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Saturday, December 4, 2010

Bermuda Triangle Exit



This afternoon, after one month almost without music - alive, played AND reproduced - I spent three extremely satisfying hours in my studio... outside, snowy, cold weather, while I was woolly cocooned on the sofa, listening to Gotorama in dimmed light.

... and something strange happened: also considering the (relative) virginity to nice music in last weeks, I sort-of was in that particular mood toward my music/audio system - i.e. WOW, I'd buy it again!

... and music reached me in a very intense and scary (positively) way, too... some discs, first - P.J. Harvey (White Chalk), Hans Reichel & Eroc (Kino... WOWOWOW!!!)... no interruptions, 'c-mon-change-that-disc-in-a-hurry frenzy... two discs=fours sides straight in vein...

Then I changed to disks... the 4-CDs Miles' "Bitches Brew" complete sessions was my swimming pool for about one hour... and it happened!

On disk 3 there is a track - same title, alternate-take and official issue - "The Little Blue Frog", where Billy Cobham (thanks to Wikipedia) handles and plays masterfully the humble triangle, the little unassuming instrument so often quoted when s.o. is in need to offend a musician;-)- i.e. "You wouldn't play a triangle in orchestra!" - or something.

On this piece, Cobham's playing on... triangle is, SIMPLY, awesome!

It's the Jimi and Jaco and Bird of triangle: a triangle solo... aehm, you'll agree, isn't "that" common!;-)

On left side, spreading well beyond speakers in height and space, the triangle is
absolute protagonist... more than Wayne Shorter's soprano or Miles' trumpet (on that tune)...

It's so an extraordinary performance I had to repeat the listening... so weird, so clever, a true virtuoso he is!

The triangle is tamed, synchopated, muted and freed to fully resonate... as a plus, it's superbly recorded, as well... crisp, clear, full of superb harmonics and overtones, upper and lower octaves... aehm, as phisically allowed, at least... it's only a steel bar;-)))

Nonetheless... I was annihilated by this... cannot find a proper definition, BUT... Bermuda Triangle;-)... a "musical swirl" of humble sound, beauty and simple complexity: I loved it.

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