Predawn Mist, Her Harp

Looking at the calendar I was confused.  Two days next week were blocked out with a bold message in blue highlight: “The Day My Life Will Change” staring up at me, provocatively.    I assumed I’d been spammed by a cult or a twelve-step program.  Easy enough to discern, I clicked on the message and saw that I was synced with my younger daughter’s calendar.  This was the day she was going to see her favorite band in concert.  Now it all made sense. 

Not sure what lead me to Alice Coltrane yesterday but I’m thankful that I’m here.  I’ve always appreciated “Journey in Satchidananda”, (Truth, Knowledge, Bliss) and fondly remember a live album I had called “Live at the Village Vanguard Again!”, where Ms. Coltrane holds down the piano with John, Pharaoh Sanders, Rashid Ali and Jimmy Garrison, and stands out strongly on the cover photo as female band member standing confidently, below the Vanguard canopy.  I’ve listened casually elsewhere and found her free jazz modality, evolved into something devotional, neither of which ever properly registered. 

This morning, riding out in the predawn mist, her harp on “Huntington Ashram Monastery” from 1969, was properly compelling.  It seemed to be just what the morning demanded.  Rashid Ali is also on drums here and the remarkable Ron Carter anchors her sweeping moods with unerringly compelling bass punctuations.  Setting out the journey is interrupted once and twice as the chord pops out of the audio jack on my iPhone.

Today’s the day.  The local phone fixer guy, Kevin, out the main desk has suggested he’ll be in today.  Three weeks ago, he “fixed” my charger port on the phone by simply removing the accretions of dust that had formed there with his special tools.  Up until my bike ride over I had assumed that I’d need a new . . . port.  It must be bent or broken or malfunctioning.  The real answer once again, was rather simple.  There was a lot of dust.  He cleaned it out and insisted he’d do it for free.  But that didn’t seem right.  He’d just saved me an enormous amount of frustration and after testing the phone now, with the dust-free port where the jack stayed in effortlessly, I tipped Kevin for his troubles and his tools. 

Friday 11/09/18