Shape Shifting and Pogo Dancing to Ornette Coleman

During one of her recent listening sessions, DJ B opted to spend some time with Ornette Coleman's "The Shape of Jazz to Come," a CD that she hand-selected from the public library. Right when the music began she exclaimed, "Dance with me!" as she spun around and reached for my hand. She then set her sights on her singing lamb, yelling, "Lamb's coming!"

After opening her Mother Goose book to a page with blue and white squares on it, she told me, "It's a diamond, but it's it a square when I move it that way" while adjusting her head to show me her great understanding of shapes. After issuing a series of instructions to me, she told me, "I have a new dance. It's called the flower spinners." In rare form, she continued with a series of dances, telling me, "This one is called the kangaroo jumper. This one is called the pogo stick." She then swirled, saying, "Ice cream...strawberry shortcake...and spinach and cheese" before leaping through the air.

At this point it was nearly impossible to keep up with Miss B's flurry of both words and activity, but there was talk of butterflies, bugs and princesses, along with more instructions to me.

She then asked, "Do I look big?" When I said "yes," she said, "That's because I am big." She continued, "Read this and you can see...Practice it. Sing along. Do it with your fingers and sing. Sing!!! Say butterfly.... It's called the Butterfly Dancer of the World." With that she sang a bunch of nonsense words and played a few notes on her keyboard before turning the volume down on the CD player. She then calmly sat in a chair "reading" a book aloud, saying, "It says that a monster turned it off. And the CD died." She then said, "OK. I'll turn it back on" and turned the volume back up. Miss B then put a pink plastic chair over her head and yelled, "Help! I'm in jail!"

I'm exhausted just recounting her reaction to Ornette Coleman. I guess that's the power of jazz.

Jazz Still a Tough Sell for DJ B

DJ B keeps picking up jazz CDs from the public library, but never seems super excited about them once she gives them a listen. This week's choice, SFJazz Collective 2, turned out to be no exception. As is typically the case, Miss B was very interested in reading the CD booklet (ours actually had a bright orange and yellow, seizure-inducing cover), but after only a few seconds of music (the John Coltrane track "Moment's Notice") she yelled, "It's loud!" and asked for another CD. Before we were able to take the CD out she told me, "I want to go to the library" and did a brief bounce to the music.

A few days later we again tried to listen and Miss B asked, "Is this jazz?" While she scanned the booklet she was particularly interested in a close-up picture of mallets on a vibraphone, asking, "What are those?" She was very mellow, as she read the booklet and played with the CD case. When I asked her what she thought of the music she said, "princess." When we got to the second track (Coltrane's "Naima") she started to tap the CD case with her fingers, the first indication that she was actually listening to the music. I took the CD out of the player and Miss B said to put it back in, "it's princesses."

Although she never seemed to be super engaged with the music, I suppose I should never discount Miss B's quiet enjoyment of jazz.

John Coltrane is Great Grocery Shopping Music

Next up from the public library shelves was some classic jazz from John Coltrane. DJ B selected the CD "Live at the Village Vanguard: The Master Takes." She was a little disappointed in the enclosed booklet, as she was unable to open it. We soon realized that it was actually just a piece of cardboard with album art on the front and back. She didn't respond to the music, but did ask me, "Wanna watch my move?" before stretching her leg into the air. She quickly turned off Coltrane and requested Nortec Collective.

The following day we tried John Coltrane again and Miss B initially said, "no...I want Easy Ride!," but I persisted and kept it in the player. She did some more ballet moves and then grabbed her toy shopping cart. As beautiful jazz played in the background, DJ B pushed her shopping cart back and forth across the room, while consulting her imaginary list. She said, "purple cauliflower, Mac 'n Cheese, yogurt, some yogurt and um...what else...squash?" Eventually she unloaded her cart, found a toy penguin and squeaked it. Later she ate her dinner, while the music continued to play. I asked if she liked it and she just nodded.

Once again, jazz proves to be just background music for Miss B as she goes about her daily activities.

Queen Latifah is Good Grandpa Music

We got some really sad news in the DJ B household this week as Miss B's grandpa died. Since I'm a big fan of using music as a coping mechanism, I immediately asked Miss B to pick out a library CD that she thought her grandpa would like. I handed her a pile of 8 library CDs (yes...we're really backlogged) and she scrutinized each one of them very carefully before handing me a Celine Dion CD. As I started to put it in the player, Miss B changed her mind, telling, me, "No. This one" as she handed me Queen Latifah's "Trav'Lin' Light."

DJ B looked through the CD booklet and smiled, then ran to me, saying, "I want that snake. I want that snake right now." I'm not sure what she wanted, so I changed the subject and asked her, "Do you think grandpa would like this music?" She said, "yeah." I asked if she liked it and she also said, "yeah."

As we listened to this lovely CD of jazzy R & B influenced pop and standards, Miss B climbed on some chairs and then lounged a bit before settling in with an LL Bean catalog. She quietly listened to the music while reading the Christmas catalog. Later she moved to the floor with some pens and started to draw some pictures. She held one up to show me, saying, "This is for Grandpa...because he's sad and sick." She then grabbed a blanket and said, "snuggle me up. snuggle me in."

Who would have thought that the soothing vocals and classic sounds of Queen Latifah (covering Nina Simone, Peggy Lee and others) would be such a fitting tribute to Miss B's departed grandpa? And, yeah, I think he would have liked this music...just as DJ B predicted.

