I'm enjoying the piano, even though I'm literally starting from scratch and can only play really, really basic stuff. I tend to be impatient and despise the awkwardness of not knowing what I'm doing when I start something new. But because I took piano briefly as a kid I still remember enough to read a bit of music and sort of get what I'm doing on a really basic level. I'm picking things up quickly and that's been satisfying. Actively pursuing something that was taken away from me is also killing a tiny spot of bitterness that has been lodged inside for a long time. I am still so touched that Davin thought of this. I'm not planning to give up my day job, I just want to take back what was taken away and see how I feel about it. I have always believed that I am the visual one and that I didn't inherit any of the music genes. I'm starting to think that's a lie I've been telling myself for too long.
My brother made me a cd of songs that feature the piano.
- In a Sentimental Mood - John Coltrane & Duke Ellington
- Rivers of My Fathers - Gil Scott Heron
- Tiao Braco Forte - Marcos Valle
- Revelation - Yusef Lateef
- Nebulosa - Tenario Jr.
- African Mailman - Nina Simone (This is a really great instrumental.)
- Cantalope Island - Herbie Hancock (I went through a brief revival of this one last winter. It was a walking thing.)
- Theme for Doris - Tina Brooks
- Monticello - Monty Alexander Trio
- Inner City Blues - Marvin Gaye
- Pieces of a Man - Gil Scott Heron (My fave of his.)
- The Girl I Left Behind - Ken Boothe (The falsetto here is very different than some of his others that's for sure.)
- My Conversation - The Uniques (I love falsetto. Makes me realize I haven't listened to Horace Andy in ages.)