When I started listening to jazz, I was amazed by the technicality of stride piano, particularly from legends such as James P. Johnson, Fats Waller, and Willie “The Lion” Smith. I hadn’t heard much modern stride piano until I came across Emmet Cohen’s Future Stride. In classic stride, the pianist orchestrates the entire piece. In “Future Stride,” Cohen plays with drums and bass. The result is fascinating. “Symphonic Raps” takes the classic stride, but added the rhythm section to it. Again, it is an exhilarating exercise. With “Dardanella,” the tempo switched from swing to slow to suave Cuban. The slow tunes are enjoyable as well.

Of course I loved this quote from Robert Frost:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

And of course, I misunderstood the quote as well until I read Jay Parini’s explanation in Robert Frost: Sixteen Poems to Learn by Heart. The more I read Parini’s commentaries, the more I need to learn about poetry. I don’t have a clue about the beat and the meter. Most of Frost’s poems are over my head. Though I could “Fire And Ice”:

Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I’ve tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To know that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.

Parini’s provides more fascinating insights of the poem. The poems, the commentaries, and the typesetting—Adobe Jenson, design by Robert Slimbach–are enjoyable to read.

when i was too young,
you saved me from the chaos
of see-through water

i sat on the grass
where you watched me kiss the girl
didn’t i look young?

on the red kayak,
i paddle into the bay
endlessly seasick

i taste the inside
of our big swollen city
learning how to walk

looking for my joy
i swallowed a gold penny
found in your shallows

broke a beer bottle
danced on the sweet amber glass
flew past my curfew

i try to find you
ask geese if you are lonely
they wink and say yes.

Leila Mottley

Mottley’s poems are poignant and provocative. In her opening poem, “a case for / against repetitions,” she writes:

play dead / play docile / play along
stare a beast in its mouth and dare it to bite this is the only way to know if
the country is still hungry

Mottley writes about blackness and about her great grandmother:

My great grandmother was the original Rosa Parks.
Except it was Virginia and she was so much meaner
than Rosa ever dared to be
My great granny was what you would call
A motherfucker. A bitch. A python
when it came to protecting her young

She calls out “all the best celebrities are perverted” and she spares no Miles Davis:

miles davis plays a mean trumpet and i must admit
i still listen to flamenco sketches when the going gets tough as his knuckles
scabbed over from his woman’s cheekbone
but a man that mean must got something
he needs to puff into that brass
so my daddy puts it on the stereo and
we all name our babies after him
hoping they might be born metallic

I don’t understand everything she writes, but I enjoy her works. The poems are set in Chaparral, designed by Carol Twombly, and they are a pleasure to read.

Let’s keep it real. Trump and his Department of Justice are fucking with the judicial branch. They are trying to defy the court orders to see how far Trump can push his power. They are bullying our federal judges. Fortunately, Judge James Boasberg is not backing down. We need more judges to stand up to Trump and his patrimonialism to save our democracy.

Tesla Takedown is calling for peaceful protests at all 277 Tesla showrooms on March 29. Tesla’s stock has tanked nearly 40 percent since the beginning of the year. Sales are poor. Owners are dumping their Tesla worldwide. Let’s show Musk that the people can take down Tesla. If you can, participate peacefully.

Patrimonialism is a style of governing based on absolute loyalty and personal connection similar to organized crimes and street gangs. Patrimonialism doesn’t abide by the rules or laws.

Patrimonialism treats a nation like personal property. Patrimonialism doesn’t care about competence, experience, or expertise. With the installment of incompetent loyalists, family members, and friends, patrimonialism will transition into full-blown authoritarianism.

Patrimonialism is deeply corrupted. Patrimonialism doesn’t recognize conflicts of interest or code of ethics. There’s no distinction between moral and immoral, legal and illegal, formal and informal, national and personal.

Trump is the most corrupt president of the United States. Trump is patrimonialism.

Trump’s MAGA and loyalists are finding ways for Trump to run a third term despite the constitutional limits. Trump has gone from unconstitutional to anti-constitutional. He needs to be stopped. We can’t let this happen to America. If you care about our democracy, run for something to fight against this dictator.

The cutting of foreign aid funding from the Trump administration caused the shutdown of the cleanup of Agent Orange in Biên Hòa, Việt Nam. As rainy season approaching, the dangerous dioxin could seep into the soil and poison the food and water of the people living nearby the Biên Hòa air base.

During the Việt Nam war, the U.S. military sprayed more than 10 million gallons of Agent Orange across vast swaths of the country. The chemical, mixture of two herbicides and contained dioxin, has caused cancers, illnesses, and birth defects.

Donald Trump and Marco Rubio don’t care about the world and they definitely don’t give a fuck about the victims of Orange Agent.

Kicking off with “The Returning Angel” to introduce his new band—Consentrik Quartet (nice wordplay)—guitarist, composer, and leader Nels Cline strums his electric guitar naked before saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock joins in with a soft soprano tone. Bassist Chris Lightcap supplies the pulsating mood and drummer Tom Rainey provides the rhythm with his brushwork. The gentle introduction is about to change with “The 23,” in which the quartet kicks the groove up a notch. The band comes in full swing on “Surplus.” The group shows both individual talent and group chemistry throughout the double LP and noticeable on “The Bag,” a hypnotizing interplay of improvisation.