#the new song might take a minute but the album booklet is done at least

[pricechecktranslations]

去り人達のワルツ：悪ノ大罪 SEKAI Edition　-Album-

Waltz of the Deceased: The Deadly Sins of Evil, SEKAI Edition album booklet content

Opening

Format...

.

At the death of the sinful world, the people's souls decided to leave this land behind.

Once they passed through the enormous gate, they would lose all of their memories in exchange for a new life.

"The memories of those who are reborn will be reformatted"

That was a rule of this world.

.

If...

.

What if, for example, the Daughter of Evil hadn't been a princess?

What if it had been her burdened with a curse, instead of her father?

All people had possibilities like that.

The Evil Food Eater resolved to set out on a new journey to learn them all.

.

But she still didn't yet know.

That her soul, just like her body, wasn't something that would last forever.

.

Repeat...

.

If only I could do it over again.

Someone, no, everyone has thought that at least once.

She couldn't just give up on this world.

If she could just return back to the outset, maybe it would turn out better this time.

With those thoughts in her mind, perhaps the Sleep Princess loved this world more than anyone.

.

Each time she repeated, it would scrape away at her soul,

Guiding her to yet further madness.

.

End...

.

Punishment was handed down.

And so in that case, accepting that punishment was in itself another answer.

"Are you not going?"

At the tailor's question, the mud king laughed and replied:

"Kids tend to dislike having their parents looking in on their room."

The judge listening in next to him nodded in understanding, and returned a smile.

.

We are all free.

No matter what world we choose.

There is no distinction between good and evil there.

.

But we can be sure that we lived here on this land.

Even if we forget about it, that fact can never be erased.

.

For those who will set out on their journey.

Before they lose their memories.

Let's throw them a final dinner party at least.

.

Come, let's dance

This Waltz of the Deceased.

.

[Blurb after Waltz of the Deceased and before Rilia-renee]

He heard tell that he'd had an impostor,

Who had shown up and just gone around doing whatever he liked.

.

The great merchant was a bit sullen on finding this out,

And so his beloved daughter, eager to cheer him up, had made this suggestion:

.

"Have you thought about holding an entertainment banquet?"

.

Certainly, that was one of the great merchants' specialties.

Yes, perhaps this place...could use a song.

He would need someone to sing to set the stage for a ball.

.

The great merchant reached out to his favorite diva,

But she quietly shook her head.

.

"I've already finished my final song. You should ask someone else."

.

But could there possibly be another diva better than her out there?

After asking around, the great merchant finally arrived at a certain girl.

.

He'd heard that she'd been a diva of great renown in the Republic of Lucifenia,

Around the beginning of Evillious' sixth century.

.

A little doubtful, the great merchant spoke up to this girl

Whose appearance was far plainer than rumor would suggest.

.

"Do you think you could sing a little for me?"

.

A few seconds after hearing her voice as she timidly broke into song,

The great merchant decided to hire her for the job.

[Blurb after Rilia-renee and before Outlaw and Marionette]

This world still had several problems left in it to worry about,

And those had needed to be addressed before the banquet.

.

There were those who tried to continue fighting after they had died.

They were the living dead who wandered the wasteland.

Thanks to the actions of those who had worked under the mud king's orders,

This saw a decisive resolution.

But at the same time, it revealed a new cause for concern.

.

The king made of mud called out to the witch who had once been his subordinate.

Her form had by then completely changed from the one that he knew,

But that particular discussion wasn't what he wanted to ask her about then.

"Just what in the world is this 'Punishment'?"

That was what he asked her.

"...A 'doll'. Just like you and I."

The mud king had been created by a black bird.

The Clockworker's Doll had been created by a red cat.

And the boy of Punishment had been created by...

"The root of all malice"

.

But a doll doesn't necessarily have to move according to the intentions of their creator.

Just as had been the case with the king made of mud and the Clockworker's Doll.

The boy of Punishment had begun to move by his own will...and left this world behind.

"Amostia...That was that boy's name,"

That was what the witch told him, moon-eyed.

"There's nothing we can do about it now.

I have no idea where he or her have gone off to."

.

Would the boy of Punishment bring yet another world to destruction?

Or perhaps...

[musiconanironingboard]

3 February 2023: Forgotten Songs & Unsung Heroes/My Sportin’ Life, John Kay. (2008 BGO combined reissue of 1972 and 1973 Dunhill/ABC releases)

One of the most improbable musical kicks in recent years is my deep immersion into the catalog of Steppenwolf, of all people. There is much more to the group than “Born to Be Wild,” and any discussion of my interest in the band is going to be a long one. I’m not sure if I’ve written about it on this page, and tumblr’s search function is useless, so let me just cut to the chase: I loved the Steppenwolf catalog so thoroughly—though I ended it with their 1976 album Skullduggery and do not intend to continue into the ’80s and beyond when they became known as John Kay & Steppenwolf—that I felt compelled to carry on with frontman John Kay’s solo catalog. He’s issued four solo albums, and here are the first pair in a twofer package. I previously owned his solo debut Forgotten Songs & Unsung Heroes on vinyl, but I wanted these things on CD so I can hear them on the go. This twofer seems to be the only official way these albums are available on CD, so I wound up with it. BGO (it stands for Beat Goes On) is a UK label that seems to issue a lot of albums by major artists that no one else wants to release on CD, and the releases are licensed even though there’s a bit of grey-area vibe to some of them. At any rate, I’m glad to have this pair of albums on CD.

