Good riddance 2020!

It seemed to be getting worse and worse. In the last few days of the year, brilliant improvising bassist and impresario Lelio Giannetto succumbed to COVID in Palermo, my boyfriend K left me, and Ugi the sad cat spent the last days of 2020 soaking up Reiki in my lap before we euthanized him yesterday.

The Coastal Salish say that every day is your birthday. I decided that every day must be the New Year as well. My mood started lifting.

This year I’ve discovered that ping pong and music are excellent remedies for soul-ache heartbreak and Quarantin-itis in general.

PING PONG. Portable ping pong sets are inexpensive and available online, and the nets fit on almost any flat surface, so you can play inside or out. My musical pal Annie O’Neill and I have been developing our all-weather nocturnal ping pong skills this year. The balls take on their own personalities with the changing weather. 35 degrees with black ice on the table? Strong gusts of wind? Extra sequoia needles on the table? That adds fun to the game! On New Year’s Eve, we played ping pong under the sequoia with a nice blazing fire.

MUSIC. Even if you don’t normally play, try making some noise ~ unload the dishwasher, listen to the sound of the soles of your shoes on various surfaces (and try skipping or galloping! super fun). Make sounds and explore your voice. Yawn!

Recent Shenanigans

Annie O’Neill and I played an actual concert in December in the beautiful StudiO space on Vashon Island for the Vashon Live channel!

Patrick Grant’s new conceptual piece ‘Points of Seeing‘ features 20 collaborators! There are mostly guitarists, so I created a bunch of clarinet tracks according to his specs. Patrick’s been creating new mixes daily from the plethora of material. My favorite mix is called Any Given Moment.

Listen below to an excerpt of my new piece with Roberto Fega, with words from Noel Franklin’s poem Diagnosis. I came up with it a few days after K called it quits on our anniversary, and instantly felt better!

Have you seen the heart / Have you been to the heart / The heart is a fighter, not a lover / brutal as a battle front / it beats our blood

Robert and I call this track CUORE.

Love to all creatures great and small ~ and enjoy this next spin around the sun!