Linsey sat to open the night. In an athlete’s T-shirt and a posture of strength atop a chair for balance, he warmed into Ephemera setting feet and elbows, spine and core just so. Thirty plus notes were constructed and tweaked in successive gesture. Linsey divined an “algo-rythum” the envy of PS3. Ears, chest and some place behind our eyes were involved in listening to the alto sax bellow and chime.
Ten minutes in, a loud Middle East discussion broke out. Part chaos, part revolution or riot, these animated Mediterranean folk erupted in coffee shop banter. Students insistent on change argued with old men, demanding respect. Women clamoured for fair share and gave an earful to make a strong point. It was as though a hookah and tiny cups of Turkish coffee were abruptly tossed about in Cairo or Tripoli. This place in the concert was no place for tourists. Linsey is time zones away inconcentration. His horn worked hard to insist order upon discord. Night fallsand urgent messages one hundred and forty characters each are tweeted out to plan the next movement. Like a camp fire “telephone game” Linsey’s message is altered just a little with every repeat. Cheeks and embouchure embrace this tune, this room these times. His fingers hardly move but key taps open and close in quick succession. This man is a clean air champion. We all must have been breathing parts of his DNA as he ventilated the room with steamy nostril flair.
The sax rested on the seventh movement. Lower stronger tones spoke of lover’s sex. Yes even in the riots babies are made and born in private. There is hope in this section twenty five minutes in. Stress must be relieved. The lovers cry at birth and mourn the disappeared or killed. Passion’s phosphor glow, grows in Cairo’s beds. Linsey “speaks as he plays”…what does he sing of? Leaders of the Arab nations do not sleep this eve. The Bur jAl Arab still sparkles in the night. Jets pass the UAE enroute to Silk Road destinations. Linsey is our pilot on this Aladdin like ride.
Just as silent travelers pass our window seats street side, the cock crows and Linsey plays a morning call to prayer. The air is full of the smell of fresh baked pita loaves. Linsey checks his road map; eyes open for the first time in many minutes. He knows a dozen routes home and like the curious of Cairo we ask him to take the long way. Cross the Nile,circle around Tahrir Square. Linsey blows a dessert song that tells of traveling dunes. Slow and steady on this route. We are reminded of long reigning Pharaoh’s of the past. Alexander is buried near here. We are in the company of a Great one. We are allowed to relax and center ourselves. Linsey makes electric sounds. The artist’s chemistry is afire. Neurons, eyes and hearts enjoy this space. He sits, permits, the seconds pass, and time is up. Linsey checks his watch. All arrivals are on time.
Sunday, March sixth, IMOO returns to UMI Café featuring eldritch priest and his score, “the brown study”. We heard eldritch as a key performer in Uzumaki a few weeks ago. Thanks to eldritch for correcting me on what I’d called an electronic tuning device. It is a blue light emitting, “E-Bow” and it was used to fine effect in recent concerts by eldritch and Kim Myhr.
As a composer and performer, eldritch has a skill for, “drawing the listener into a convulsive, rhizomic zone of inquiry.” — Marc Couroux (2007).
Be it Lion or Lamb, we look forward to the first concert of March at UMICafé.
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