Notes on the Songs: "Christmas Time Is Here (and Chanukah and the Solstice)"

Notes by Lisa B (Lisa Bernstein) on her new CD “Christmas Time Is Here (and Chanukah and the Solstice)”

1.   The composition “Christmas Time Is Here” evokes nuances of Christmas that aren’t found in any other song – a keen awareness of the holiday’s beauty as well as the unresolved melancholy underneath it. When co-producer Jim Gardiner (whose background includes writing for the Seattle Symphony) told me he wanted to make an orchestral track, I was thrilled, and I was even more thrilled when I heard his mixture of Henry Mancini and Steve Reich, sleighbells and dissonance. With my singing, I aimed to convey the sense of experiencing Christmas privately even amid the surrounding jolliness, and a vivid encounter with “the spirit” at the tune’s end that both redeems and amplifies its haunting atmosphere.

2.   The Hebrew hymn “Hine Ma Tov” continues the orchestral approach. It uses both of the traditional treatments of the song, stately and folk-danceable. Since the song is often heard at Shabbat feasts and sometimes on Chanukah, I couldn’t resist it – especially as it gave me the chance to write a new translation of the lyrics.

3.   “Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow!” is the tune that sparked my desire to do this record – swinging, flirty, continuing the theme of the fire in the fireplace and underlining the passion and connection that the fire signifies. This track introduces the marvelous live trio of Adam Shulman, piano, John Wiitala, bass, and Alan Hall, drums.

4.   “My Favorite Things” has loomed large in my life since I encountered both the John Coltrane and Julie Andrews classic versions at about the same time, and I’ve been singing it for years. The musicality and fervor of the band, including Alan’s hard-driving drumming and Adam’s passionate solo, helped inspire me to innovate some new lyrics after it, which continue the motif of finding and honoring one’s own truth.

5.   “Miracle” is a duet with the sparkling, multi-track guitar work Andre Bush, in my first time working with him, though we’ve known each other for many years. It’s the second Chanukah song on the record (though it’s worth noting that all the tracks on the record except 6 and 7 have at least one Jewish writer). The American Hasidic reggae artist Matisyahu released “Miracle” in December 2010, contributing a much-needed additional Chanukah song to the holiday repertoire. Both lovely and rousing, it speaks in the voice of someone who is overtaken by his/her private spiritual communication with God but still filled with zeal to encourage all who are listening to keep searching, and to believe that “him who searches will find.” With its many references to candles, fire, shining, sunrise, and light, Miracle again reminds us of why we conjure up brightness during the dark time of the year.

6.  “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” brings back the trio, with a gospel-shuffle arrangement by Adam Shulman that adds some downhome joy to the spectrum of celebration on this record.

7.   I’ve always loved Donny Hathaway’s performance of “This Christmas,” which he co-wrote, and it was a perfect fit for the record as a playfully romantic song for the holiday in which happiness extends to family and community too. You may not notice that helping to propel the tune are tasty shifts from 4/4 to 3/4. Background vocalist Anna Lissa Patterson, with Jim Gardiner’s expert mixing, creates a lush bed to play in.

8.   “Holiday in Oakland,” the record’s first original, celebrates the Northern California city – or the Town, as locals call it – where I’ve lived for 20 years. A rap at the center lauds some of the musical greats who originated here. The holiday I keep saying we should take isn’t limited to Christmas! The old-school track by Jim Gardiner calls up Bump City, and the inspired background vocals by Anna Lissa Patterson, an Oakland native, truly represent. This song was made entirely in Oakland.

9.   Also an original, “The Flame” lights the fire again, but reminds us that sequestering ourselves with loved ones during the holiday can’t seal us away from the world’s tumult and destruction. Being aware of others’ suffering – and our own – is painful, but the pain dissipates when we “find the golden flame in ourselves” and take some action to help our communities. Starting out spoken in time to a lush track, the song ends with a cappella singing that returns to the song’s initial reference to a timeless flame that curls in the dark of winter and the Name within it, hidden but bright. And it recasts the hearth as one that we make together, to create peace on earth.