Roy and Diz Quickly Dismissed by DJ B

The third and final CD from DJ B's latest library batch was Roy Eldridge and Dizzy Gillespie's "Roy and Diz," a 1954 jazz recording. I'm sure that part of what interested Miss B when she pulled it off the library shelf, was the lovely album art. Yes, that initial allure was not in evidence when she sampled the CD at home. The first time we played it, she said, "I don't like it" as soon as the music came out of the speakers. When we tried again later, she said, "I don't want to sing it" and stopped the CD player after just a few seconds. I continued to prompt her to listen to the release, to no avail. Poor Roy and Diz, Miss B just wasn't in the mood for jazz.

DJ B Dismisses another Jazz Lady

Next up in DJ B's pile of CDs from the public library was Mabel Mercer's double CD "Once in a Blue Moon/Midnight at Mabel Mercer's." Initially Miss B wanted to check out CD2 ("Once in a Blue Moon"), but as soon as we played it, she said, "I want milk." After quenching her thirst, she asked me to dance with her, then said, "spin me around," before she sank into the couch to read some books. We listened to the classic 1950s jazz sounds of Ms. Mercer for awhile and then Miss B turned off the CD.

We tried CD1 ("Midnight at Mabel Mercer's") a few days later and Miss B just continued with her own business of reading books and not paying much attention to the music. Today when I tried yet again, she just told me flat out that she didn't want to hear it.

Coincidentally, the CD booklet includes an oddly similar review: "Make no mistake: she's not spectacular...you may not even appreciate her the first time around...her subtle brand of singing is an acquired taste" (quoting Victor Lownes III, from original liner notes to "Midnight at Mabel Mercer's").

DJ B couldn't have said it better herself.

DJ B Makes it to Her 5th CD and Curls up for a Nap

At last, we've reached DJ B's 5th and final CD pick from that epic trip to the public library. Rahsaan Roland Kirk's "The Inflated Tear/Natural Black Inventions: Root Strata" is a 2004 release that puts together 2 albums from the late 1960s and early 1970s onto one massive 78 minute CD.

When DJ B put this jazz release into the CD player her first move was to put away the toy she was playing with. She placed a pillow on the floor, grabbed a blanket, removed her barrettes and snuggled on the floor with her hands clasped by her face and the blanket covering her, as if she was getting ready to go to sleep. She then took the CD case from me and stacked it on top of the others before opening it and removing the booklet to read. After perusing the liner notes she stuck them back into the case and retired to the floor for her faux nap. After hearing a few tracks she got up and played her toy piano for awhile, then danced.

When we reached track 11 ("Island Cry"), DJ B pointed at the CD and said "birds in music." And, indeed, according to the CD, "Rahsaan Roland Kirk plays tenor sax, stritch, manzello, B Flat & E Flat clarinets, flute, black puzzle flute, black mystery pipes, harmonium, piccolo bass drum, thundersheet, sock cymbal, bells, music box, palms, tyill pani, gong and applies the use of bird sounds." Wow.

For Miss B, this was another fine jazz release, just perfect for dancing and sleeping.

Aloha (that's Hello and Goodbye) to Kohala

Next up in Miss B's lineup of CD selections from last week's trip to the library was Kohala's "Deeper Blue." After we put this Hawaiian guitar music into the CD player, DJ B took a close look at the booklet and asked, "What's this one?" She picked up her Hello Kitty umbrella, opened it, and danced a bit with it over her head (perhaps in anticipation of a tropical storm?). After 2 minutes of listening, she said, "I don't want to keep this on" and headed off to the next CD, asking, "What's this one?"

Today she gravitated towards Kohala again and upon hearing it, she smiled at me and then stared off into space. Miss B then got distracted by a stack of DVDs, said "I want cookies," and turned her attention to some dumpster-divers outside our window. Ah, yes, urban living.

So, Kohala is a bit more intriguing to DJ B than Leo Kottke, but far less enticing than metal-seeking scavengers. Island sounds just can't compete with the noises of the big city.

Jazz is Okay Daddy-O

The other selection from DJ B's recent duo of CDs was Archie Shepp's "Four For Trane." It's some fine jazz music, originally recorded in 1964, remastered and reissued in 1997. Considering the fact that one of Miss B's favorite books is "Charlie Parker Played Be Bop," I figured she'd dig this release, featuring sax, trumpet, trombone, bass and drums.

After dancing around the room to Dueto Voces del Rancho, we popped Archie Shepp into the boombox in preparation for nap time. Miss B listened with interest, put a pair of sunglasses on her bear and continued to dance around. She turned down the music and we both started to rock some stuffed animals to sleep. According to DJ B, Shepp is acceptable, but not necessarily a favorite.

P.S. The album cover of the version we got was just a plain black background with the album title on it. Perhaps if our version was as cool as the original album art above, DJ B would be even more jazzed about it.

Finger-Snapping Music from Elvis' Gal

The next album that piqued Miss B's interest was Diana Krall's "Live in Paris" release. This was the CD that she put in her boombox after initially rejecting Kronos Quartet. As soon as she heard the jazz vocals of Ms. Krall, DJ B began to dance. She then put her headphones on and started shaking one of her shaker egg instruments. She rocked out to it for awhile, but moved on as it got closer to nap time, requesting her current favorite "mama" Anita Baker.

DJ B gave Diana Krall another listen last night before bedtime. As my husband got Miss B ready for bed, he bopped along to Diana Krall, snapping his fingers and giving DJ B a quick lesson in the art of the jazz finger-snap.