Above you see the front and back of the slipcover in which the jewel case resides. The graphics are in a portrait/vertical presentation on the slipcover, taller than wide.

When you take the case out of the slipcover, you see the same art. Below is the booklet in front of the jewel case it lives in. BGO obviously has some bargain-basement designers, for the clear spine reads “ALSO AVAILABLE ON BGO RECORDS,” a statement that only makes sense if you’re looking at the artwork on the inlay tray under the disc. I’ll show that in a minute. 

Here’s the back cover of the jewel case, again much like the slipcover’s art.

Here is the back of the booklet. Forgotten Songs & Unsung Heroes gets all the glory in this package. All you ever get to see of the art of My Sportin’ Life is the little cover reproduction on the front cover.

Here’s that liner artwork. Steppenwolf has three twofers on BGO and two standalone discs. I’m glad Monster (upper left) gets its own disc; it’s my choice for Steppenwolf’s best album. But some of those twofers don’t make sense, as there are some pairings that are not chronological. Again, BGO is not a deluxe label; they just get the job done of providing you with albums you might not otherwise get.

My brother, who bought Steppenwolf albums in real time in the ’60s, revisited the catalog with me when I did my deep dive in 2022. He carried on and explored the Kay solo years, which he’d never heard, and declared these first two albums quite good. I am eager to hear them, which I will begin doing in a couple of weeks. I still need to track down his third effort All in Good Time (1978) and will then have to decide if I’m going to leapfrog the Kay & Steppenwolf years in order to deal with his 2001 solo album Heretics & Privateers. There’s been no new Kay or Steppenwolf recording since 2004, when the latter’s Live in Louisville album materialized. Again, I’m not going down the road of Aughts-era Steppenwolf, but at the very least I want to hear Kay’s third ’70s solo effort.

I bought the vinyl copy of Forgotten Songs & Unsung Heroes on a trip to Boulder, Colorado, and its purchase fell during a stretch when this page was on hiatus, but here are some belated pictures of it.

The shrinkwrap is so ancient and tight that there’s no way I could slip it off for phots, but first we have the front and back covers at a crazy angle to avoid even more reflections.

The shrink looks pretty messed up on the back here, but it looks better in person. I do need to remove that price tag, though.

Here’s side one’s label.

[lastchancevillagegreen]

Monday, 21 November 2022:

World Record Neil Young with Crazy Horse (Reprise) (released 18 November 2022)

It is getting to be quite an annual expectation having Neil Young release a brand new album of all new songs in the fourth quarter of the year.  We’ve had Peace Trail (December 2016), The Visitor (December 2017), Colorado (October 2019), Barn (December 2021) and now World Record.  (Songs For Judy and Return To Greendale were both live albums of previously released songs but they came out respectively in December 2018 and in November 2020, meaning Neil has released a fourth quarter album for the past seven years.)

Above you see the album cover and again, I must apologize for the lack of focus.  By the time I realized there was not a decent focused shot of the cover, the light had turned to dusk leaving me little choice but to use this shot.  Then you will find the gatefold and finally the back of the album.  I love that Neil uses a photo of himself in a mask, documenting forever the pandemic and his willingness to wear a mask. 

This album is unique in that it is on colored vinyl which his website claims is the first time that he has done so.  (According to the Hoffman boys, there is coming a time when the labels will announce they will no longer use black vinyl because of the environmental concerns.  Seems to me this can’t be true considering it takes petroleum to make vinyl be it colored or black.  The Hoffman boys don’t seem to accept this as gospel but the poster swears it will be announced in 2023.)  You can see the clear vinyl in the shot below which is as unfocused as that opening cover shot is.

This is a three sided album and that means it has an etching on Side 4.  Surprisingly enough it is not of the Indian on the horse that seemingly adorns 90% of Neil’s three sided albums.  Instead, this is an etching of the world.  It doesn’t show up very well in any of my photographs, but at least in the one below you can vaguely see some of this etching.

Neil is using his family as graphics on this album.  That is his father on the cover of the album.  The jacket, by the way, is somewhat textured.  Not like Tonight’s The Night but nonetheless it is textured.  The gatefold shows Neil’s mother.  Therefore it only makes sense that the inner sleeves reveal photos of Neil’s brother and sister.  Below are the inner sleeves for the first album. 

