I have been very busy at work this summer. I have put my art at the bottom of the stack of things to attend to... but I am finally seeing the light at the end of that paper tunnel and I have two shows to hang at the end of this summer... which will receive my utmost attention at this week's end and throughout much of the next...

I have been focused on client gigs and wins as of late... I worked up this post for Jeremy Pelt's upcoming gig at The Dakota... it is going to be quite a show... I love what he says about staring at the Mona Lisa in his interview about how to bring popularity back to jazz... I think because I hear what he's saying on a lot of levels... I love Jazz... not just for it's history but in a way that a person that adores things about all music can... when I listen to an old jazz standard... I don't think .... oh this is an ancient song... I think what an amazing history this song has... I love that he talks about music being fluid... jazz in particular... because the music being made today... is made up of everything in the past and the present... because the people making it are comprised of everything that happened before them... no matter how hard people would like to think they are complete originals.... we are all made up of everything... unless you lived your entire life in a bubble... and then magically started to create... no matter what your art form... you are influenced by the past... and what a blessing that is. why repeat the past verbatim when you have the wisdom of your predacessors and the tools of the present... anyway... I have been working on this blog about his upcoming gig... and I am really excited for it...

http://whyharrelson.weebly.com/5/post/2013/08/staring-at-the-mona-lisa.html

I might add now that I have always had an affinity for mona lisa... she was such a mystery.... i know many people think she is smiling... but i see her expression as something different... something more complicated.... and i love her simply because she was the brain child of da vinci... one of the world's most brilliant men... he was a master at everything he aspired to... not because of luck... but because of devotion to the work... I read a book recently that said in order to become a master at anything you have to devote at the very least 10,000 hours of "practice" to it... and I will tell you that I believe that completely... there is nothing more I hate than when people admire an artist or a musician and say something simple like... "wow... you've got a real gift" or... "I wish I was creative like you" ... or "you're a natural" ... the truth is... I have learned... there are no naturals... anyone that has done anything of value... has done so because they worked their ass off. they lost sleep... they missed social events... and time with the people they love most... they beat themselves up about how they might just be wasting their time ... in solitude... devoting lonely hours to something that, perhaps, no one would ever give a damn about.... maybe that means you have to be a little crazy to be a master at something... but it's a good thing that some people still think that's worth while... so the rest of us can enjoy the fruits of their labors... because trust me... it is a labor... a labor of love... I know a lot of musical and artistic masters... and none of them have accomplished anything by chance...

Moving on... I got an email today from MPLSzine an online magazine from right here in my home town of Minneapolis... I recently stumbled upon them and have had a lot of fun submitting photos hoping to be published on their interesting topics... this month was THE PERFORMANCE ISSUE and I submitted a blog I wrote a couple of months ago about a show at The Dakota. One of our clients Chadrick Honore was in town with his group The Rebirth Brass Band... I was so taken aback by the all out happiness they brought to the room that I felt compelled to write about it... and it was picked up by MPLSzine... I am really flattered that they saw something magic in what I saw that night... if you'd like to read the article you can do so here: http://whyharrelson.weebly.com/5/post/2013/08/staring-at-the-mona-lisa.html ... and on a side note... I just read this amazing piece about Chadrick and Rebirth here: http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/dc9/2013/04/rebirth_brass_band_interview.php?page=all

I guess the point of all of my chatter tonight is that I am really proud of all of the people out there... devoting time and energy to making great art... sometimes it's hard for me to keep up with our clients and remember that I need to devote a little of my time to my own... that's what the winter is all about in Minnesota... spending time inside... working your way to the summer...

One of the things I like most about the Satchmo SummerFest... are the lectures held in the old MINT building. The people giving the lectures are always experts on music, film, history and performance. They are NEVER dull. My favorite from this year... was an interview with George Avakian... he attends the festival every year. I have seen him there many times... I always remember him because he has the most amazing smile... he is, I believe, he is 94 years old. He is in a wheelchair and his wife (who is quite beautiful... and now I realized... a concert violinist... after googling George) is always by his side. The interview focused on the relationship between George and Louis Armstrong.... because the whole festival is devoted to Armstrong, his music, and his life... 

George has had the most amazing life... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Avakian ... he stopped several times during the interview... smiling ear to hear and covering his eyes... nearly in tears to say something like... oh... to live that all over again... 

Several times throughout the interview they played outtakes from the Louis Armstrong & WC Handy Album that was produced by Avakian in his basement.... when the interviewer would stop the track... George would say... oh, just let it play... 

Louis Armstrong was so thrilled with the way the recording sessions were going he invited about 20 or so of his friends along to sit and watch... those friends eventually became an impromptu chorus on the track "Long Gone" 

I walked out of the lecture intent on buying the CD immediately. I heard a lot of stories in that hour that sort of blew my mind... but the thing I think I took away from it more than anything... was about how this man George... now 94... had lived a most magnificent life... and even looking back on it now... 50+ years later... he realizes just how amazing it was... life is so awesome!

Today we're hosting an open house at work... I have been rushing around taking care of things at the last minute as per usual... we had people travel as far as south and north dakota. to attend... but things are calming down just a bit. I stopped earlier today to pick up a copy of Downbeat ... I designed a full page ad for this issue... our client Kermit Ruffins is featured in the article... "Picnic State Of Mind" ... which is what I will be in later today... I will probably be working a bit tomorrow and will hopefully have some time tonight and or tomorrow to paint a bit... it's only August 10th... but Fall is definitely in the air...  i love the crisp air of autumn!

I just got back from New Orleans... the dust is still settling and I haven't had much time to edit photos or collect my thoughts but once again I find myself thinking of this trip throughout my day... only to recall something truly spectacular that happened... and smile... 

I returned to my desk after New Orleans to find a package containing a copy of "EXCEPT SOMETIMES" the new Album by Alison Lund featuring my artwork on the cover and liner notes! I will have more information on where to purchase a copy if you're interested in the coming weeks. This album features a lot of jazz standards and Alison's beautiful piano playing and voice.

I also just confirmed my show at Gingko in St. Paul for September-October... that means I will be showing there and at Palmers... I believe the Palmer's show will open on September 7th. I will post more information when I have that. Time to paint again...