10. I wrote “Winter Solstice” as a poem, as opposed to a rap or a spoken-word piece, and it’s spoken in free verse, out of time. Still, the lovely track adds enormously to its flavor. What you hear is a one-take vocal with musical accompaniment by Jim that emerged rapidly – a testament to the communication finely honed between us over almost two decades of collaboration.

11. We couldn’t resist offering an instrumental version of “Christmas Time Is Here” to close the record. Allow yourself to come full circle, and amid the orchestra’s strings and brass and timpani to experience your own Christmas – the spirit that is you, and the other spirit that is near.

copyright 2011 Lisa Bernstein

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Purchase songs or CDs -- and please write customer reviews!:

iTunes:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/christmas-time-is-here-chanukah/id477308876?uo=4 or www.itunes.com/lisab

Amazon:
(please buy new; used ones are promos or bootlegs others are reselling) http://www.amazon.com/Christmas-Time-Here-Chanukah-Solstice/dp/B005YFBA28

CDBaby--a great site for indie music:
http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/lisablisabernstein2

Thanks and enjoy!

"Christmas Time Is Here (and Chanukah and the Solstice)" available on Amazon and CDBaby

"Christmas Time Is Here (and Chanukah and the Solstice)" is available on

Amazon: http://amzn.to/uq7RJo ,

CDBaby: http://bit.ly/vwqGFB, and

itunes: http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/christmas-time-is-here-chanukah/id477308876?uo=4 or
www.itunes.com/lisab


Please enjoy, and support independent music on the holiday!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Singer's Life: Where to Start (And How to Keep Going)?

Are you a singer? Do you want to become one?
Check out the workshop I'm giving at the Jazzschool in Berkeley, Calif.!

Sunday, October 30, 2011, Noon - 3:00 p.m.
www.jazzschool.com2087 Addison St., Berkeley CA 94704 (510) 845-5373 $50 advance, $65 at the door

The Singer's Life: Where Do You Start (And How Do You Keep Going)?
A workshop for singers who want to get started with manifesting their dreams — and keep manifesting them. This is not a performance class, but a class that will help you perform more regularly, by first identifying your goals and then putting together a plan to achieve them. Students have the opportunity to tell the story of where they are as singers and where they'd like to be, using writing exercises to help define personal goals. Instructor Lisa B outlines the various aspects of a singer's life, from education to songwriting to performance and promotion. She then brainstorms with each student and provides advice about specific steps on the path — for the next year and beyond.

We'll be working (and playing) within three main areas:
I. Your initial dream of being a singer, your purposes as a singer now, and aligning your singer activities so you feel your own power and well-being.
II. The various pieces of a singer's life.
III. Setting and accomplishing short- and long-term goals.

I can't wait! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lisa B on:
itunes: www.itunes.com/lisab
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Lisa-B/e/B000APFBT0/ref=ac_dpt_sa_link/189-6228384-6601816
cdbaby: www.cdbaby.com/Artist/LisaBLisaBernstein
website: www.lisabmusic.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Holiday in Oakland": The New Single!

The first single from my winter holiday CD just went up on CDBaby at http://cdbaby.com/cd/lisablisabernstein and www.itunes.com/lisab. "Holiday in Oakland"! A positive tune about my Town for any holiday, especially celebrating the music originating here.

The old-school-with-a-new-twist track is by Jim (James) Gardiner (composer, educator, producer, engineer, and friend), who runs Gardiner Music Mentoring and Pajama Recording Studios near Jack London Square in Oakland.

Oakland native Anna Lissa Patterson sang the background vocals, creating both downhome excitement and a luscious ambience (her contribution also put the sheen on "This Christmas," on the CD).

Go download it! Click on the links below to go to CDBaby or go to iTunes, which gives a nice long sample including the rap. (But on my iTunes page are some songs by the UK-based model-actress-singer Lisa B, who isn't me and is a lot more famous.)