Then on the second record’s inner sleeve you will find Neil’s sister.  Neil is doing something interesting these days in that he is providing anti-static inner sleeves that the records go in but still providing custom inner sleeves which contains all this imagery I am showing. 

The next three photos show you what the labels look like.  Each label contains a different view of the world.  We progress in numerical order: one, two and three.

Look at the running times on Side 3.  The CD version of this album is a two CD set.  The second CD contains only Side 3.  A 14 minute CD.  The first two sides of this album run 28 minutes long while the third side lasts roughly 14 minutes long.  It all could have fit on one CD.  Two CDs.  CDs notoriously are bad for the environment, so this double CD seems to refute Neil’s endless odes to loving Planet Earth.  Oh well, I’m as much part of the problem as Neil is.  Still.  (And of course, I completely forgot to take photos of the album sized booklet!)

Lastly, this is the final new album I will be buying this year.  Anything else that arrives in my post and gets posted on this tumblr will have been a preorder.  I am only aware of two more pre-orders I have coming, but that doesn’t mean there couldn’t be more than that.  Just the same, World Record is the final new album I am aware of that I might want.  If there are others out there between now and 1 January, they are going to have to wait until 2023. 

[theplaguezine]

MORTIIS

Interview with Mortiis by Daniel Hinds

(conducted November 1999)

Mortiis is the elusive musician that started his career as bassist for the notorious black metal outfit known as Emperor, before going solo and heading off into uncharted territory.  Using synths, he has created some stirring, epic-length pieces that blend dark ambient with medieval folk and even some classical music elements.

Released through Sweden's Cold Meat Industry and his own Dark Dungeon Music, the drow elf produced four full-length albums before signing with Earache for his latest, The Stargate.  Using the vocal talents of Sarah Jezebel Deva (ex of Cradle of Filth) and Kalle Metz, this album shows Mortiis developing a much broader and deeper sound than ever before.

After a string of dates here in the U.S. with Christian Death, Mortiis and crew were just about to cross the border into Canada when I got a chance to chat with him via cell phone…

Could you tell me a bit about the storyline of The Stargate and what inspired it? I guess musically I was inspired by Basil Poledouris - he did the soundtrack to the first Conan movie, for example.  Musically, that's about the only thing I can put my finger on.  As far as concepts and stuff, there's a myth in certain cultures that you can travel between different dimensions using stars - use them as gates.  I just found that concept very fascinating and it inspired me to do something along the same lines and incorporate that into the whole Mortiis thing.

The CD booklet says "to be continued..." at the end - will it be continued on the next album? Probably not the next album, but at some point in the future I would like to make a second one.  It's not actually finished.  I have the rest of the concept worked out, the storyline so to speak.

Did you come up with the concept before writing any of the music? Sort of.  I think I had some basic musical ideas, maybe a few raw demos or whatever lying around, but I think the storyline was pretty much figured out before I did the music.

In the past, your image has always been very mysterious and in the shadows, but on the Stargate, there are very clear pictures of you on the cover and back cover and tray card.  Why the decision to make yourself more visible this time out? I think I always wanted to do that.  The fact that it turned out the way that it did [in the past] gave people a certain impression - it's not like that was intentional.  We didn't have any professional photo shoots back then, so basically it was me and my girlfriend with an amateur camera, taking photos in the marshes.  That kind of thing, which tends to give things an obscure angle.  So when I had the chance to work with more professional people as far a photo shoot, it turned out differently.  That's how I wanted it from the beginning anyway.

Are you pleased with Earache so far?   Yeah, I guess.  You know the way it is with labels, they can be bastards, but what can I do?  What can I say?  We have a contract.  But I think they're doing a pretty good job, though.  I'm getting to do a lot more shit now that I would have never done with another label.

Do you still have a connection with Cold Meat Industry?   Yeah, sure.  Not at this point, because I'm doing the U.S. support and stuff, but when I'm back home, we do talk.  I'll check in and see what's going on and stuff like that.

How about Debbie at Blackmetal.com? Yeah, how about her?  (laughs)  We were kind of not talking for a long time.  I did a San Francisco show a couple weeks ago and she turned out at the show, she and her guy Elden, they do this thing together [blackmetal.com], and we talked and things were okay.  We exchanged new phone numbers and stuff, so I think that dispute is probably in the past.

How is the tour going? Not very good.  I mean, someone has not taken responsibility for promotion - the promotion is horrible.  I don't know who to blame anymore and I don't want to mention names, but it just seems like no one is doing their job, basically.  We had these posters printed up and we've done like 23 or 24 shows so far and I've seen those posters up at about 3 of the shows.  That's very annoying.  Plus the fact that my album should have been out in the U.S. and Canada at least a month ago, before the tour started.  That got screwed up, so I'm pretty much doing a tour for a record that's not actually out.  If you look away from that, we are getting a good response, which is very good.  People show up at a show that is pretty much not being promoted, they get to hear music they've never heard before, and still at some of the shows we're getting an amazing response.  I'm pretty happy with it, despite everything that's fucked-up about the tour.

