notesong

Sharing musical interests with a colleague who enjoys music across a broad spectrum is always fun. Ken Car is a guitarist with a wit and dry delivery that often has me laughing while at the same time rubbing my face uttering "Whoa, man," He and I enjoy traditional Western Classical music, as well as other "Classical" traditions. We also both enjoy the challenging process of improvisation.                     Ken Card  Guitar Faculty at Garrett's Band Instruments        Delores Fisher Piano Faculty at Garrett's Band Instruments It's all part of the musical fun that punctuates our sonic terrain as two of several Garrett Music studio teachers. Ken Car teaches guitar, me, piano--at Garrett's Band Instruments:     http://www.garrettmusic.com/ Here's a quick YOUTUBE post of our latest high jinks while on break. It is the very first time tha...

  Delores Fisher Center For World Music Resident Artist/Teacher and Africana Studies Lecturer San Diego State University  Lamont West and I have been friends for many years. I first met him at East Village Community Church in the mid 2000s when he was the Director of Music. http://www.evchurch.org/ At present, he is a staff musician at various churches as well as a performer/composer/producer. Back then, his hair was a short version of the hightop fad. Today, his hair flows below his shoulders in a cascade of dreds. (If I can get a recent pic or a snap with us both, I'll re-post.) Back East, he performed in a group whose funky-edged stylings were distinctive. He retains much of that edge today. Like many twenty first century musicians(and many of our elders) he works a regular job while continuing to create. He composes and arranges for lyricists, vocalists, and spoken word artists. He continues to do instrumentals at local and statewide social functions. ...

  Several years ago, two members of our praise and worship team auditioned and won roles in the community based production "The Messiah." They described their experience as life inspiring. They have continued to participate in this seasonal musical over the last few years. This year's "one act Christmas Play with Music" directed by award winning Jennie L. Hamilton in the newly renovated CAT (Community Actor's Theater) is a scaled down production with a minimalist functional set that paints the story of Jesus' birth in very clear strokes. C.A.T. is in its twentieth year of presenting quality based theatrical productions for not only the South East San Diego Community, but all of San Diego's theater goers Before the last performance, a Sunday matinee, theater guests socialized in the anteroom; I joined them and quietly sat down, a growing feeling of appreciation for Ms. Hamilton's leap of faith and love of community theater, made me smile.  I b...

In a semi sleepy haze, I saw large white "castle-turretesque" tents through bay-side windows rising from a parking lot near San Diego Metro's clock tower station at twelfth and Imperial. Trolley rides can be sleep inducing. It was a long ride from La Mesa. Although San Diego's Trolley system covers a large expanse of the county and is in the discomfort of repairs that will extend into 2013, all tracks still converge at the Twelfth Street Station. We rode through the station and on past this other worldly encampment with a beautifully painted sign whispering mystery. It was the equestrian extravaganza Cavalia and the show was visiting San Diego California.     Cavalia encampment in San Diego. Photo by d. fisher Images of knights and  castles danced in my thoughts. I rubbed my eyes. The tents were still there, majestic, serene, almost like a fairy tale village. Later during that first week, I watched as large arena sized tents, medium sized tents, and small ten...

Here's a quick post sun blast shout out. (Welcome to new African readers in C o ngo( DRC ) and to new readers in India.               Del ores Fisher Center for World Music                    Artist/Teacher in Residenc e Looking for world music? Try the Sound Cloud from World Music Records UK for a variety of samples that will entice you to want to explore more of this sound. Our globe seems to be increasing our communication links with inter-continental sharing of everyday common events, political happenings, disasters, and celebrations. I've been exploring this site. So far, I like what I hear. The Sound Cloud UK offers over 60 samples for listeners.

        Delores Fisher at Ruocco Park near the Tuna Fisher's Wharf It's a beautiful Friday San Diego Autumnal morning. Newly completed Ruocco Park hosts joggers, conventioneers, business professionals on an early morning walk, fishermen, and a scattering of homeless who have weathered a rather cool night and now sit in the warmth of mid-morning. I have intended to write about this park for weeks now. Each encounter with it makes me appreciate San Diego as my adopted home. This morning, I am especially enjoying our newly renovated park area in as our fall season brings chilly weather reminiscent of years spent in another region of our nation. Deciding to do a short video blog, I begin to tape a segment. I settle for pictures after about twenty unsuccessful attempts at footage. This particular morning, I begin to wonder,"Is permission or a permit to film needed---even for an Internet blog?" Readership is growing; I have readers on five continents...

                                        Playwright and Director Calvin Manson   Sophocles probably had no clue about the many future playwrights his work would inspire or play formats into which his play Oedipus at Colonus would morph.  The Ira Aldridge Players under the direction of founder Calvin Manson will present a compelling Gospel Music musical version The Gospel at Colonus opening on October Friday 19th  http://www.iarpplayers.org/index.html . Noting the entire trilogy, Joy Vandervort-Cobb of the Charleston City Paper in 2011 reminds readers, "And lest we forget, there is also Sophocles' Oedipus at Colonus , the last of Sophocles' three Theban plays ( Oedipus the King , Antigone )."1. I have had the pleasure of working with Calvin Manson on a couple of occasio...

Book Review Music in North America and the West Indies from the Discovery to 1850: A Historical Survey. Maryland: Scarecrow Press Inc. 2006 (by Daniel Mendoza de Arce) . If you are searching for a fairly comprehensive North America Music History book that starts from the early 1600s, I highly recommend this text. I use the qualifying words "fairly comprehensive" to acknowledge that contrary to tacit invisibilization of our sacred and secular American music traditions in most music history textbooks, Daniel Mendoza de Arce makes a strong argument that we do have traditions resulting from a blend of European, Native American, and African, music aesthetics. It's an enormous chronological and cultural scope to research. To continue the text into the twentieth century, Mendoza de Arce would most likely have to have included Asian influences and contributions to European musical history as well. As it stands, the text is filled with a cornucopia of well-researc...

Reg E. Gaines and Delores Fisher San Diego Public Library Constitution Reading The American Constitution was officially ratified two hundred and twenty five years ago on September 17, 1787 with thirty nine delegates in attendance.1 This week on September 17th the San Diego Central Library had a performance reading of the Constitution in the Waggenheim Room featuring Reg E. Gaines and myself as readers with Dr. Pat Washington (UCSD) and Dr. Isidro Ortiz (SDSU)providing scholarly commentary and insights. A small audience, engaged and informed, attended. Some read along with texts provided by the library. Reg E. Gaines, spoken word artist,recording artist, and director--well known for his groundbreaking Tony nomination work in "Bring in da Noise, Bring in da Funk" on Broadway in the 90s--was an inspiration to read with http://broadwayworld.com/people/headshot/Reg-E.-Gaines/#sthash.oj6fdl4F.dpbs   A supporter of literacy, he  took time out of his busy schedule to particip...

Delores Fisher remembering:a gathering of poets at Claire de Lune Coffee Shop That fateful September 11, 2001,  world viewers watched their televisions,  numbed by disbelief. Others listened to radio broadcasts in anguish, or frantically logged onto nascent social media sites that now supply us with almost instantaneous information as long as the signal holds. It happened on American soil and claimed the lives of people from all over the globe. At the time, in 2001,  I was a more active member of the San Diego poetry community-- teaching less, performing and writing more. Poetry was happening nationally. Performance poetry was "sic." Slamming was off the hook. With the rise in word-craft, serious voices started to emerge. It was what one said, not how one said it that began to capture our attention. Many of us were becoming conscious , reading previous generations' socially engaged poetry, dialoging in community as opposed to competition, reflecting on our impact as ...