Here are the lyrics:

Holiday in Oakland

lyrics © 2011 Lisa Bernstein

music © 2011 Lisa Bernstein and Jim (James) Gardiner

published by Lisa B Swingin’ Music, BMI, and Jawiz Music, ASCAP

Let’s take a holiday in Oakland

Let’s take a walk around the lake

With the lovers and the runners

The kids of every color holding hands

In Oaktown

Let’s take a holiday in Oakland

Let’s take a break and eat some grits and greens

Potstickers and beef chow mein

Crabs we caught today in the bay

In Oaktown

In the winters we don’t freeze

In the summers it’s a breeze

Under redwoods in the park

Soul and salsa after dark

Drive down Christmas Lane

See the galaxies explained

At Chabot, watch the moon turn to gold

Let’s take a holiday in Oakland

Let’s hear the music that we made:

(rap)

Tower of Power, Y&T

Goapele and Michael Franti

Tony Toni, Del the Funky Homo Sapien

Digital Underground in Raider Nation

The Pointer Sisters and Pete Escovedo

Redwood Records, Oaktown Jazz, livin’ their credos

Kitka, Keak da Sneak, En Vogue, and Hammer

The Hawkins Singers and Pharoah Sanders

In the winters we don’t freeze

In the summers it’s a breeze

Under redwoods in the park

Soul and salsa after dark

Drive down Christmas Lane

See the galaxies explained

At Chabot, watch the moon turn to gold

Take a holiday, oh yeah

Throw all your worries away

You can slide under the bay to San Francisco

But you better come on home

Go deep in the east

And just settle in the west

Amble down Grand and strut your best on Broadway

Dip your finger in the water in Jack London Square

Run to the hills and inhale the air

Come to my house and just sway in the hammock with me

I’m in Oaktown

That’s where I’m gonna stay

That’s where I work and it’s where I play

In Oaktown

(Let’s take a holiday in Oakland!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The "Holiday in Oakland" single: 
http://cdbaby.com/cd/lisablisabernstein

itunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/holiday-in-oakland/id472458271?i=472458273&uo=4 
cdbaby: www.cdbaby.com/Artist/LisaBLisaBernstein

www.lisabmusic.com

Gardiner Music Mentoring: A Great Program, Expanding Now

I'm excited to tell you about Gardiner Music Mentoring, a program for youth 14 and up as well as adults. GMM provides one-to-one and small group mentoring and lessons on all aspects of musical development — all within the world-class Pajama Studios near Jack London Square in Oakland.

Know a young person involved in music who would flourish in an alternative learning setting?

Seeking to expand your skills in audio engineering, music composition, or performance?

Gardiner Music Mentoring will tailor a program to meet your starting point, goals, learning style and schedule. You can study:

•  Music composition, theory, and orchestration
•  Recording, mixing, and mastering
•  Instrumental and vocal technique and performance
•  Creating your own CD and producing CDs by other artists
•  The evolving music business and your career planning and launch

Gardiner Music Mentoring features personal instruction from Jim (James) Gardiner as well as an amazing array of mentors who are working musicians. Jim has an unmatched range of skills: composition (he was composer in residence for the Seattle Symphony), audio engineering (Grammy nominations and 42 gold- or platinum-certified records), and producing. His program's mentors include some of the best the Bay Area has to offer, with more being added each month.

Jim has a magic touch with kids, providing a framework of both creativity and discipline, and a special ability to communicate. And he does pretty well with grownups too — as I can attest.

Check out Gardiner Music Mentoring's curriculum, testimonials, and more: http://www.gardinermusicmentoring.com.

Week-long summer camp sessions start in August, and weekly lessons as well as more immersive programs are ongoing.

A great place for you or a young person you know to take the next step in musical development — whether it's learning about recording and mixing with the latest technology, in a real-live studio environment; getting started on your first symphony; or being guided and assisted at every step in creating your next CD.