Have you done any major touring in the past? No, this is my first tour basically.  I'm being introduced to a pretty rough world right now (laughs).  Is it supposed to be this fucked-up all the time?  But I'm getting the impression that it's not supposed to be this bad.  I've talked to the other people we're touring with who have done this a lot of times and they're like, 'This is a fucked-up tour!'  So, I guess I'll try it again.  Maybe.  (laughs)

I understand that Dark Dungeon Music is closing down.  Is that true?  Why? Yeah.  I was the only guy working at that label.  I was doing everything and it just took up all my time.  I saw my music fall to shit - I could mention a couple of records that I've done that I should have never done or should have taken a lot more time doing.  But I didn't have the time because Dark Dungeon took up all my fucking time.  So, it just came to a point where I realized, okay, this is not working out.  I don't want to do the label anymore.  I hated going down and doing it every day, I hated every minute of it.  I don't want to deal with all these people, I don't want to have all these worries, 'Is he gonna pay me?,' 'Are they gonna pay me?,' 'When are they gonna pay me?' and blah blah blah.  I hated it and I still hate it.  So I put it down.  I want to make music; I don't want to be in the business side of it.

You've always released your music on vinyl.  Is there a vinyl version of The Stargate?  Is that important to you? The Stargate is available on vinyl.  We have a bunch of it in the van.  Vinyl forever!  It is something that I used to be a lot more fanatic about in the past.  I've come to accept CDs.  I mean, you have to accept the day and age that you live in.  If you didn’t do that, you'd be in big trouble.  Time will not wait.  But there's nothing wrong with being a bit nostalgic; I just try not to take it too far.

What is the status of your other projects? I put them down.  Just like with Dark Dungeon Music, I pretty much put everything down the same day, except Mortiis.  This is what I'm going to do now, fuck everything else.  I want to do one great thing instead of a bunch of mediocre stuff.

Is there anyone you would like to collaborate with musically in the future? I don't know.  I could probably come up with a few names, but I don't want to say, "I want to work with this person,' as it might create problems or something.  I'm sure there's a whole bunch of people I'd love to work with, but I'm so used to working alone it's hard to come up with names.  I've never really bothered with other people, never paid attention to anyone else.  I'm starting to change that, I'm starting to look into what other people do and it's pretty healthy, actually.  It's good to be on top of things.

Was it kind of a different experience working with vocalists on this album? Yeah, I was nervous.  Before they came out, I was really nervous.  Like, oh my god, I haven't worked with anybody since Emperor back in '92 and that's like six years at that point.  I don't even know how to collaborate.  But it worked out really good.  It took a little longer than we expected, but just a couple days, no big deal.  But it definitely worked out really good and I definitely plan to continue to work with other people.  It can only make things better.

Would you like to score films at some point? Everybody asks that and I always say that I don't think I'm good enough.  Definitely not good enough.  I mean, I know what I do and I can compare it to movie soundtracks and I'm like, okay, damn.  I'm a long way away from being that good.  That's how I feel anyway.  I mean, I'd love to do it, but I don't consider myself good enough.  That's just me being my worst critic.  At some point, I would like to try something like that out, but maybe not this week.  (laughs)

When you write songs, do you hear the whole work in your head or do you start with one instrument and build it up from there? Kind of both, I guess.  I think I know kind of how I want the song to sound, but it never really turns out like that.  I start realizing, okay this didn't work out, that didn't work out - maybe 50% of what you had in mind stays with you.  The rest is just something that popped up during the writing process.

I read that you are working on a book… That is something that I've been working on for several years.  It's pretty much like the young days of Mortiis up until the day he decides to leave the world he was born into.  It's all very symbolic and reflective of what goes on this world and my own state of mind.  It'll be out next month, as far as I know.

Who is publishing it? Oh, Earache I guess.  They're doing like a limited edition thing, a box with The Stargate CD and the book.  Sometime in November.

Are you happy with how the book came out? Well, basically, if I were to do it today, 90% of that I would have never done.  It's like a diary almost of the last few years and it's the oddest thing to see the changes in the attitude.  In that sense, it's very interesting.  As far as me being very naïve and evil and shit like that, but as you grow and develop, your mind matures a little bit and becomes more realistic.

www.mortiis.com

[wildcrisis]

A Child’s Wish

Tis the season, and while I know they don’t celebrate Christmas in Japan the way we do here in the US, I couldn’t help but write a little something festive and close to my heart. It’s not something that’ll appear in Flourish, but it is a part of the Flourish-verse (Aizawa adopting his nephew, Hitoshi). I wrote it up in a hurry and didn’t edit it -- consider it a quick gift! 

