Vaguely About Music

By Arlene Corwin

Vaguely About Music is precisely that a collection of poems indirectly about music, written over 52 years. Each written with some aspect of music in mind, there are outright dedications to musicians alive and gone, experiences as a musician in and out of art; the music business; dedications to the inspired, the uninspired, metaphors for improvising ones way through life, (as in The Trick Is To Stay Fresh). Vaguely About Music touches on talent, focus, change and growth all with music as the under-theme.
Read as poetry about music, it is about music. Read as a metaphor for action and attitude, it is philosophy.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Apr 11, 2012
• ISBN: 9781469181356

Arlene Corwin

Arlene Corwin is a professional jazz singer/pianist, yoga practitioner of some 40 years, and author of 11 previous books, each circling round some singular aspect of life. A graduate of the High School of Music & Art and Hofstra University, she lives, performs and teaches in Sweden.

Book preview

Copyright © 2012 by Arlene Corwin.

Cover by: Nelson Zancato

Photo: Ulf Magnusson

ISBN:                 Softcover                 978-1-4691-8134-9

ISBN:                 Ebook                     978-1-4691-8135-6

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

To order additional copies of this book, contact:

Xlibris Corporation

1-888-795-4274

www.Xlibris.com

[e-mail]

108607

Contents

Preface Notes to Vaguely About Music

Preface Notes To Vaguely About Music

Postscript

A Generation For Everybody

A Jazz Musician Poet

A Lesson From Watching & Listening

A Serious Artist

A Sign Of Something Good

A Song To Make Us Empty

After Last Night

All That Counts

All Beginnings Have An End

An Audience

Because Of Fear

But I’m Never Sure

Cantata For Solo Violin By Bach

Comeback

Conversation With An Idealess Pianist

Cuban Salsa

Death In Time: A Film About Puccini

Disappointment

Employable And Still Enjoyable

Excuse Me, I’m A So-Called Jazz Pianist

Exercise

Filling The Hole

Flogging A Phrase To Death

Following Life

Free Form

Freedom’s Way

From Stan Getz Is Dead (Take Two)

Futurity

He Needs A New Style

How Could I Ever Fret?

How Does It Work?

I Asked And No One Said Yes

I Do What I Do

I Live Like A Caveman

If I Became A Cello Bow

I’m Trying To Get Rid Of The Crutches

Impressionist

In A Sea Of Indefinite Tonality

Inexhaustibility

Influenced By Iconoclastic Piazzola

Inner Rhythms, Inner Rhymes

I’ve always Called It Jazz

Jazz Without Whiskey

Just Do It

Knowledge Must Be Renewed

Layers Forgotten, Never Known

Let The Music Sing Itself

Life Raga

Limited Means

Little Textbook About Life

Lowly Jazz Musician In A Lonely Town

Making A Record

Manipulating Time

Musician/Singer/Poet

My Genre Is Jazz

My Three Loves: Silly Reflections Of A Serious Mind

Naked Is Quicker

No Background Music

Not An Old Song

Notes from the Overground: Thoughts On Touring

On Looking For A Gig

On Reading Downbeat

Overlapping Rhythms

Plenty Of Time: Infinity Unlimited

Repetition

Resting In Spontaneity

She Was Like

Show Business

Showing And Sharing #1

Showing And Sharing #2

Showing And Sharing #3

Showing And Sharing #4

Singer’s Lament

Skeleton Of Change

Small Changes (Stick To Your Essence)

Small Lies

So Much To Do, So Little Time To Do It In*

Special People

Stan Getz Is Dead (take one)

Start Out Rubato

Starting Out Of Time

Talent Helps

Thank You, But…

The Art Of Knowing When

The Beauty’s Gone

(A mature schlager)*

The Best Jazz Musicians

The Conclusions That We Draw

The Courage To Say This Is The Way My Soul Sounds

The Fear Is Gone

The Musician Poet

The Nature Of Chains

The Only Jazz Bass

Playing Lady I Know

The Performer

The Practice

The Sadly Futile Pretence

The Songbird

The Trick Is To Stay Fresh

To A Trumpetless Musician Sitting Tuneless In The Tombs

To The Soul Not Yet Whole

What Could Have Been So Nice

What’s Left

Where Does The Music Sit In An Orchestra?

Work Song

Work-In-Progress

Yet More Wrinkles

You Can’t Look Pretty

And Concentrate

You Don’t Need To Practice

You Never Know When

You’re Making History

Preface Notes to

Vaguely About Music

3.14.2012

This is a book about aspects of jazz, aspects of performance, criticism, celebration, mourning—all to do with music, the players, the business. Written over a period of 52 years, from the time I was a young pianist/singer still in school and performing on the weekends, to now, a still performing, listening player into her seventh decade.

I’ve usually lots to say to my reader—always trying to make my intentions clear. This time I’ve been begeisted by others.

Everyone’s saying wonderful things these days.

In designing and defending the muted colors of the front cover, in one our our letters back and forth, my perceptive, sensitive illustrator Nelson Zancato had this to say:

"The long road, the experiences and the unknown from which you are coming, the road itself, shows the one direction forward and mysterious… toward which you are going.

In so many ways the unobtrusive trace of color shows that nothing is easy, but… comes with compassion, understanding and warmth that you as a poet have arrived at to the ‘now’ moment. There is a fog that is not intrusive but is induced by life and represents the journey: the memories and souvenirs of every experience.

It is… nothing more than simple things in the intricacies of a long journey—that is the beauty of the poetry. Telling a story in a