And an interview with the one gone too soon and Mel B.

And, Natalia.

Natalia Lafourcade

Bob Boilen as been gracing the NPR airwaves with his brilliant series, Tiny Desk Concerts for about ten years. He gives us access along the way, to fabulous music in an intimate setting where we just about believe we're there. Adele, Ben Folds, Blue Man Group, Chance the Rapper, Suzanne Vega, and my new favorite, Vicente Garcia, all there.

I ended up in an interwebs rabbit hole listening to Natalia Lafourcade. That's her above and her music is delight and joy and collaborative.

There's a lot to share here.
Have fun.

AdventWord::Commit

Commit

In Advent, reflect on a commitment you are considering accepting, or a commitment that needs renewing. In building the house of your life on the rock of God’s committed love, you may discover that you are called to commit; that you cannot claim the Life that God desires for you without it. -Br. Keith Nelson

We wrote words on the back sides of rocks at Mother Daughter camp about six years ago. We promised to nurture or honor the other's dream. She wanted to be more serious about singing. She has a lesson again tomorrow.

The commitment of parental love is deep/steep. God's faithfulness and constance allows me to follow in His wake, doing my best to remember that her dreams were planted by Him. My joy is in my commitment to help her see them to fruit.

Oh, and I still have my rock.

AdventWord::Play

He heard (as did she) the words, make a joyful noise to the Lord.
And he played his trumpet, and sang.
And she sang from the very beginning.

Play. Sing. Send all glory right on back to the One who provided the gift in the first place.

Giving Thanks - November 18:: A date

Today I have thanks for my Dear, who took me on a date to one of our favorite small concert venues, McCabe's Guitar Shop in Santa Monica. McCabe's has been around forever. They sell and maintain guitars and other instruments and, in the big sales room -- always ceiling to floor with guitars, is a small concert hall.

Over the years, my husband has seen lots of acts in the room, Marshall Crenshaw, Dirk Hamilton, John Stewart (the singer), Dave Alvin, The Bobs, Rosanne Cash, Peter Case, to name a few. (Here's the list of every artist who's played there.)

When our kiddos were little we saw Peter Himmelman a few times, during his Fabulous Plum period. (Who wouldn't love the guy who wrote and performs, "A World Where You Only Eat Candy" or "I Don't Like to Share"?)

Last night we went to see a female giant of folk, Jennifer Warnes. Her voice is beautiful, and hearing her in a small venue with just three guitars and her, was lovely. We sat in the back, counted the gray heads in the room and thought about everyone she ever sang with. Leonard Cohen helped make her famous, but beyond her spot as a soloist, she's joined with Jackson Brown, Bruce Springsteen and Bonnie Raitt. I should mention that Oscar for the Officer and A Gentleman song, Love Lifts Us Up with Joe Cocker.

It's interesting that there are people, I'm sure, who go to walk a bit down memory lane, baby boomers do that with a sense that the days aren't really that far behind. She honored the idea by offering a little set within the set to satisfy the desire for the old music. But she also brought lots of new ideas and versions for us to take in.

It was a fun night. It's almost always fun to go, to see, to hear. And, I got a Saturday night date in the rain out of it. Thanks Dear.

A very Big Rush

My youngest asked me in passing a few days ago, if we could get tickets to see Big Time Rush in concert.

I have to say, the fact that the TV show boy band was touring (or really sang on stages) was nowhere near my radar. But we were alone for the weekend and absolutely free on Friday night. So, (with visions of boy bands gone by dancing in my head) my fingers walked the internet and I found a pair of tickets.

There are many joys in momhood and one of the big ones is truly surprising your kiddos. I downloaded the tickets and put them in my laptop bag. And then I waited for the ceremonial asking of the question - again.

A day later, she came through. We were ending our day when she said with just a hint of a whine in her voice,  "Mom, is there any way we could look on Craig's List or anything for tickets, I'd really like to see the concert." I asked her when the concert was - she said Friday - I handed her the pages I'd printed out, saying, "Read this, I think it says something about Saturday." It took her a few minutes to connect to what the pages were and then the shocked smile and "REALLY? WE'RE GOING?" Oh, yes.

So we went. We had fabulous orchestra seats amongst 12,000 screaming girls, parents and the occasional kid brother. It was great fun. The boys work really hard and put on a great show. They're well choreographed, but casual and they have tons of personality. But enough about them, the real show was watching my girlie as she kept mentally pinching herself, video taping with her iPod, singing with the boys and saying "Thank you Mommie, this is the best!" We sang along, jumped and clapped to our delight.

A couple of times it really struck me - these moments are few and far between and mark her stepping into the hallway of the teen years. Gratefully, we took the step together. My ears are ringing but as you might imagine, if was quite the rush.

Now, it's off to download the new song and the wallpaper.

Sharing Christmas - These are a Few of My Favorite Things - One

Carols and all kinds of Christmas music are wildly important to me during this wondrous season. And for some reason, this one is snugly wrapped around my ears and heart.

It's an unexpected combination of big orchestra music, Art Garfunkle and Amy Grant. The Frog, approaching the Baby Jesus is a favorite but, really, I can't address Christmas cards without listening.

