~ music is love ~

Paris. Kodak Point & Shoot. September 2005.

Today music has been on my mind. It started with Carol’s post which made me think that, really, listening to music should be one of my five rules.

I am not a musical person in the sense that I have no talent for playing an instrument (trust me, I tried.) I think I may be slightly tone deaf even, unlike my husband who can tell you exactly what type of guitars are being used when he listens to a group of musicians. He also has an amazing memory for band names and titles, and he is interested in a very broad range of genres. My preference spans mostly across pop, alternative, dance, jazz and some R&B and classical. Not into rock and definitely not rap or heavy metal. Nonetheless. I love music. Sometimes I forget how much. Those are the days I spend in silence and even though that’s not a bad thing, I just forget that music has the ability to instantly lift my spirits and expand my range of emotions. Music opens me up, to the world and to myself. Music makes me feel alive. And it stumps me that sometimes I simply forget this.

Tonight I drove up to Canada for a gathering at Maddie’s place. I finally got to meet Darlene and her husband Duke ~ if you read her blog and think she sounds amazing then let me tell you, she is amazing. Very warm, lovely, funny, smart and real. Totally and refreshingly real. As is her husband who also has this quiet confident aura about him which I found calming and inviting. You can feel the love between them which was nice to see in this month that has been dedicated to love. Duke is a musician and he was my second reminder today of music.

So on my way home, feeling happy and filled up from the company of old and new friends, I decided to choose a piece of music rather than shuffle through one of my playlists. Keith Jarrett is one of those musicians who plays right into my heart. And that’s what I wanted tonight. Driving along the dark silent roads, onto the highway and only turning it down to cross the border … it was a mild evening, I rolled down the window a bit to let in some fresh air, you know that smell of stars and night rain and quiet, and I listened to this and remembered how much I love music.

(P.S. The video only plays the first nine of 25 minutes. Keith Jarrett played this piece during a concert in my hometown Cologne in 1975 and I first heard it in 1998 at my sister’s place in Paris. Thus the photo above because the song will always remind me of feeling wonderfully alive in Paris. And if you wait long enough the video will show a photo of the Dome in Cologne and the bridge in front of it where my husband proposed in 2005. Aah, more love. )