Last night, my favorite wife and her favorite sister and I drove into Hot Springs to hear a presentation about the structure, style, and components of jazz. The event was held at the Fine Arts Center of Hot Springs (626 Central Avenue). Jay Payette gave a truly interesting and informative presentation. I wish he would teach a class on jazz so I could attend and learn more about the genre. He is extremely knowledgeable, but not pedantic; he knows whereof he speaks and makes a complex subject interesting and easy to digest—what a gift!
Though we were offered a nice selection of hors d’oeuvres and wine and beer, I grousingly did not partake of the latter, thanks to my wife’s insistence that I adhere to the South Beach Diet until I become the tall, svelte man she had hoped to marry. I did make note of the generosity of the hosts, though, so when the diet is history, I can take modest advantage of the offerings.
Following his presentation, the Jay Payette trio (Jay on drums, Chris Parker on keyboards, and David Higginbotham on bass) played some wonderful jazz pieces, including: Kind of Blue, Miles Davis; I Could Write a Book, Miles Davis; Midnight Sun, Lionel Hampton (words later written by Johnny Mercer), and a boatload of others. It was really an enjoyable evening.
I learned of the event (called 3rd Fridays at FAC) at Wednesday Night Poetry earlier in the week, when the Executive Director of the Center, Donna Dunnahoe, made an announcement about it. Last night, I learned that Bud Kenney will be on stage at next month’s event; Bud, the founder of Wednesday Night Poetry, will read from his new book, Footloose in America…
The following month, Peter Lawrence, a singer-songwriter I saw at Wednesday Night Poetry a few weeks ago, will be on stage.
These types of events reinforce my feeling that moving to the Hot Springs area was the right thing for us. At the moment, I’m feeling pretty damn fortunate to live where I do.
