Well, it’s not really about the Spring season, but it does have the word “Spring” in it … works for me!

Happy Friday everyone! Here’s something to kick back to – Joy Spring was the nickname that Clifford Brown called his wife. But if we blissfully ignore that fact, bam, the piece is now about Springtime. Easy.

I don’t particularly like Hemingway. I spit in the milk of his literature. I’ve read a few of his books. They just don’t resonate with me. Maybe I was too young when I read them. Maybe it’s because I prefer Dickens. I like long sentences, after all. I like details.

Today’s piece is rich in history. I learned a lot writing this. And I’ve only just scratched the surface.

Joaquín Rodrigo wrote Concierto de Aranjuez. Supposedly it celebrated the end of the Spanish Civil War. Supposedly it celebrated the victory of Francisco Franco. More likely, Rodrigo spit in the milk of Franco’s dictatorship. The Concierto was written for guitar and orchestra. Rodrigo didn’t play the guitar. He scorned the milk of the guitar. The guitar made it sound Spanish, though. Even though he wrote it in Paris. Hemingway reported on the Spanish Civil War. He also lived in Paris.

Miles Davis arranged the second movement for jazz orchestra.  It takes up most of the album Sketches of Spain. Some people complained that it wasn’t jazz. They sneered at the milk of Davis’ music. Davis said that he liked the music, though. He sneered back at the milk of their sneering.

Thanks to Al Pearson for the recommendation. Maybe it’s time to read Hemingway again.

How can one capture Martin Luther King in a short blog post? Or one piece of music? It’s a daunting task that took me through lots of pieces, many of which I had never heard before.

American jazz musician and composer Dave Brubeck wrote a piece in 1969 called “The Gates of Justice.” It is a religious concert work, taking its text primarily from the Psalms. However, in one movement, Brubeck  incorporates portions of King’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech, as well as the ancient Jewish leader, Hillel the Elder: “If the time for action is not now, when is it?”

Brubeck had a fascinating life, including a scandalous graduation from a music conservatory without being able to read music, starting one of the US Army’s first interracial bands, and developing strong religious views despite growing up in a non-religious family.

The words of Hillel remain pertinent today, and probably, always: “If the time for action is not now, when is it?”