Walk on By

Dijon, Wayne Shorter, Alice Coltrane, John Cage, Paul Robeson, and much more.

Good evening and welcome back to Vinson Cunningham’s Quiet Storm.

After a week away upstate, having gone again to visit one of my favorite museums, Dia: Beacon (Heizer’s great big holes; Serra’s steel mazes like rock formations and—suddenly—clearings in a dark wood; a white igloo-pile by Kishio Suga; Meg Webster’s impressive wall of wax), I am in a minimalist mood. Except to say, like lots of others: what about that damn Dijon! His album Baby is a Rauschenbergian exploration of space and shape, angle and form, phrase and noise in R&B. It’s too good to play cool about.

Continuing our weeks-ago conversation about Milton Nascimento and Clube da Esquina, listener Jack Denton writes in about a topic I like—comparing versions of a favorite song:

Clube Da Esquina is eternal. Check out the version of “Cravo E Canela” from the album Milton to compare to the one on Clube. Also, speaking of Milton alt takes, it’s fun to compare his slowed down, children’s choir-backed version of “Ponta de Areia” on Minas with the Wayne Shorter collab version on Native Dancer.

Yes, always fun to compare, especially when one version is as watery and fine as the Shorter version of “Ponta de Areia.” Shout out to you, Jack, and thanks for the tip.

Here’s hoping you all find some music but also some silence this week. Until next time—Storm On:

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The botanical garden is just as I remember,
although it is certain that everything
has changed since my last visit.

How many hilarious questions these fuzzy
fiddleheads are inquiring of spring
will be answered as green ferns unfurl?

—Harryette Mullen, from Tanka Diary