Feel free to contact me (see my website link below, Contact page) to find out more, or contact Jim at (323) 481-1590.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lisa B on:
itunes: www.itunes.com/lisab
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Lisa-B/e/B000APFBT0/ref=ac_dpt_sa_link/189-6228384-6601816
www.lisabmusic.com
cdbaby: www.cdbaby.com/Artist/LisaBLisaBernstein

Free S.F. Show 8/6/11, Women Rock 5th Anniversary

I'm performing 8/6/11 at 9:40 p.m in San Francisco at a FREE show to celebrate Women Rock's 5th anniversary. See details below on performers, who hail from many genres. Kids' acts start the day. Potluck and grill will be set up. Drinks for sale.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Box Factory, 865 Florida St. at 21st St.

San Francisco, CA

Saturday August 6, 2:00 p.m. - Sunday at 2:00 a.m.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
WomenROCK, a women's music collective, is celebrating five years of vitality with a magical free day of music, dance, visual and performance art. The event will be part of MAPP (Mission Arts & Performance Project). Cosponsored by sfnow.org. Donations can be made to Homobiles, a Safe Queer Car Service open to all (founded by a musician).

Here's the awesome line up for the day (starting with three kid-friendly acts in a row, so bring ...the family!):

2:00-2:20 Revolutionary Girls
This SF tween sensation plays venues like Earth Day and Harmony Festival because there is a message to their music. Listen up!

2:25-2:50 Making Dinner (for kids!)
An all-female San Francisco favorite that has been labeled indie, folk, and pop. Making Dinner takes over the stage the way the smell of cookies baking takes over a kitchen. www.makingdinnertheband.com

2:55-3:20 Essence (for kids!)
In her decade long span as a recording artist, essence has earned a devoted following, sold thousands of CDs, had songs placed prominently in film and television, won international songwriting contests and performed in some the nation's most prestigious venues opening for artists like Tom Petty, Jason Mraz, Shawn Colvin, and Sarah McLachlan. www.essencemusic.com

3:25-3:50 Candace Roberts & The Forever Bridesmaids
In a cotton-candy world of shimmering girl-group harmonies and clever cabaret . our heroine makes her way through a minefield of tubas, handbags and plentiful pork products.
www.candaceroberts.com

3:55-4:15 Aoede
Compelling pop for your heart by a singer-songwriter with an enchantingly quirky soprano voice. Recipient of a "Top Album of the Decade" honor, and "Top Artist of the Year" for 2008, by WomensRadio.com, she is one-in-a-million, but it's not only for the reasons one would expect. www.aoedemuse.com

4:20-4:40 ANANTA
ANANTA rocks her audience with the electric fiddle, cello, beats and hula-hoop in her solo show and her repertoire includes soul, jazz, hip-hop, rock, celtic, middle eastern, indian classical and alternative trance styles. www.reverbnation.com/anant?afiddlehooper

4:45-5:10 Pamela Parker
San Francisco's freshest soul sister, Pamela Parker serves up a blend of juicy, bluesy, soulful, funky music and sets out to deeply touch her audience with songs about life, love, and creating positive changes in the world.
www.pamelaparkermusic.com

5:15-5:40 Vanessa VerLee
For over a decade Vanessa has been a staple singer-songwriter in the San Francisco scene. Her voice stops crowds and her melodies leaves them humming. She'll be joined by her partner in music and life, Jeremy Rourke, a celebrated animator and songwriter himself. www.vanessaverlee.com

5:45-6:05 The Sugar Highs
Playing together for four years now, these two snappily dressed jazz songstresses, Andrea Shippy and Kate Baker, do unique and original tunes as well as classics from the great American songbook. The sound will leave you on a (Sugar) High! www.andreashippy.com

6:05 Introduction of evening emcee, Siobhan "OneMama-ShaBoom" Neilland
Siobhan Neilland, founder of the non-profit OneMama, represents the heart of the OneMama organization. OneMama helps improvised woman have babies safely in rural communities in Africa. Passionate about making a difference in the world, Siobhan created OneMama to show those in need that they are loved and matter in this world. www.OneMama.org

6:10-6:35 The Heated
The moniker of singer/songwriter Cristina Espinosa, The Heated provides endearing lo-fi, yet accomplished, indie folk/Americana. One bar breaks thrown into the center of songs, off-kilter rhythms and unexpected melodies dot the musical landscape. www.theheated.com

