Reflections and Structures

Mike Stern Band

The Note was last night's host. Whether we (the audience) were the guests to Mike Stern and his band's musical universe or whether they were guests in our town is a tough one for me. Technically it's both, but I know nothing of their time in Timisoara so I have to stick to us being their guests...

I took just one picture, you can see it here, using my phone which can't take great pictures in dark environments. Images aren't the appropriate medium for these guys anyway, they're so much about music.

Last night took me further down the path I feel I need to go on; it was a life lesson. Mike and his band--the wonderful bass player who tells stories with his face while he's playing, the sax man who plays with that thing as if it were a toy, the drummer who dives in at just the perfect millisecond--taught me my lesson, perfectly. The lesson that if you truly enjoy something, it gives your life meaning and it's precisely what you want to do. And it feels like it's going to be that way forever!

They really looked that way, as if playing that music is all they wanted to do and that it's simply their meaning in life. Joyful, reserved, enthusiastic, playful and meditative--all combined to speak out for their love of their music.

Beautiful, guys. Thanks for giving us a glimpse into your universe. I've certainly learned something, along with the sheer enjoyment.

Oh, and btw, I love the CD, too (thanks for the autographs). ;-)

posted by Ciprian Man @ Monday, November 06, 2006