“St. Germain Street” (Written by Reynold Philipsek, 2012 copyright) all instruments by Reynold, except drums by Michael Bissonnette June 15, 2018 marked 50 years since the untimely death of Jazz guitar great Wes Montgomery. Summer always puts me in a Wes Montgomery mood. I associate his sunny disposition with this season, and definitely with a certain period of my life. […]
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“The Juggler” (written and performed by reynold d. philipsek 2018 copyright Zino-Rephi Music BMI) In July of 2016 I stumbled upon a short video of a juggler doing his routine. The film was from the “silent era” and if I had to venture a guess it originated from some place in Western Europe in the early 1900’s. The juggler was
Music history is replete with stories of artists meeting an early demise: Chopin, Django, Dinu Lipatti, William Kapell, and even Scriabin all passed on young. Perhaps Lipatti and Kapell are less well known, but they are very important musicians in my estimation. Lipatti (1917-1950) was a fantastic composer and pianist who thankfully left us some recordings, though precious few, and
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I will soon record a piece I worked on during my two month stay in Naples. It is called Persnickety. I proceeded from the title which means: “Placing emphasis on minor details, fussy. Requiring a particularly precise or careful approach.” This meant writing somewhat detailed music that also makes a lot of use of space as well as intricate patterns.
Sidney Joseph Perelman is and likely will remain my favorite writer. Aside from the fact that he makes me laugh out loud his economy impresses me. I have a sort of mania about elegance, concision and brevity. Perelman was a brilliant miniaturist. I don’t judge art by quantity but by quality which is why some of the more long-winded Teutonic
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I am a fan of two late Southern writers who, as it turns out, were lifelong friends: Shelby Foote and Walker Percy. Actually, I had a correspondence with Shelby Foote about 30 years ago when I was young and seeking a mentor. We exchanged letters and spoke on the phone mostly about his writing and my music. We never met
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