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I Dreamed I Saw Charlie Parker Last Night

And just like that, the switch was flipped, and my body shut down. It wouldn't be until the next day that I realized how incredibly uncomfortable that floor in the living room was. Meanwhile, for one very strange evening, my dreamland was Birdland. My dreams tend to be vibrant, to put it mildly, but rarely do famous personnages wander my dreamscape. There are no naked Indians sharing the secrets of the universe with me, or bestowing upon me the gift of prophecy. But that night, Charlie "The Yardbird" Parker was sitting on my rent-a-couch offering his wise counsel.

from May 31, 2024

Louis Armstrong Over Damascus

But then something odd happened. One morning as I was pulling myself together for the day, I ran across a file for Louis Armstrong and His Hot Five on my laptop, hit play, and felt the world stop. I'd listened to those recordings a thousand times. But there in Damascus, a city that somehow manages to give off both Biblical and East-Germany-in-the-70s vibes, it sounded different. It sounded like it fit. There amidst the minarets, I'd stumbled upon my own call to prayer.

from May 20, 2024