Notes From a Curious Listener

Big, booming, and beautiful. That was my first reaction to Dee Dee Bridgewater's voice. But by the end of the concert on Sat. Feb 26, I thought of it more as an instrument which she could manipulate any way she wanted. Amazing.

She could also manipulate the audience. Her Broadway experience shined through. Ms. Bridgewater owned the stage although sometimes she seemed more enamored with her band members than us. Her flirting with the saxophone and flute player, Mr. Craig Handy, got downright embarrassing for straitlaced little me. Stephen Holden, New York Times critic, celebrated the "telepathic connection" between them back on February 18, 2010. I wonder if their relationship has blossomed since then? I'd like to see her with a nice guy.

Why? I uncovered a sad chapter in Ms. Bridgewater's history when watching a video interview by Brian Pace just nine months ago. At minute 7:30, Ms. Bridgewater talks of being sexually harassed in the original Broadway production of, "The Wiz" back in 1975:

Today we bury a good man, my father-in-law. For 24 years, half my life, this man never failed to smile when he saw me.

There is so much more that I could say: about his wonderful wife, my mother-in-law, and how they took care of each other and set such a good example for their son and I. How important family, friends, church, and country were to him. Not in a loud, are-you-wearing-a-flag-pin sort of way, but a shovel-the-snow-for-the-neighbors way.

He will be missed by many people. The church was full. And despite the bitter cold, (fitting because he loved hockey after all) we gathered on the porch, listened to Taps, and watched as four Army veterans smartly folded the American flag to honor Dad's service in Germany in 1952. I looked up the words. They seem comforting somehow:

Guest Blog by Matthew Geaman, Vice Chair of the LJMS Allegro Society

My informal introduction to classical music dates back to 1999 when I discovered S&M.

S&M is a live album by the heavy metal band Metallica, whom I was fond of at the time. S&M stands for Symphony and Metallica, though you were probably thinking something else... This album featured the band performing their songs along with symphonic accompaniment composed and conducted by Michael Kamen and performed by the San Francisco Symphony.