6:45-7:10 Bitter Mystics
Smooth and sultry vocals backed by masterful violin and
acoustic guitars energizing original songs spanning genres from bluegrass to folk to pop to swing. www.bittermystics.com

7:15-7:40 Audrey Howard & The Misters
"(These) San Francisco underground scene favorites perform tight-knit rock driven by Audrey's mind-blowing, real-life guitar hero riffage" - Fabulosa Fest // www.audreyhoward.net

7:45-8:10 ZIVA
Born and raised in a small kibbutz in the Jezreel Valley in Israel, ZIVA's music is a blend of rock, pop, jazz and R&B, delivered with powerful expressive vocals, rich harmonies and exotic rhythms. www.zivamusic.com

8:15-8:30 Emily Butterfly
Happily self-employed at Emily Butterfly Productions, she serves as creatress of many genres including: Cartoon Voice Over, Puppet Fabricator, Puppeteer, Illustrator, Story, Song and Script Writer. She performs for children and adults in schools, hospitals, prisons, speakeasies, festivals and clubs and have reached over 50,000 elementary school children in the Bay Area, Ca with a show promoting walking and biking to school.
www.emilybutterfly.com

8:40-9:05 Castles In Spain
Castles in Spain's unique sonic agenda melds tribal rhythms, cinematic and atmospheric vibes and even Middle Eastern and Spanish influences into a sensuously soulful and melodically ethereal style. www.castlesinspain.com

9:10-9:25 Drag w/ Jesse Sangria & Persia

9:30-9:35 Luscious Ladies Burlesque Dance Troupe

9:40-10:05 Lisa B. (Lisa Bernstein)
This singer-poet merges jazz, soul, pop, world, and electronic music with vivid, poetic spoken word. She has released 4 CDs with national radio charting and press, has had two poetry books published, and performed at 80+ venues from the Elbo Room to Stanford University. www.lisabmusic.com.

10:10-10:35 Dana Carmel
Dana's haunting melodies and sometimes unconventional chord progressions have a way of entering your head and staying there for days. She manages to express what you may not find the right words for and in the end you are so happy to sing along to.
www.danacarmel.com

10:40-11:05 Whitney Nichole
Whitney Nichole blends storytelling lyrics and strong melodies for a captivating and compelling soulful indie-pop style. www.whitneynichole.com

11:10-11:30 Maria Konner
Guitarist & keyboardist with the band Sex Industry, Maria will be playing a few acoustic guitar songs. Maria has performed in many spots throughout town either playing with the band, or doing tunes on the piano or guitar. www.sexindustryband.com

11:35-11:45 Rasa Vitalia
Arguably San Francisco's leading highly creative and very unique Dance Artists, Rasa Vitalia performs around the world, celebrating the essence of life with her truly creative dance called "Rasa Dance." Rasa Dance is Global Dance: A unique experience of universal movement through dance & music- The rhythm of life.
/www.RasaVitalia.com

11:50-12:15 bernadette

12:20-12:45 Gabby La La
www.gabbylala.com

12:50-1:15 London Street
www.londonstreetmusic.com

1:20-1:45 Drag with Shaky Gibson, Divinity Fudge & Samatha Klever Samuelroy (and his alterego Samatha Klever) composes his own music, sings, raps and collaborates with such drag queens as Miss Rahni, Kallisto and Lady Bear, along with others.

1:45-2:00 Dance Party


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lisa B on:
itunes: www.itunes.com/lisab
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Lisa-B/e/B000APFBT0/ref=ac_dpt_sa_link/189-6228384-6601816
www.lisabmusic.com
cdbaby: www.cdbaby.com/Artist/LisaBLisaBernstein

Poems in Caliban Online #2

The wonderful poetry magazine Caliban has been resurrected online, and I'm thrilled to have poems from my just-revised manuscript "Post-War Persephone" in its second issue. Check out http://www.calibanonline.com/.

