Almost Human, Almost Blue…

 

Good evening my friends, come in, sit down how about something refreshing to drink? Can you believe that’s the end of March already? Time, tempus, really does play tricks on us.

I would like to say that I am rested after my trip to Prague, but the truth is I am filled with elation, excitement and it feels as though there are little butterflies after taking up residence in my stomach.

It’s no secret that I love a good jazz session. There are some of the best clubs I have ever been to are in Prague and within a short distance of each other. So, for the jazz, and the music lover their senses are truly taken care of.

 

Prague, jazz, and the men who never quite feel

My journey to Prague wasn’t for relaxation or a sightseeing trip. I had research that I needed to do, for a future project, one that I am working on after I finish the rewrite and edits on my current book.

I booked an evening at a jazz club, a club based in an underground tunnel. The atmosphere was heavy with the ghosts of those who had been resident in the tunnel long before the jazz club made it its home.

The table was close to the stage, and the jazz band were setting up their instruments and doing a sound check, yes, I was early!

A waitress brought a bottle of wine, local wine from the Moravia region. A beautiful white sauvignon blanc.

Having poured a glass, I was giddy and glanced around. In the corner, where the coat rack was, he was standing. Half in shadow, half seen because he wanted to be.

The piano player began the intro on the keys and then the saxophone began with the sexy strains. Followed by the bass and then the drums trailed in. The band had begun to play their opening tune.

What is fantastic about jazz, is the way it seeps into your veins, first it builds, slowly, maybe, but then it shapes to a crescendo, where either the sax, or maybe the piano reach a nirvana where the music has taken over and your mind and body are controlled by the music. Suddenly the musician, and the listener are consumed by feelings of exhilaration, of raw emotion depending on the instrument.

Jazz does that, doesn’t it? It makes you feel. Everyone who listens to it, experiences these reactions. Even the men who are unable to feel.

The Nights That Stay With You

Some nights just stay with you, don’t they? Your memory is sparked by a sound, a smell, an emotion. Those are the memorable nights.

For me, that night glowed with all the senses alive, and open to the possibility of what could happen.

Those nights stay and for a man who denies memory, who ignores it, even he feels…

Almost Human

Music has a charm that stirs sensations within, from wanting to sing, and dance to throwing your head back and becoming one with the rhythm. Allowing the music to guide your body.

When I write, I always have music on, it shapes how the characters feel, how I feel, and react to a particular situation.

When I look at the notebook I have taken on this trip, I see him clearly, he’s revealed himself, through the music and he’s almost human.

Almost Blue

Some years ago, I was browsing a second hand record store, in Paris. The shop was blasting out a familiar sound, I recognised the style of the trumpet player, it was unmistakable. Caught with my eyes closed, completely immersed in the sound, lost to reason. I was back in 1959 in Frisco, with the Prince of Cool.

Before my eyes, was the smirking face, the snapping of the fingers, the head moving in time to the trumpet. He appeared to have remembered too, he was almost blue, but he was also happy. The jazz had made him feel.

The Music Ends. He Doesn’t

When the music ends and I close the page, I can still hum the piece which had just played. I am always immersed in music. It’s been a passion of mine since I was young.

I glance momentarily at the notebook beside the keyboard, the pen with the top lying dangerously close to the edge of the desk, I knew I had placed it nearer the keyboard. But that was his way of letting me know. Letting me know that the music may have ended but he didn’t.

 

My dear friends, thank you for sharing this journey tonight through the arousal of the senses that is induced by good jazz, a memory of a man who claims to be almost human…

… but I know the truth.

Until next time, close your eyes, give yourself over to the rhythm.

Anna