Summary: Five-year old Hitoshi notices the mall Santa, and absolutely has to tell him his wish for Christmas.

Below the cut!

Aizawa had always been rather neutral about the Christmas season. Growing up in the environment that he did, his family didn’t really celebrate the season much -- nor did their broken family really have much to celebrate. Throughout the years he’d played along with the normal Christmas traditions for Hizashi’s sake; trading gifts, helping the blonde decorate, enjoying a piece of candy or two. But, he’d never felt any passion about the season, not the way he saw it in Yamada’s eyes. He enjoyed making those close to him happy, sure, but all the trees, the gifts, the decor, the songs, they hadn’t really done much for him. 

Not until Hitoshi came along. 

Mic had, as he was wont to do, made Hitoshi’s first Christmas a big deal. At the time, Shouta had just gone along with it again -- his child was a baby who didn’t understand what was going on. They’d had a small, fake tree in their tiny apartment, with little gifts for Hitoshi under its glossy branches, tinsel and decor hanging just out of a small child-who’d-just-learned-to-walk’s reach. But, seeing “Santa” or opening a gift, it didn’t mean anything to a child that small. He got a little more into it the next year, Hitoshi giggling with glee as the paper shredded in his tiny hands -- a colorful toy hiding beneath. Again, Hizashi made sure it was well-documented; a picture of a beaming Shinsou and a reluctantly smiling Aizawa hidden away in a small photo album in his bedside table. 

By the time Hitoshi was three, he’d gotten a little more grasp on Christmas. He was beginning to understand who Santa was, thanks to Hizashi. Shouta bought Christmas-themed books to read to his son, who fell asleep too many times to count to stories of Santa delivering gifts and Rudolph proving his worth to the other reindeer to save the day. 

It was the first year Shouta felt it. The Christmas spirit. When he woke Hitoshi up that morning, and watched the look of awe, surprise, and glee on his son’s face when he’d noticed the gifts that had magically appeared under the tree overnight ( “Looks like Santa paid us a visit, Hitoshi. He brings gifts to all the little kids who’ve been good all year long, remember?”), it finally warmed his heart to the idea of Christmas. 

That single look of magic in Hitoshi’s eyes. 

The following year, Aizawa got more into the festive spirit. He played Christmas music occasionally in the house. He and Hitoshi built a gingerbread house together -- somewhat, anyway, as parts of it definitely disappeared into Hitoshi’s stomach. That year, he taught Shinsou about buying gifts for others -- like Uncle Beebee. While he still didn’t bother with buying a real tree (there was no way it would fit into the apartment), he at least bought a few new, flashier decorations for their plastic one, and a couple of stockings to hang up as well. He helped his son write a letter to Santa, detailing all the good things he’d done that year, and asking for an innocent gift;

“What would you like to ask Santa for, Hitoshi?” 

“To be a hero!!” 

“Hmm, how about something a little smaller for now? I don’t think Santa has enough room in his sleigh for a hero’s education this year.” 

 “ ... A mustache!” 

“Alright, kiddo, a mustache. How about a friend for Beans, too? Don’t you think he could use another kitty friend?”

“Yeah! A new kitty!” 

When Christmas morning came, Shouta felt his heart melt once again. Hitoshi, giggling with pure and innocent happiness, thanking Santa as he opened a gift and showed it off. He couldn’t help but smile as his son cuddled his new stuffed kitty close, as he marveled at the milk and cookies that Santa had “enjoyed” the night before, as he babbled about how much he loved Christmas. Hitoshi was more than excited to show off his new kitty, and booklet of fake stick-on mustaches, to Yamada’s family at Christmas Dinner later that day. 

Aizawa spent two decades of his life not really feeling much of a thing for Christmas. Not until his son came along. 

Now that Hitoshi was five, he was asking more questions that Shouta was having to defer to Yamada about. How did Santa deliver all those gifts? How did he keep track of everyone? Why does everyone celebrate Christmas? Could they stay up and try and catch Santa? Was Santa a hero? His son, however adorable, was a questions machine. 

Aizawa managed to stem the flow of endless Christmas-related questions by reminding Hitoshi that they needed to go pick something up for Hizashi. His son completely switched gears, grinning ear to ear with his bright, gap-toothed smile, purple eyes shining with delight. Shouta bundled Hitoshi up in his warm coat, wrestling a warm cap over his unruly mop of indigo locks, and hurried them off to the mall to look for something Hizashi would enjoy. 

Hitoshi’s hand clung hard to his own as they walked through the crowded mall, two sets of perpetually-tired eyes glancing over stores, over all the shining toys and gifts on display, over all the Christmas-themed clothing, reds and greens abound. Aizawa had to hoist Hitoshi into his arms so they could discuss what they thought Hizashi might enjoy, the noise of the crowd making drowning out Shinsou’s naturally quiet tone. Shouta carried his son down the walkway, holding him close, taking a moment every now and again to look at see that endless, joyful emotion reflecting in Hitoshi’s eyes. 