Since I wanted to let folks know of Caliban's foundation, I asked editor Larry Smith to tell me about some previous contributors. He sent me the partial list below, saying, "The original Caliban published from 1986-1996. In many ways, it was a successor to kayak, and many of the regulars from kayak became regulars in Caliban. Raymond Carver was one of our early big promoters. There are many more noteworthy contributors. (We were the first publishers of Sherman Alexie, for example.)" Smith not only was inspired by the pioneering kayak -- he also got a lot of direct help in launching his mag from its publisher, George Hitchcock, who was one of my poetry mentors at UC Santa Cruz.

The new issue is an exciting one, with Rosemarie Waldrop and Colette Inez among others, wonderful visual art, and the unique "Contributors' Advice."

Writers and readers, check it out and send your work. PDFs can be purchased for under a buck. Smith welcomes poetry, fiction, art, and even music and short videos from "those who consider themselves avant-garde or progressive (and even those who don't, but who are serious)."

Here are some of the writers Caliban previously published.

Will Alexander, William Burroughs, Robert Bly, Amiri Baraka, Charles Bernstein, Lisa Bernstein (Lisa B), Mei-mei Berssenbrugge, Raymond Carver, Wanda Coleman, Clark Coolidge, Louise Erdrich, Russell Edson, Forrest Gander, Michael Harper, Jim Harrison, Lyn Hejinian, Colette Inez, Robert Kelly, Maxine Hong Kingston, Yusef Komunyakaa, Philip Levine, Michael McClure, Tom McGrath, W.S. Merwin, Ricardo Pau-Llosa, Antonio Porta, Jerome Rothenberg, Charles Simic, Gary Soto, William Stafford, Louis Simpson, Arthur Sze, Gerald Vizenor, James Tate, Diane Wakoski.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
www.itunes.com/lisab
www.cdbaby.com/Artist/LisaBLisaBernstein
http://www.lisabmusic.com/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tod Dickow's solo on "Center of the Rhyme"

I was really pleased to discover that sax-player Tod Dickow recently put up on his site his beautiful swirling solo from my 2003 tune "Center of the Rhyme." Check it out! http://dickowmusic.com/Music/music.shtml (click on tab 2, Samples from CD Recordings; it's at the top of the list).

~~~~~~~~~

The Doug of Edwards: Standards

Here's the poem I wrote on request and read at the memorial for Doug Edwards at Kimball's Carnival, Oakland, California, November 21, 2010.

The Doug of Edwards: Standards

© 2010 Lisa Bernstein (Lisa B)

He had found a cadence,
a voice to call listeners to the music
and I like others was invited
to step along with him, to enter the tide
of air across the airwaves, the phone line,
the moment of his onstage introduction
and then listen and sing and play
as the music we made floated out
to the world buoyed
by Doug’s support. He was ready to serve
in the army of The Music,
to push off the boat from the shore, sound a 21-gun salute
and then stand there laughing as we sped out.
And he always made the phone call to welcome us home,
to find out more about the trip of the
tones, the jones to scat the next passage, the new poem.

Doug’s was the stubbornness
of a gentleman. He would do you the kindness
of stating when standards were not met, gently if he cared about you,
forcefully if he simply knew you,
but always with courtesy. Standards mattered,
whether expectations for the show, the sound level,
the songbook, the degree of literacy, the way to act.
Doug loved to stress in his introductions whether one was an educator
and he never stopped educating
us – players, listeners, as an elder in a community
that he helped call into being by being here with us.

He died with his usual good timing.
No surgery, no lengthy stay in the hospitals he hated.
In his vet-hospital bed, what he wanted to talk about
was my new job, my parents’ health, and the next gig.
As he’d said two weeks before on the phone,

“I’m just trying to stay relevant.”
In that long telephone catch-up I’d told him about my despair –
what did it all matter
given the state of the music world and what I did?
“If you’re throwing all that around,” he said,
“I’d like to be part of the conversation.” And listed to me passionately
some of what of value I was. I was just one of those
privileged enough to have him defend me
to myself.

Doug hasn’t yet left us all the way. I can feel him watchful, grinning,
shaking his head at the way he would have done this

just a bit differently, but grateful for and graceful with the show.
It’s we the living who suffer
without his real live voice,
not him who chafes now against his ever-darkening sight,
against the difficulty in near-blindness

of getting to the station or the show,
against not having witty company enough hours of the day.
In death now he is not alone,
he sees and walks even with no dog or human arm to link his through,
he has been awarded all the medals of honor,
he has made peace with the wrong-headed and the rude, hearing only
the strong and mournful trumpet, the exactly swinging brush
on the snare, communing with Shirley Horn and Milt Jackson,
and the first blues singers, and still shaking his head
with a proud and easy smile about what we creators do,
just right enough to keep the human project going.

How often do you know that someone gets you?
Doug’s comprehension of my art was like walking into

an airy lavender building
full of gardenias, where the walls would give
space to work, where the floors became a stage for his audience.
How often does someone know where your art fits into history?
He laughed when I complained of not getting the attention

of this or that singer or songwriter.

“How can you even compare yourself?” he laughed,

his warm voice like velvet scattered with the scratch of emeralds.
“You’re in a whole different category.”
It took being that himself to know.

Doug, it’s me who is bereft beyond consoling now.
I wish I could still walk with you
into the control room and read a PSA for you,
hand you a bio downloaded in 14-point bold,
hear you announce Ear Thyme, Jazz Passages, BAJABA,
the Audible Art Gallery, And that’s the way it jolly well goes,
and the latest plans for an award from the Order of the Flask,
amble into Anna’s or Yoshi’s or the billiards place

where Kimball’s used to be for a taste of cognac and fish & chips,
hear your rare, wistful need and relief

when you told a story about Cindy your partner,
dish the latest about Dee-Dee or Dianne, laugh
at the latest foolishness, shake our heads –
and forgive it, setting the world right
with the articulation of standards.
And then get up and walk again, deliberately,
with you The Doug of Edwards, holding your warm, your cool,
your kind, your certain hand.

If you were here now, I know just what you’d say.
“Let’s not talk about me,” you’d say. “Tell me about you.”

##


