A shot, a sheriff, a reptile and the news over the rainbow

It was 1987 more or less when I was walking with some friends in Malasaña, one of the classic drinking & having fun zones of Madrid. Wandering the streets looking for a place to have the second dozen of beers, passed by a doorstep to a small pub that suddenly opened, probably just someone leaving the place... The music that came out of tha place was unmistakable, that slow soulfull, JJ Cale's cover "Cocaine" by the slow hand of Eric Clapton. And it was enough, I have enjoyed and spent more time in that pub, called Angie than in the rest of pubs and bars along my life (a lot I must admit), and I'm not exaggerating.

If you wanna hang out you've gotta take her out, cocaine

If you wanna get down, down on the ground, cocaine

She don't lie

She don't lie

She don't lie... cocaine

When your day is gone, and you wanna run, cocaine

If you got bad news you wanna kick them blues, cocaine

She don't lie

She don't lie

She don't lie... cocaine

If your thing is gone, and you wanna ride on, cocaine

don't forget this fact, you can't get back, cocaine

She don't lie

She don't lie

She don't lie... cocaine

It's a cool song, allways controversial lyrics that some find pro-cocaine and some anti-cocaine related. I guess of course people reads it as they want to read it. Some pay attention to "She don't lie, she don't lie, she don't lie, cocaine" and others to "Don't forget this fact, you can't get back, cocaine"... Choose your option. Anyway Clapton allways called the song 'quite cleverly anti-cocaine song' and he personally noted:

"It’s no good to write a deliberate anti-drug song and hope that it will catch. Because the general thing is that people will be upset by that. It would disturb them to have someone else shoving something down their throat. So the best thing to do is offer something that seems ambiguous—that on study or on reflection actually can be seen to be ‘anti’—which the song "Cocaine" is actually an anti-cocaine song. If you study it or look at it with a little bit of thought... from a distance... or as it goes by... it just sounds like a song about cocaine. But actually, it is quite cleverly anti-cocaine." (Thanks to wikipedia)

What I've found pretty funny through the years is that a lot of people never listened to the original song by JJ Cale, so there is it for those who never did...

Though I have allways liked Clapton music, it didn't became one of my main addictions and influences until pretty recently. My complete devotion for this great guitar player came true in 2001, when I had the luck to live the gig in Madrid from his "Reptile" tour. The opening and closing song, probably not the most representative of his career, really shocked me out. They showed me how versatile he can be, and how nice and full of feelings his singing can be.

This two pieces of pure music and soul, that day, those friends there, I will never forget it no matters what the future showed up.

Reptile, instrumental and jazzy, incredible beginning for a show, you could see all the musicians enjoying the playing along the whole song. And after a long, incredible concert, this "Over the rainbow" cover. I have no words to describe the feelings it provided and it still provides.

This post would be a never ending story if I had to talk about all the Clapton songs and the feelings and emotions they bring up, but it's late and I am pretty tired after a long work day, it's almost time for bed so... I have chosen this song to finish this post for a lot of reasons. First it is another cover, Clapton have allways had the ability to give his own personal touch to other musicians songs and this one is a good example, second is that this is probably, personally at least, best solo ever played in history, not for it's technical skills (what it undoublty has) but for the complete powerfull soulfull improvisation, just listen to it and judge.

Absolute demonstration of inspiration, it starts slowly at 5:09 with soft rithmical touchs of strings, feeling the silences and taking time to slowly introduce you in the solo atmosphere, then about 6:06 it increases the pitch and a bit the speed with some touchs full of soul, then it comes back to low rithmical sounds and, suddenly it fast grows up and at 7:00 it seems to come out from the stomach coming up to the throat, still moving up and up until it explodes in 7:28, then goes down again to low notes and rithmical chords to let everybody take a breath (I personally think I allways stop breathing during those seconds) and then, from 7:44 to the end it again starts increasing speed, pitch and strength to and incredible end. I have tried, though it's pretty difficult for me due most of it it's feeling, to describe this solo the best I can. If you think it sounds more to a transcription about making love, well, if amongst all others one solo has to describe what making love is, this one can without a trace of doubt.

And remember, "I shot the sheriff, but I didn't shoot no deputy, just read it in the news..."

From Manhattan to Motown, my whereabouts

Those who are versed in Jazz music, have already probably resolved the little puzzle hidden in this title. It was 1985 summertime when jazz came into my life by the hand of my probably two earliest loves. Yes two, yes both in the same time, yes both in some strange way brought jazz music to my life. Maybe Einstein was true when stated that "God does not play dice" at least in what this is related to the lack of casualty in the universe.

