The Fermata Weekly: The Old Man and the Eye
A Fable & Beginning of September Schedule
The Fermata Weekly is the weekly recap & preview of my artistic activity, with special attention given to Notes of Rest, my contemplative-musical retreat, and The JuJu Exchange, my jazz-electronic fusion band.
The Old Man and The Eye (co-written with Orlando Hernández)
A boy wanted to see what his eye looked like, so he took it out. It hurt - a lot - but he was proud to have satisfied his curiosity. “Look, Grandpa!” the boy exclaimed as he stumbled towards his caregiver. The elder, near blind himself, shook his head, took the prize in his hand, and replied: “My son, your eye has gained knowledge, but lost its companion.” When the boy bowed his head in sadness, the grandpa nudged his chin upwards and whispered, “Yet in still, I am with you.”
As school years rev up around the US, I share this fable as a sobering yet reassuring reminder about the price of knowledge. So often, the knowledge we seek can form us to be deeply restless and isolated. In whatever stage of education you find yourself, I pray God helps you find wholeness in communion.
Hi everyone,
I have a lot coming your way this month! Here’s what’s happening in the next week.
Sept 3-4 Notes of Rest Workshops and Concert (Plymouth UCC, Des Moines, IA; Sunday worship and concert are livestreamed)
Sept 7 Notes of Rest Workshop for Philadelphia Public Defenders (virtual)
Sept 8 Playing with Isaiah Collier and The Chosen Few (Hungry Brain in Chicago)
Sept 9 New Music Release from The JuJu Exchange: JazzRx Introduction (all streaming services, pre-save here)
Sept 10 The JuJu Exchange - Hyde Park Jazz Fest Artist Corps (The Garden on Merrill in Chicago)
I hope to see you at any of these offerings, and am really excited to hear your thoughts on the JazzRx project from The JuJu Exchange out next Friday. You can learn more about this sonic medicine project here.
peace,
Julian
A Read
Rest by Alex Soojung-Kim Pang is a fascinating read about the modern US’ love-hate relationship with rest. I’m still working through the book but I’m learning so much about how our modern incapacity to rest is historically conditioned and is not that old a malady. Definitely expect to hear more about this research phase in future Notes of Rest programming!