~~~~~~~~~~~~~
www.itunes.com/lisab
www.cdbaby.com/Artist/LisaBLisaBernstein
http://www.lisabmusic.com/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Fellow Women Rock Member in 12/1 Show to Benefit Blue Bear Music: The Independent, San Francisco

Blue Bear School of Music in San Francisco is where I got my start as a singer and songwriter years ago, so I'm delighted to help promote a show this Wednesday benefiting the school and co-organized by, and featuring, my fellow Women Rock (http://womenrocksf.wordpress.com/mission) member Bernadette.

The BISS Silver Holiday Ball
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
The Independent
628 Divisadero Street
San Francisco, CA 94117
415.771.1422 :: theindependentsf.com

The New Up, bernadette, Crackerjack Highway,
M80 Mailbox (featuring members of ALO and Tea Leaf Green)
Jack Frost (Antarctica/Blackcrack NYC) spins b/t sets

A portion of proceeds benefit Blue Bear School of Music
Doors: 7:30pm / Show: 8pm . Ages: 21+
Tickets: $12 adv/$14 door
Advance tickets available on: theindependentsf.com
Buy tickets with no service fees at The Independent Box Office and at the front desk of Blue Bear School of Music (Fort Mason Center - Building D, San Francisco).

Blue Bear School of Music is San Francisco's leading destination for aspiring musicians of all ages
and all skill levels who want to enjoy learning and playing rock, blues, jazz, folk, or pop. A nonprofit organization founded in San Francisco in 1971, Blue Bear is a place where learning and playing popular music is fun and affordable, where people come together who love music, and where each student's unique talents and goals are recognized and supported. Blue Bear's mission is to provide superior quality and affordable popular music education to aspiring musicians of all ages and skill levels within a supportive and encouraging community. For more info, please visit bluebearmusic.org.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
www.itunes.com/lisab
www.cdbaby.com/Artist/LisaBLisaBernstein
www.lisabmusic.com