And, while we're at it, I have to hear the Alfred Burt Carols and I just love sitting around with the candles burning, lights on the tree and, oh yea, the cards, with James Taylor singing his way through my night.

This year my son brought home the dazzling acapella fun of Straight No Chaser. These post college funsters met at the University of Indiana and have been singing fabulous harmony ever since. At our house, we love the 12 days of Christmas and the Christmas Can Can. My Dear bought tickets for the family to see them last weekend. The boy was beaming as Dad told the story was told at the Thanksgiving party table of procurring 3rd row for us all. Unfortunately, darling boy turned out to be darling fluish boy for the weekend, so he and I stayed home. His younger sister accompanied Dad and Uncle Scotty to the event. The next morning she came out to the living room where flu-boy lay, wearing a big T-shirt signed by all 10 members of the group. "Do you like my shirt?" she said. Of course he thought it very cool and responded with a quiet, "yes". At this point she peeled that layer and tossed it to him saying. "I got it for you Big Brother."

Check these boys out on iTunes. The big album is worth every penny - you get videos! You can also find Straight No Chaser on iTunes and YouTube, and their website is pretty fun.

So there it is. A few of my favorite Christmas music albums (and a sweet story of Christmas love).

Fa la la la la la la.

And now for your summer listening pleasure...

How inspiring and arresting is beautiful music?

I have long loved Jake Shimabukuro. I bought his CD in, well, Hawaii of course.
This might change your mind about music from a certain island instrument.
Which brings me to Hawaiian slack key guitar.
Ozzie Kotani or Jeff Peterson.
So gentle and beautiful.
And then there's such beauty in classical guitar.
The Romeros were my introduction. Here's Angel.
And how about Bittersweet by musical angel, Sara Lindsay.
I like this band a lot too.

So there. What's your favorite?

Almost summer and loving lots

I can say that I'm about a half day into summer and have found much intrigue in those Stieg Larsson books. I read THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO with the neighborhood book club. Fun. The book club that is. I'm new and we just ran through thought after thought on the writer, the characters and then, the confessions. One of us had read all three books in under a week. I almost set out for the neighborhood bookstore in my pjs at midnight because I wanted book two. (Didn't.) And we've agreed to meet in six weeks having read two and three.
So far, I like summer.

We've made roasted tomato salsa and had our first super yummy watermelon granita. Avocados are turning into guac and every chef in the house is making their favorite smoothie.

I'm listening to a lot of Sara Lindsay. Especially the songs Beautiful and Fall Kids. We're dancin'.

Oh yes, I'm liking summer.

I also have a notion for a book. Summer is a good time to incubate a notion for a book.
A little sun, a little water and the idea might just turn into pages.

And one last thing, the teenager and the sistersoo are fully invested (again) in the Next Food Network Star.

Summer. Its a good thing.

Then, the final last thing: Mary and Marj and I are sitting in the front yard garden a lot. We think we're on the cape. Even if I've never been there. This means connecting with lots of neighbors - especially the ones we don't all know.

Ah, summer.

Latin Jazz

I simply love music, the song I'm singing, the sound someone else is making, the brashness of a new trumpet player slogging through the new-to-him notes, wafting in my window, all of it. I grew up surrounded by music and especially the music of parents singing with the HiFi or the radio. In the kitchen, from the bathroom, filling the car. Music. In that prehistoric pretape era, we were the car singers. Dad had long lists of songs that didn't require a radio and very often were followed with the slick segue, "And then I wrote..." standards, sea shanties. The challenge was, of course, to know each word, each note and to find a place in the harmony. Traditional American songs, the kind Dan Zanes, Pete Seeger and Bruce Springsteen serve up with such generosity. Men knitting with the threads of the country and my family history. We listened to the jingle the rumble and the roar as the Wabash Cannonball, all verses, filled the station wagon or the Jag roadster. No matter the car, the soundtrack was fabulous.
Dad's dad, my mystical Gramps, drove a T-Bird and in drives back and forth to his house, opened the door to classical music for me. I sat at his side, in my bucket seat, listening to the different symphonies offered on the radio and was completely taken by the intricate dance of harmonies in Corelli's Christmas Concerto and Handel's Messiah.
When given the option of choosing a musical instrument to play, I jumped at the chance to play the strings. Which began a journey of unfolding sound that continues. Whilst majoring in music, I walked into a rehearsal hall with friends to listen to the Studio Jazz band rehearse. In that moment, Dad's Dixieland jazz became the music of foundation.
Which brings me to Latin Jazz. We are a family of iPod holders. Each one of us has their collection of songs we want to hear and love to play for each other. A battle can ensue over who gets to connect and control and when there's more of this business than I find enjoyable, we turn to the car radio and very often to jazz. Our particular jazz station, the only jazz station we have, seems to have a soft spot for Latin Jazz. I seem to too. Maybe its the rhythm of the timbales, the congas, vibes or the trumpet guys singing punctuations. It moves me. There is something inclusive that reaches through. It can be Arturo Sandoval or Antonio Carlos Jobim. The music never notices that I'm a classically trained violinist. It just floats in and asks me to join in the samba.
How beautiful. How lovely. And here, we're called to stop being where we are and move.