Rochester is the home of many festivals during the summer months. What this town lacks in activities during the winter as mountains of snow bring life to a crawl, she more than makes up for May-August. I attended the Rochester International Jazz Festival last Friday evening. From 4-11pm for an entire week, the streets surrounding Eastman are closed off to traffic as masses of jazz, soul, blues, bluegrass and funk musicians descend on the heart of Rochester. With multiple stages throughout the area cranking body-shaking tunes, music lovers make a point to support everyone from high school jazz bands to the big names of the festival (Natalie Cole, Bela Fleck, Elvis Costello, and more).
I finished my voice lesson on Friday at Ms. Webber's home and needed to run downtown to the Sibley Music Library to get some music she wanted me to pick up. After I left the library I hung around for a little bit because there were only a couple days left for the festival and I hadn't spent anytime actually "attending" an event during the week like my bucket list requires. It was early in the afternoon so I listened to a high school jazz band. Then out of nowhere came a brass wail interlaced with a guitar riff. I made my way to the next street over to watch Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue finish up their soundcheck. Once they were done and the few tech guys were making adjustments, I asked a sound engineer when they'd be performing their full set. 9pm. I'd chosen my event to attend!
Trombone Shorty is a 25 year old music prodigy from the Tremé neighborhood in New Orleans. This area was one of the first so called "projects" within the USA as of the 1940s. Before that time, it was home to where many slaves would gather on Sunday to dance and celebrate their traditions prior to the Civil War. Trombone Shorty, aka Troy Andrews, grew up marching the streets with a trombone twice his size learning the gritty, in-your-face power of the brass band. He graduated from New Orleans Center for Creative Arts and quickly found a mentor in Lenny Kravitz. Trombone Shorty has made an international name for himself because he has something special to offer. Check him out here.
It never ceases to amaze me that folks my age are putting their stamp on the music industry and the arts. Wielding his trombone, trumpet, vocals, plus his ability to circular breathe (which he showed while holding tight to a pitch on trumpet for well over 3 minutes, maybe even 4 minutes, at one point in the show) Troy Andrews has created a unique sound and show that people want more of. So of course this made me ask once again... "What is my stamp on the arts?"
This is such a hard questions for me to answer. I keep coming back to it because although I have a unique vocal quality, I confess I often wonder if I'll ever be free enough to allow the soul behind it be exposed. That's what attracts people to the arts. The human behind it all. And if scripture is truth, this human has something of worth. You, human, have something of worth.
During my lesson on Friday, Ms. Webber and I spoke quite a bit about the natural timbre of my voice and how when placed correctly has the potential to cut through an orchestra. She made the comment that some people think mezzo-sopranos are suppose to be "dark" and "lofty" sounding, but this isn't true. The idea that I'm suppose to be a Marilyn Horne versus a Frederica von Stade has always been a challenge to my identity. I think I'm starting to embrace the fact that I'm a "bright" mezzo. Quite honestly, the sound and sensation I have singing while embracing what the Lord has made my voice to be allows my personality to spring forth. Maybe that's the ticket to finding one's respective stamp on the arts. Finding the sound that fits the God-given personality. Trombone Shorty has surely found a sound that fits his enthusiastic "Ya'll gud danigh?!" (Which made me feel right at home in the South while my friend joining me got quite a chuckle!)
My sound is coming... surely it's coming the more I make Psalm 139:14 the them of my song:
"I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well." (ESV)
I'm praying my sound joins us all on a more consist basis in a summer. Ms. Webber also made the comment, "Singing like this isn't something sane people do..." when I mentioned how crazed my whole body feels when I'm really singing while embracing the feeling of the correct placement of the sound for my body. When things are correct, every cavity in my body seems to be vibrating. It's quite the endorphin rush when you actually sing on the breathe and sing as yourself.
Saturday I helped with a garage sale that the small group I'm attending held. It was such a delight to chat with the ladies, play with their kids, and eat some zweigles hotdogs! Zweigles is a family owned, Rochester tradition. The zweigle hotdog I had on Saturday was the best hotdog I've ever had. (And this says a lot considering hotdogs are a bit of a guilty pleasure for me... Oh the things you folks are learning!)
Later that evening I joined a couple new friends for their church's 20s and 30s group bi-weekly sand volleyball event. I don't think Holly and Robyn were expecting my aggressiveness on the volleyball court... It helps that I played center and right hitter for 4 years. I ended up being placed on an all men's team on the "more competitive and skilled" court. Ha! It was great fun and welcomed chance to break a sweat and banter for a couple hours.
I'm realizing that I'll be talking about food in just about every post... There is just something about summer and fall that makes me savor flavors, colors, and nature a little bit more than the winter. I opted to cook dinner for the roommates tonight because they have done an excellent job filling my tummy.
 |
| Italian pepperoni and vegetable quiche, parmesan sweet pepper and spinach salad, with mixed honeydew and cantaloupe |
I pray you eat well and continue find your respective "sound" this summer too, no matter what age you are, leaving a God-given fingerprint in your sphere of influence.
No comments:
Post a Comment