i went to the chicago jazz festival today. only really saw two acts, but saw two incredibly fluid guitarists. first was ted sirota's rebel souls. they played a reggae- and world-infused style of jazz that i thoroughly enjoyed. drummer played a little too showy for my taste, but the guitarist was simply amazing. he kept going from dazzling quick solos into strange diminished and augmented chords, making me think he would just start comping for the rest of the band. instead, he would go into a run of eighth note chordal changes to continue his solo. not easy chord changes, either. i honestly didn't think some of his chord progressions were even possible on guitar. completely blew me away. he was playing what looked to be an es-335 clone and a 2x10 music man combo, which made me really happy and sad at the same time. i can't express how much i want to play my music man amp/cab right now... but it does have the distinction of "the loudest clean amp ever made," and i am living in a low-noise environment. also, +1 for the band playing a charlie mingus tune.
i saw part of zooid, but decided that i would rather listen to jazz that was more palatable than artsy and complex. so i went to the complete other end of the spectrum: nick colionne. pretty smooth jazz, really not my stuff with the exception of his guitar playing. actually, i probably would've left his set after the first song if it weren't for his guitar. he wasn't really playing all that interesting of stuff in terms of progressions, but he was doing it with such flair and such ease that i had to watch. he was quite the showman. +1 for the ridiculous keyboardist, -1 for doing a really sarcastic and terrible purple rain cover.
on my way back, i walked past a choir. just as i passed, they sang this song:
one of my absolute favorites from going to church growing up. i may need to listen to more hymns in the near future, i forgot how much i enjoy them. there's just an infectious feel about them, right down in the depths of the music itself. even the lyrics are creative and well-done (like most hymns, it does seem to get a little lazy on the third verse), not terribly preachy but still getting the message across loud and clear. i think a lot can be gained from secular songwriting with hymn style in mind. i mean, ray charles made an entire career from doing that.
eating leftover burritos tonight. the "medium" salsa is more of an authentic salsa, "hot" to a gringo's tongue. i definitely was not expecting this, and drank a lot of water with my first burrito last night. two glasses worth at least. also watched up in the air today. *sort of spoiler alert* it was a very good film, but i cannot express how much i wanted it to resolve in the end. so many loose ends, so many questions... however, it has kept me thinking about the film all day, so i suppose it ended in a successful way.
tomorrow's labor day. i have the day off. might go to a neighborhood festival sort of thing. we'll see. i also may actually finish the Alien Orders in The Shed mix, which i've been threatening to do for about three weeks running now.
listening to simon and garfunkel's bookends on the turntable.
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