“I went to see the musician, Sohrab Saadat Ladjevardi of SoSaLa a few nights ago, and I must say, that I was totally impressed by his honesty and sincerity.
That’s perhaps one of the things that is missing in many practitioners of the music.
It was quite refreshing to experience his concert presentation.
Billy Harper
PS. It is sometimes good to get “outside of oneself” and see what someone else may be experiencing about his music.”
Date: December 20, 2017
Venue: CA Music Room (NY)
Much of this centered around his memories of his wife Francis. His drug use (both recreational and prescribed by doctors) caused him to drive her away, and sent his marriage into ruins. There were two scenes that were telling. The first was after he was beaten by the police in front of a club he was playing, after returning home, he tells Taylor to stop dancing. She is outraged by this, but eventually does so, to her eventual regret. This would seem to have been the beginning of the end of their marriage. But there was a hint at the catastrophe to come earlier in the story, after Davis and Taylor made love. She gets out of bed and, in post-coital ecstasy, begins to dance. Davis watches her a moment, then gets up, goes to the other room, picks up his trumpet and begins to play. The surface interpretation of this is that her dancing inspired this piece of music. But it’s possible that his gesture was a desire to escape any aspect of her that wasn’t focused on him. He couldn’t handle Taylor having or being something on her own.
In the end, while Davis clearly had no fear of man or beast, it was the fear of the uncomfortable truths about himself that drove him into darkness.
But the story has a happy ending. Expect no spoilers here. Suffice it to say that he emerges from his Dark Night of the Soul into a new inner and outer realm of both renewed musical genius, and something resembling inner peace.
Date: May 7, 2016
Venue: Castillo Theatre (NY)
Text by Dawoud Kringle
Even Under Bitterness is an avant-garde, multi-media performance piece that shows a fascinating perspective on the poems written by the Guatemalan poet and activist Otto Rene Castillo (1934-67). The performance was directed by Munich-based Hans Melzer. The American premiere ran May 6-16, at the Castillo Theater (which was named for the poet).
Artist: Simon Frick
Titel: Simon Frick Solo
Label: Boomslang Records
Genre: progressive rock/free style/electronics
CD Review by Dawoud Kringle
Simon Frick’s new CD, appropriately titled Solo was a present surprise. Frick composed, arranged, and produced this recording like a man on a mission.
By Dawoud Kringle
There are times when the Designer of destiny makes a fortuitous decision on your behalf.
Photo by Sohrab Saadat Ladjevardi
I first met Sohrab Saadat Ladjevardi in the lobby of a hotel where a mutual friend, virtuoso pianist David Cieri, was performing. We hit it off immediately; and both knew we’d met kindred spirits. The first time we’d played music together was in Ornette Coleman’s apartment. One of my life’s regrets was that I’d not recorded that session! It was marvelous.