However, they didn’t quite make it to the store they’d been headed to. Instead, Shinsou let out a loud gasp, hands flying into the air and nearly smacking his father in the face, his little voice ringing out, “Daddy, daddy! It’s Santa Claus!” 

There in the distance was the mall Santa -- a surprisingly well done version, proudly plump, with red-dusted cheeks, a full white beard, and a genuine, kind smile. There was a small line to see him; children waiting impatiently, some bouncing on the balls of their feet while others stared forward, obviously a little terrified. Shouta knew it could go either way with Hitoshi -- he tended to be a little guarded with strangers -- but there was no harm in asking his son what he’d like to do. 

“Would you like to talk to Santa, Hitoshi?”

Shinsou’s innocent eyes fell wide with surprise, his mouth falling slack, “I-- I can talk to Santa?” 

Shouta chuckled, patting his young son’s back, “Only if you want to, kiddo. We could always write him a letter instead. He’ll understand.” 

Hitoshi chewed on the thought for a moment, his violet eyes turning skyward as he pondered. Finally, he nodded, “I wanna talk to Santa. I know what I wanna ask for this year.” 

Aizawa smiled and set Hitoshi down on his feet, leading him over to the line, “Alright. You wait for you turn in line, and I’ll be right over there with the other parents, okay?” 

There was a little reluctance in the way Hitoshi let go of his hand, but Shouta kept a close eye on his son as he stepped away, giving the nervous child a small, reassuring smile and wave every time he glanced over. Aizawa was proud, oh so proud of Hitoshi for being brave enough to stand in the line, alone, to talk to Santa on his own. Ever since his quirk had developed, Hitoshi had been a little nervous to speak to others; always shy and quiet with his eyes and head bowed. But, now, he was facing forward with determination, his little hands curled at his sides, violet hair poking out from underneath his stocking cap. 

What was so important, Aizawa pondered to himself, that Hitoshi would have such determination to tell Santa?

Ten minutes passed before it was Hitoshi’s turn to visit with Santa Claus. His steps were a little shaky as he marveled at Kris Kringle with awe in his eyes, filled with surprise and giddy energy. He was set on Santa’s knee, and Aizawa stood close by on the other side of the small gate with the other parents, listening in for a clue as to what Hitoshi could possibly want that had been so important. 

“And what’s your name, son?” Santa asked heartily, smiling dearly at the young boy. 

“H-Hitoshi,” Shinsou stammered back, clearly a little intimidated despite the joy he’d been feeling only a moment ago. 

“Now now, Hitoshi,” Santa rumbled a laugh, “No need to be frightened! Please, tell Santa what you’d like for Christmas. I know you’ve been a very good kiddo this year.” 

Shouta watched as his young son steeled his nerves, taking a deep breath and relaxing. He brought his little hands together in his lap, looking up to Santa for a moment, before turning his eyes to the ground. 

“ ... I wanna ask for something for my Dad,” Hitoshi mumbled as he fidgeted with his hands, finally turning his eyes back to Santa’s jolly face, “My daddy works really hard. He has two jobs, and he still always takes care of me -- and sometimes Uncle Beebee too, and he never asks for anything. I wanna ask you to give my daddy a present this year, cause I know he would be so happy to see one, like me. Please, Santa? Bring something for my dad too?” 

Aizawa wasn’t sure what reaction was on his face -- surprise, heartbreak, absolute adoration? His heart felt like it was going to melt out of his chest and drip into his boots. He pulled his scarf up around his face, turning his eyes away so that Hitoshi wouldn’t assume he’d been listening in. He heard Santa agree with another booming laugh, and glanced back only to see Hitoshi hug the man in red and thank him. Shouta needed more time to collect himself -- his face felt warm, and the ends of his eyelashes just a little damp. As Hitoshi rounded the corner, fast little footsteps quickly making their way towards him, Shouta reached out a hand for him, keeping his mouth hidden away. 

“Did you tell Santa what you want for Christmas this year?”

“Uh huh. Now we gotta find Beebee’s present!” 

“Right. Let’s get back to looking.” 

A week later, as Hitoshi woke up and ran to the tree in the morning, beating Aizawa to it, Shouta heard his son’s happy squealing voice. He rounded the corner into their small living area, rubbing the lack of sleep from his dark eyes as Shinsou bounded over to him, a box in his arms. 

“Daddy, Daddy! Santa brought you a present!!” Hitoshi grinned bigger than he ever had before, his violet eyes glistening, “Open it!” 

