"Such a Beautiful Girl" - Lyman Medeiros and the Lower Level (The Funky Supervillain, 2005)I have really struggled with what to say about Lyman and the Lower Level's show at the Jazz Kitchen in Indianapolis this weekend. I've even written stuff and put it up, then took it down. I just haven't been able to strike the right balance of gushing about how wonderful my cousin is and giving well deserved credit to the amazing musicians who appeared with him. Maybe I'll actually get the post right this time.Lyman was more brilliant than I've ever seen him. I've seen him play a LOT: with Steve Tyrell, Michael Buble and with his bossa nova buddies in LA; I even saw him play with his rock band, marching band buddies when he was a really young guy. This is the thing: of course he's a great bass player, we all know that. He's going to have an amazing career. And we all knew he had to be a great writer/composer/arranger too because we all love "The Funky Supervillain" and "The Underdog". But what hadn't been put in front of my face in this particular way before was---he is an incredible artist and performer. To me those two things are sometimes opposed to one another---one is about personal expression of and for one's self and the other is about creating something entertaining for the audience. And gosh---he did both. I don't think I've often been so verklempt. His show was probably the most moving thing I've seen live and I know that much of that is because I adore him but I really don't ever lie about music. I won't say its great if its lousy. It was GREAT.I loved the guys in the band, too---hey wait--not that way! They were all really cool guys and fun to hang out with and I'm psyched to find them and their musical talent compelling enough to warrant some research and listening. I hope they'll all find opportunities to play around here so I can hear them again. I was so impressed with how they all sounded like they'd been playing that material together for years when in fact they'd never rehearsed it as a group until the previous day. How can you not love jazz?But now I'm home and I'm happy for that, too. The girls were so very happy to see me; Rob, too. We celebrated LaLa's third bday on Monday and I can't believe what a big girl she has become. Thank gosh for Otis---he's still all puppy.
Two things that I really liked and I think showed Lyman's personality in the show was the reference to "So I Married an Axe Murderer" and his preamble to TasteyKakes. Do you remember the words to his preamble?
Hey! Look at Drew! He was the first to comment on my blog! All you lurkers---come out, come out wherever you are!I wish I did remember the words to the preamble because you're right--not only did it show a bit of his personality, it also allowed us to see another of his great talents. I hope he'll pass along the words so someone can post them and maybe even add another stanza---it was great!
I also added you to my blog. My extended family grows...
I can't find your email address so I'll just leave mine here and let you contact me that way. thompsal6@hotmail.com
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Two things that I really liked and I think showed Lyman's personality in the show was the reference to "So I Married an Axe Murderer" and his preamble to TasteyKakes. Do you remember the words to his preamble?
Hey! Look at Drew! He was the first to comment on my blog! All you lurkers---come out, come out wherever you are!
I wish I did remember the words to the preamble because you're right--not only did it show a bit of his personality, it also allowed us to see another of his great talents. I hope he'll pass along the words so someone can post them and maybe even add another stanza---it was great!
I also added you to my blog. My extended family grows...
I can't find your email address so I'll just leave mine here and let you contact me that way. thompsal6@hotmail.com
Post a Comment