Mussiikki pelastaa

Music saved me from sickness. Actually during the night fever left me. And today while still resting every now and then I listened to Telamann and Haydn. What a blessing and joy is their music. And of course the playing, creating of music with flute, domra and recorder... I'm very happy to be well again.

Antti Sarpila Swing Band performed in Suolahtisali today. It's their 25th Anniversary Tour. We, Sini and I, were there. Very joyous experience for both of us. The band played swing and dixieland jazz quite exclusively and very brilliantly. Sarpila is a wonderful woodwind player. But for me the main reason to be there were the Petrescu Brothers, Marian and Mihai. Marian is the most excelent jazz piano-player. And Mihai is absolutely wonderful basist. It's a joy to listen to them. This would have been all the good things needed. But there were also Johanna Iivanainen, Leroy Jones...

At the concert tonight I realized how strongly jazz is my spiritual home. Most of the swing jazz is relatively easy to play - if you just can improvise. ( And of course it is quite clear that before you can do that you have to have somehow suitably weird frame of mind which can touch something intouchable - where the artistic ideas, items, thoughts reside. Or actually you just have to let go...) Improvisation is very much the most important thing... And thus I think that anything, any music with improvisation involved - that's where my spiritual home is... - Earlier today while listenind to Telemann I remembered how much as a youngster I liked Vivaldi's Mandolini Concertos. Today remembering that was like coming home.

It seems that I'm pretty happy to be back.

Juha H.