Shouta chuckled, taking the box from his son and setting it next to him, pulling off a big, surprised smile for Hitoshi’s sake, “Did he now? That’s quite the surprise. Let me have some coffee first, okay? You go ahead and open one of yours, and I’ll let Uncle Beebee know you’re up so he can join us.” 

Hitoshi bounced back over to the tree, crawling around to peer through his small pile of gifts. He sat on the floor, fingers tracing over the bow on one present -- and Shouta only barely heard the little whisper he gave. 

“Thank you, Santa, for making daddy so happy.” 

It was a moment Shouta would never forget, even as Christmas’s continued to pass by later in life and lose that magical spark they once held. 

Thank you, Hitoshi. Every time I think I couldn’t be happier or more proud to call you my son, you prove me wrong. 

You’re the greatest gift I could ever wish for. 

[lindsay36ho]

The Thelonious Monk Journey – Interview with pianist Jed Distler

Fearless Monk is an album completely dedicated to compositions of the great jazz icon Thelonious Monk by pianist Jed Distler, whose insights as classical music critic have been held in high regard by both musicians and fellow writers for decades.

It’s easy to get the notion that American pianist Jed Distler is everywhere. Called by the New York Times; ”a witty, genial and adventurous pianist and composer”, Distler has premiered works by Frederic Rzewski, Lois V Vierk, Wendy Mae Chambers, Simeon ten Holt to name a few. He also launched a project with all the songs of the jazz icon Thelonious Monk in a unique concert and has also conceived ”100 Portraits for Virgil”, the first complete performance of all the Virgil Thomson piano portraits in a one-day multimedia festival. We also know Jed Distler as an ardent radio host and producer at ”Between the Keys” at WWFM.org.

At the last fall edition of Cremona Music, Piano Street’s Patrick Jovell was happy not only to hear Distler perform from his Thelonious Monk album ”Fearless Monk: 29 Songs by Thelonious Monk”, but also to sit down and talk to the multifaceted musician.

Piano Street: Jed, you have a background in jazz and contemporary classical music and as a composer. You were asked by legend Bill Evans to transcribe his solos for publication and you also produced a book with Art Tatum transcriptions. So when approaching Thelonious Monk’s material, which was the driving force in you; the pianist, composer or the transcriber?

Jed Distler: That’s a great question. Let me give you a little context: The Evans and Tatum books were straightforward, note-for-note transcriptions taken from recordings, as accurately as I possibly could do them at the time. When I transcribed Evans’ solos for French pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet’s 1997 release Conversations with Bill Evans, it was a mixture of straight ahead transcriptions with selections that used Bill’s voicings, yet were more freely edited in terms of structure and duration. In that case, my experience as an arranger was just as important to my transcribing skills. By contrast, I did NO transcribing whatsoever for my Monk project, although I do retain Monk’s original voicings in certain instances, albeit as the basis to embellish or embroider with my own material, such as in Locomotive or Coming on the Hudson. So what was the driving force? Overall, the composer in me, in terms of the big picture (pacing, running order, etc.). Yet each song on the CD and in my performances hopefully showcase a different side of me. For the most part I’d say that the composer in me dominates, or, more accurately composer/arranger, certainly in the songs where there is no improvising in the traditional “theme and variation” template. Within these, I might improvise embellishments differently each time, but the basic structure is notated, or, at the very least, fully formed in my little brain.

PS: Since you completed your Monk project in 2012 it has taken you all over the world for performances. However, your way into Thelonious Monk´s music and playing style has not been straight or born from an ambition to absorb and imitate the artist. Can you tell us about your fascinating journey?

JD: When I was 14, a friend and I spontaneously went into New York City, and went to the Village Vanguard purely by chance, no planning at all. It happened that Thelonious Monk was performing. I only knew Monk’s music casually from a few recordings, and they had not particularly impressed me. We descending the Vanguard’s staircase. My only memory of Monk’s playing that night was that he seemed diffident, uninvolved, plunking a few notes here and there. It basically went in one ear and out the other. The following year, however, I heard his earliest trio recordings for the Prestige label, and I loved them right away. I never aspired to play like Monk, but many aspects of his composing and pianism intrigued me, and still do. I definitely went about my Monk project looking for ways to reimagine each song, although, in certain cases, I do play them pretty close to how he did. However, I certainly did LEARN each Monk composition “straight” before I went about arranging, or, more accurately, “de-ranging” it!

PS: Can you tell us about the journey?

JD: Back in 2011 my first wife died after a long illness. During her last months, I thought about how I would continue on, trying to reinvent my personal and musical life. I deliberately regressed, growing my hair, traveling, and, most importantly, going back to my youthful roots in jazz, which I had never really done in public since focusing on contemporary classical music as both performer and composer. I started sitting in at local jam sessions to see if I could still play jazz. To my surprise, I could hold my own, but what was coming out was not the usual derivative “fake Bill Evans, fake Oscar Peterson, fake… well everybody” of my past. Instead, I seemed to be merging jazz song structures and jazz time keeping with my own compositional voice. It felt great and sounded fresh, at least to me! So I decided that I needed to make a big artistic statement as a performer that would get attention, after those last few years of enforced retreat. I remembered a three-CD set by Alexander von Schlippenbach called Monk’s Casino, where he and his musicians basically played Monk’s complete songs. I thought to myself, why don’t I play the complete Monk in a single solo piano concert?

