July 01, 2009
AMERICA
given a slightly different parcel of luck and circumstance, this might very well have served as our national anthem, the lovely and haunting "shenandoah" -- a song about a river. a song sung by those who came across an ocean, the longing thereof a shared longing, a defining aspect of multiple orphaned peoples. a song about death. a song about being born. and in this particular presentation, it is used as a vehicle for improvisation, another great American practice (though by no means uniquely--it arrived simultaneously via the slave ships as well as from the European salons, colliding in New Orleans and in the Mississippi Delta), here performed by the great Bill Frisell. and in another twist of Americana, he is performing it not on a jazz guitar (he is one of the world's most accomplished "jazz" musicians) but on a solidbody electric guitar, the fender telecaster, another of this country's great gifts to the world. our folk music, our invention of jazz, our improvised invention of a republic in a turbulent, dangerous world: all worth celebrating as this country perseveres into a future fraught with questions and worries. and so too let's keep in mind our brothers and sisters in Iran, with their own folk musics and their own unique gifts--all those who seek the blessings of freedom and self-actuality, and who will put their own lives on the line, deserve a place in the celebration of this great day. July 4th was a great day because some of us stood up and said "enough," and it is heartening to see that the spirit of 1776 is still alive, even beyond our own shores.
"...whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness."
--Declaration of Independence, July 4th, 1776
Happy Independence Day. Be beautiful.
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