No matters what, my first two jazz influences, and two of my biggest ones, came through two absolutly unrelated girls, or I must say not absolutly unrelated because I loved both of them with that fresh, fast, unconstant but deep love of a 15 years old teen. Probably none of them remember those days and, if they do, surely they don't even suspect the deep impact their kisses caused in my future, now actual, life.

Of course beeing a 15 y.o. boy, I was much more inmature than those two 15 y.o. girls. The first one, was about one head taller than I was, a real beauty, closest to a woman than to a girl and was pretty in love with me, absolutly strange thing ;-) Between a lot of memories about those days, there is one related with her that I can recall just closing my eyes, as if it had happened yesterday. That summer she had become my "girlfriend" in Playa de Madrid, a place where I used two spend most of my summer days in those years. She was leaving Madrid to spend a couple holiday weeks in the coast, and she came to just say goodbye before parting. I was riding my bicicle when I saw her calling me, in a place called la Pergola, where my parents where playing cards with friends. I got to her, and without getting off my bicicle she got close and kissed my lips with the sweetest kiss I had received in my short life. Said 'goodbye, see you when I get back', turned around and runned to, probably, meet her parents to leave the place. I can remember perfectly the comments, laughter and jokes of my parents, uncles and their friends watching the scene, myself absolutly shocked still tasting her lips on mine. That was a saturday, next day, sunday, in "el rastro", the main madrid street marked where my parent and uncle had a shop and where I used to buy bootleg music tapes, I, dunno exactly why, bought a tape of Stevie Wonder, "In square circle".

Later that night laying on my bed, I started listening that tape. Of course I was listening and thinking about her, about her kiss, wondering what she would be doing in her holidays, dreaming with her. That night, the next one, the one after the next, and so for about a month until I saw her again. So so much that in just a few days I learned the lyrics of all songs in the tape, and so much that still and allways this record and that days will keep connected in my mind.

I'm trying to find my whereabouts, what can I do
When nothing seems to follow through
In me, trying to find my whereabouts, I'm turning blue
But wait I may have found a clue
My whereabouts are somewhere lost in yesterday with you

But of course I was 15. It means I had such a big heart that I could love two girls without moral conflicts :-) And I loved another one. Can't remember if that love was longer than a week, or even than a day, but again I can recall the day I loved this other one as if it was yesterday. She was the sister of my brother's friend Antoñito. I don't remember why, but we where walking from Moncloa to her home, in the old center of Madrid. Talking about music, a rock&roll man like me, and, daughter of a jazz trumpet player her, she was talking about her learning to sing in a jazz school in Madrid. We stopped to rest (it was a long walk) in a small street, in the doorway of a house she started singing this Manhattan Transfer's "soul food to go" (and she sung real well, I can remember perfectly).

Want some more
We always save some
Art nouveau
For special patrons
You look nice
Do you believe in jazz

...

Ooo ooo ah
This be-bop’s too much
I know you know
Hip hop
Never stop
I’ll pour you tasty funk
We got
Cool and hot
Just for you
The pleasures of the soul
Come on
Come in
And check it out
Ooo c’est si bon

She was so nice, sounded so well, that I couldn't do other thing but kiss her. And we kissed there, for about the next 15 minutes before we continued walking to her home. Again that kiss, or it was that song, or it was that girl, or it was the stars, or it was everything, changed my life in a lot of different ways.

From there on, jazz passion has been in my life, stronger as I've grown older. And I have grown, yes but a bit of those days, those girls and those songs is still and will allways be in me.

My original intention was to talk about other songs and bands in this post but, as I see it is longer than I expected, I will finish it here and keep those for other posts. I could have chosen a billion songs (of the large discography of Stevie Wonder) as and end but this afternoon I was driving home in heavy traffic when my iphone choosed this song from it's library (that I allways play in random mode) and I think dices made a perfect choice. It's really nice song, and has two incredible jazzy moments at 4:16 -> 5:09 -> 5:42 and 6:32 -> 7:15

Oh so long for this night I prayed
That a star would guide you my way
To share with me this special day
Where a ribbon's in the sky for our love

If allowed may I touch your hand
And if pleased may I once again
So that you too will understand
There's a ribbon in the sky for our love

Again I will beg for pardon if this make no sense for you, reader. I know it's probably very intimate, but in the end that's what music is, that's what love is and that is what this blog was made for. If it has brought nice personal memories to your mind, then I'll feel rewarded enough, if it haven't, then just enjoy the good music...