The magic of music

After two weeks of missing my Tuesday evening classes, the first when we were at Disney World and the second when I was recovering from the trip, I finally made it back yesterday. I felt badly leaving Dina, Joshua, and Gabriella, but there were only two sessions left and I knew he would be covering the female singer/songwriters from the 1960s so I did not want to miss these last lectures. Dina, Joshua, and Gabriella had a fun day in The City, visiting the Central Park Zoo and the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA), and taking a pedicab ride near Times Square. We met for dinner at Noi Due, their first time at our favorite Upper West Side hangout. They thoroughly enjoyed it! Even Ella, who has quite discriminating taste in food, loved everything she tried. The rain held off until later in the evening, so it all worked out well.

The female singer/songwriters class was devoted entirely to the early career of Joni Mitchell. If you were born before 1960 or so you are probably quite familiar with her music. She wrote complex tunes and lyrics and sang them in a beautifully clear soprano voice while playing a guitar or dulcimer. She wrote and recorded a number of songs which were popularized by others, such as “Both Sides Now” (Judy Collins), and “Woodstock” (Crosby Stills Nash and Young). In the late 1960s and early 1970s when she was at the peak of her popularity, I enjoyed her music and owned a few albums but was never a major devotee.

Sitting in that class, brought nearly to tears hearing “Both Sides Now,” I wondered why. I am sure I struggled with her complex lyrics and melodies. I have heard her recordings often over the years but she just never “clicked” for me. But hearing them now, I found tremendous resonance. Carole King, who is the topic of the last class next week, and who has for forty some years been a central component of the music in my life, is a much simpler songwriter: a lot of good feeling, nothing too deep or mysterious. It took a long, dark, road to bring me to a place where I could finally appreciate and connect to Joni Mitchell.

Our dear friend, jazz pianist Leslie Pintchik, often thanks her audience for “lending their ears.” But we in the audience bring so much more than our ears to the music. I was never particularly fond of jazz but Leslie does something with that piano and her music that reaches out and resonates in me. The events of this past year have helped me to find new meaning in the long familiar. It is not just about our ears, but about our hearts and our souls.

We spent a lovely day with Dina and the children at the Botanical Garden. Aaron is now headed to New York, and he will be going with Dina and Ella to the American Girl store for dinner this evening. Barry and I hope to take Joshua to a Mets Game: we have the tickets but it has been raining during the past half hour. Hopefully we have seen the last of the precipitation.

If the weather holds out for tomorrow, we are hoping to do something outdoors. All my best for a happy and safe July 4^th to all!

Love,

Rebecca