Feb. 22, 2007 9:24am
Morning Music
I’m watching my DVD of pianist Chick Corea, one of my all time favorite musicians. I purchased it at a discount when we were doing an in-store appearance in Australia last month, at a store that specialized in concert videos. Everyone else in the band was picking up Rainbow Live, Judas Priest Live etc…I felt like such an oddball with my ten DVD box set of Chick Corea live at the Blue Note in NYC.
I probably could have gone to those Chick Corea shows last year (there were ten, each with different musicians) but as usual, I was away. It drives me crazy that when I’m away so much, I miss so many good things, like these concerts. Then again, when I’m home I flake on so many things like this and don’t go. I’m not home much these days and when I am, I’m often exhausted, recovering from tour. I probably need to find more of a balance. At least I have this video.
So as I listen to the elegant cascades of fluid notes from Chick’s grand piano interweaving with those of Gary Burton’s vibraphone (his duet partner on Disc 4), I’m thinking of the fact that it’s morning and this is perfect music for the morning. I guess it’s a bit ironic that the music was performed and captured at a jazz club in the evening. Had I been there, it would be dark outside and I’d have a martini with Kettle One vodka and extra olives in a tall chilled glass with a thin stem. I’d probably be wearing a shiny button down shirt and if I was with a companion, she’d be wearing a slinky evening dress and we’d blend in with other jazz lovers at the Blue Note. This scene would blend perfectly with the very same music I’m hearing now to form the epitome of late night noir sophistication.
But right now, this music is all about the fact that it’s fresh daylight outside, things are beginning, energy is rising.
Chick has another tune ‘Morning Sprite’ the title of which strikes me as evidence that I may not be the only one who sees a connection between jazz piano and the morning. To me, the morning is about gaining focus and great piano music, be it jazz or classical, really inspires the me for the rest of the day for some reason. 
Evening Music
Don’t get me wrong. I love my metal, but it doesn’t usually work for me in the morning.
For years I would wake up to a tour bus engulfed in a cloud of pot smoke, a porn video on the TV screen and a Slayer’s “South Of Heaven” blaring from the stereo. The few who were awake hadn’t gone to bed yet and were obnoxiously intoxicated. All the focus, quiet and inner peace I’d gained through a night of sleep seemed to jump out the bus door and onto the highway. There was nowhere else to go. The album cover artwork pretty much captures how I felt. It was like I was one of those poor, tortured souls, drowning in a sea of blood and debauchery.
I’m really glad our tours aren’t like that anymore. No one blasts music in the morning anymore and there is more respect for the space of others.
Is it just me, or are certain activities, such as drinking, smoking and extreme metal, just more cut out for the evening? Hearing Slayer very early just feels weird, like starting the day with a cigar or a shot of whiskey. If it works for you, great. I’ll join in once it gets dark.