Linda Stout

I played solo last night in Auburn, NY, at Yesteryear's, part of the jazz series. Thanks to the listeners, to folks who bought CDs, to Art for booking and comic relief, and it was good to see one music friend I'd not seen for a while, the talented Bob Doolittle. We met at a SummerSongs WinterSongs gathering some years ago, and on a warm February day, skated on a pond there; it was at the SUNY New Paltz Field Campus, otherwise known as Askokan. I was on a little kick during the gig about "Why music is a good job." Before gigs, people say, "Have a good gig" or "break a leg." They ask about recent gigs. I ask my friends about theirs, too. But I worked with often suicidal addicts and alcoholics, had to get up early in the morning (I don't anymore), and nobody said, "Wow, Linda, have a great day; break a leg." More like it broke my heart. As a musician, lots of things can go wrong, wrong notes, equipment failure, not getting paid enough or sometimes at all, lots of work, but it's fun work. Tonight I saw Sharon Isbin, the Grammy-winning classical guitarist at Ithaca College with the Zurich Chamber Orchestra. I bought one of her CDs, to get the moving Joaquin Rodrigo work she played as an encore. Ms. Isbin said that Rodrigo wrote the piece when his wife had lost a baby in later pregnancy, and she was seriously ill. He couldn't sleep but wrote music to console himself. His wife lived to write words to this melody. Maybe someday, with work and a good coach, I can sketch out a guitar part and sing it (lyrics by Rodrigo's wife, Victoria Kamhi). Something to work for; it is so beautiful. Maybe a bit of my classical interest coming back. The concert also included a Bartok work, and I remember taking basic Bartok piano. I think it gave me an ear for some things that even some jazz players have said are not supposed to be done. Most of my music is really accessible pop, but there are some dissonances I choose that maybe come from those playing little Bartok pieces. Maybe that's a little reminder for me in life -- dissonance can be so musical.