PS: So, how did you approach the material?

JD: I started working on a few songs, and gradually I began putting my arrangements together as a continuous entity, where one song flowed into the next, with one intermission. I didn’t improvise on each and every song, of course. Some songs lasted but a few seconds, but that would buy me time to stretch out and improvise on certain songs where I thought it would be nice to do so, such as Blue Monk and I Mean You. In one instance, I took (I think) six blues “heads” and I simply played each one straight at a fast tempo, once or twice through, connecting them in medley style. That took care of six “songs” in a couple of minutes! PS: How did you work while in recording the album?

JD: For recording my Monk interpretations, however, producer Virko Baley wanted to approach my project a different way. Rather than think about reproducing my complete Monk evening as I’ve done it in concert, he suggested that I record each song individually, although certain “medleys” were retained. In the process, I spontaneously rethought my approach to certain compositions. Most of them amount to short arrangements, almost like bagatelles, although there are a few vehicles for more extended improvisation. We wound up with a good two and a half hours of music, from which Virko asked my to select around 77 minutes worth for a single CD; the remainder we could offer as download extras. So not only did I select my particular favorites, but I also put a lot of thought into running order, amount of time between selections, and so forth; in other words, creating a smaller version of my Monk program, and with a different overall trajectory. I performed this smaller version for a High Definition live concert webcast from Las Vegas as an adjunct to the studio recording (which also took place at Doc Rando Hall at the University of Nevada in Las Vegas), albeit with a few additions and re-orderings.

PS: I guess this has created an opportunity to create different sized concert programs.

JD: Yes, so now when I perform my solo Monk program, I have several options: either all the songs, or half of them but often in longer renditions… it still adds up to 90 minutes of music onstage. Or in a recital, I might include a twenty minute Monk group alongside contemporary classical selections. Although my interpretations speak for themselves, if you check out my Fearless Monk CD, my booklet essay describes them in detail. Some pieces are specific stylizations: for example, I treat Monk’s “Reflections” in the manner of a loping swing ballad in the manner of pianist Ellis Larkins, while “Brilliant Corners” is all brooding left hand tremolos and the melody slowly sung out in the manner of one of the darker Shostakovich Preludes. On the other hand, “Criss-Cross” imitates no one, it’s pure Jed Distler abstraction! “Let’s Cool One” is transformed into a silly children’s television theme that quickly materializes into some frighteningly intense counterpoint. I impart very different characters to three blues selections: “Misterioso” is all polyrhythmic counterpoint, “Blue Monk” maintains a basic shuffle rhythm against lots of quirky syncopations, while “Straight, No Chaser” is just me letting loose, starting with a single improvised line to which another eventually is added, and the textures slowly fill out and build. In certain ways I’ve used Monk to create my own autobiography at the piano, reflecting my creative life as well as the music that shaped me growing up. Except I’m still growing up at 63!

PS: You are very creative person and we will have a chance to hear more about you as a radio person and critic here on Piano Street in the near future. Which projects are you working on now?

JD: As a pianist, I’m embarking on a cycle where I perform each of Mahler’s symphonies and major works in piano four-hand transcriptions, each symphony with a different collaborator. This should take me around ten years to accomplish, God-willing. I just had a first reading of a new chamber opera called Tools, and my librettist Luigi Ballerini and I are now making revisions and looking for presenters. The big piano composing project is a series of 1,827 Bagatelles of various lengths, with each bagatelle dedicated to a different pianist, composer/pianist, or close colleague. I’ve completed around 400 so far, but the project will be presented complete in 2027, to mark the 200th anniversary of Beethoven’s death, hence the 1,827 amount, corresponding to 1827, the year of Beethoven’s death. The pieces can be played separately or together, in any combination, small or large. I consider the Bagatelle project my gift to our piano community, as a way to connect everyone. As I get older I seem to be befriending more and more pianists, composer/pianists, piano mavens, piano connoisseurs, piano concert presenters, piano label producers and piano manufacturers, and I want everyone I meet to get to know and love each other!

Resources

Listen to the album at bandcamp.com: Fearless Monk: 29 Songs by Thelonious Monk

Jed Distler’s piano piece “Birthday Bagatelle” from 250 Piano Pieces for Beethoven:

from Piano Street’s Classical Piano News https://www.pianostreet.com/blog/articles/the-thelonious-monk-journey-interview-with-pianist-jed-distler-10251/