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Miles Davis died 29 years ago this week. This morning his son and nephew were talking about growing up with him on “q”. He was obsessed with music, always playing, even when listening to the radio or watching TV. Davis’ “Porgy & Bess” was one of the very first jazz recording I purchased. I listened to it during many of the long nights when I was in art school. A classmate that year introduced me to Miles and to Nina who then became my best friends to help me through life i

When I was nine months pregnant with my second child, living in Manhattan, just before Christmas in 1967, I went to a concert by a favourite underground rock group called The Fugs. The band was formed in 1964 by the poets Ed Sanders and Tuli Kupferberg, with Ken Weaver on drums. Many of the lyrics on their songs couldn’t be sung on public radio today, but I’m fortunate to still have a couple of their records. Some songs I remember well are “Slum Goddess from the Lower East Si

After eight packed days in Ottawa, I came here to NYC for some rest and entertainment. Last night I went to see a Broadway play: Hamilton. It is pertinent, a message for today. And it is fun, good music, great acting, wonderful choreography. My daughter won four tickets in a raffle. Second row seats, quite the treat. The show was right in my lap! My best memories of going to Broadway plays was when I was young, probably around eight to ten. My aunt Paula would take me. I reme

Yesterday (or maybe the day before, all days running into each other recently) I heard an awesome interview on q (CBC radio arts program) by Tom Power with Sonny Rollins. First, I love jazz and love listening to jazz musicians talk about their music. Second, Sonny Rollins was brilliant. He is 87 now and cannot play his saxophone any more because of his health. But he is still a vibrant living spirit of the music he created. His confidence was a major impression that came acro

When I was in NYC recently, my grandson, who is an extremely accomplished musician and composer, was asked if he worked with a plan in mind. His answer was the same as my way of working: he/we just start and see what happens. There is usually a germ of an idea, something that is pressing to be expressed. One thing leads to another, with constant choices along the way. Possibly that approach runs in the family. Robert Rauschenberg, in his exhibit at MoMA. Among Friends, descri

Yesterday morning, Steve Reich was talking about his music on CBC radio program q.  One powerful comment he made, loosely quoted, was that you, as the maker, need to be sure you have that emotional investment in what you do or it doesn’t mean a thing. That just about sums it up. Note: The photos above are from my exhibit at the Orange Gallery in Ottawa. #Nonverbalcommunication #ArtsandEntertainment #Creativity #Art #Music #arts

When my children were young, I would often play the piano for hours. Mostly Mozart. I used to say Mozart was my best friend. We certainly spent a lot of time together. Last night I went to a concert featuring John Novacek playing Mozart’s piano Concerto no. 24 in C minor with Symphony Nova Scotia. I’ve never hear Mozart played with so much heart. I’ve spent some time today looking up and listening to Novacek on the net. It was a very inspiring performance last night. His inte

IMG_3939, originally uploaded by leyaevelyn. Last Saturday evening I went to see Jenn Grant sing with her new group, Aqua Alta, at the Marquee Ballroom in Halifax. I haven’t been going out much at night lately. Partly the weather–cold/ice/snow–partly because I feel I’m on a roll with my painting and want to focus my energy for my work. Nevertheless, it was wonderful to get out, hang out with friends for the evening, hear the beautiful Jenn sing. Her voice is so clear, like a

IMG_3354, originally uploaded by leyaevelyn. Yesterday Jo came by at 6:30 am to pick out the work for the exhibit at her gallery, opening Sunday. It took a couple of hours sorting through and making decisions and then loading up her truck. As always, it feels good to have some work going out to be seen. The rest of the morning was taken up with gardening. Then the heat got to me. All the rain has been good for the vegetables. I have more than I can possibly eat. My friends wi

Nancy M. Williams, an award-winning writer and ardent amateur pianist, is the founding editor of the online magazine, Grand Piano Passion.  The magazine is for all pianists and lovers of classical piano music.  She used my painting, Divine Fragments & Diverse Changes to illustrate her article.  The link between hearing and seeing is always fascinating.  I usually think I would rather lose hearing than sight, but neither would be a willful choice. I once did a month’s retreat

I found a great video of an inspirational commencement speech on Rachel Pink’s blog.  It’s great.  The speaker, Neil Gaiman, not only writes novels and stories, makes film, comic books, writes children’s books, but he also speaks brilliantly about How to Make Great Art.  It’s well worth the twenty minutes to listen.  Check it out. As for pretending to be someone who is enlightened, several years ago I was taking piano lessons with a woman who liked having her adult students p

Thinking about thinking back on the year that was and thinking ahead to the year to be, I received an email this morning from someone who quoted a post I had made on a short-lived blog I had on Live Journal several years ago. It read: Beginning to study jazz piano reminds me of when I began to paint (or try) abstract paintings. It was hard. I knew before I went to art school that I wanted to do abstraction, but my studies in school were all based on learning, using color, to