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Bebop Enlightenment
The sightless pianist,
Presents the information,
The ideas,
Ornate and complex,
yet always grounded in logic,
The practical applications
of a mountain of details,
and the harmony hidden inside them.
His music is a hawks-eye view
into a deep canyon,
Lush and green,
Reaching up to the clouds.
At the bottom, a small stream
winds a path through the sun and shade,
Peaceful in its way,
Oblivious to the turbulence above.
We listen and take flight,
Our minds airborne,
We soar through the music,
Suspended on the wind,
Gliding along the river,
Surrounded by the tranquility.
We come to understand the peace,
The calm within the complexity,
The graceful undercurrent,
Persuading us to let go,
To follow the river,
To be free.
For Lennie Tristano
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Freddington works as a shipper/receiver in Toronto, Canada, and has been a lifelong jazz fan ever since he was “corrupted” as a teenager by Charles Mingus’ “Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting.”
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