we will also be joined by one of my favorite poets, Alison Luterman. All of you who have attended a gig in the past year have heard me read some poems of hers. She is a terrific observer, funny and deep. She and her husband are traveling from Oakland California to visit her father, and she has agreed to read while we improvise along with her spoken word.
On Wednesday, November 2, We will feature a young vocalist Lillian Shires, who has a yummy voice and a true jazz feeling.. She sang a few songs with us last April to great acclaim. You can watch her sing the Stevie Winwood classic “Can’t Find My Way Home” with us here.
Other great news worth reading…
Rebecca Sullivan, who many of you have heard singing with us, has delivered a new baby girl, June Josephine ! And Eden MacAdam Somer, who also plays violin with us, gave birth to a baby boy, Ori Tov.
Congratulations to Rebecca and Andrew, Eden and Aaron, your love and inner beauty shines even more brightly in this world now. Verily – Amen.
Hope to see you all this fall. Meanwhile….sending love,
bert