Volu 7 / Chapter 224
TL: LightNovelCafe
Editor: adkji
John Steinbeck, famous for ‘The Grapes of Wrath,’ was from Monterey peninsula, the oldest city in California. It has cliffs and sand dunes ford through waves and winds and a coast covered in rocks.
Monterey once flourished but traces of it can only be found in museums. Now, it is only a symbol of John Steinbeck and the 3 day 2 night jazz festival.
The jazz festival opens at Monterey Fairgrounds on a total of 8 stages with more than 500 famous jazz artists participating from Friday night at 6 to midnight and over the weekend from 11 in the morning to midnight. They offer soul-stealing lodies for almost 12 hours.
2 jazz greats were having a glass of wine early in the morning in a studio in LA, in order to participate in the festival.
“Trust . You can just leave it to where Jun’s piano leads. Then, I’m telling you that ti passes really quickly.”
“It’s to that point? Listening to the album, it felt like it was your bass that was leading the music.”
“That’s the really fascinating thing about it. When you play with Jun, you lose a sense of who is leading whom. And when you look at him, you can tell that he’s forgetting where he is and is just lost in the music.”
Stanley Clarke recalled the day that he spent a great ti lost in jazz with Jun Hyuk.
“But, look at the result. I was the only one running with it and Jun’s piano matched the balance perfectly.”
“Isn’t he the type to calculate everything when he performs? Like ?”
Lee Carlton is a fusion jazz musician who mixes rock into his music, rather than playing traditional free jazz. His style was to add a little improv into completed music rather than performing in improv. So, he plays music that is easy for anyone to fall for, even those who are not jazz fanatics.
“No. Jun told after we played that he tasted the first peak monts.”
“Then, does that an his ears are just open? Regardless of his will?”
“He isn’t called a genius for nothing. Honestly, no matter how others call us genius musicians, we know. We laid our abilities as a base and got here through effort. But that’s not
the case for Jun. Every single cell in his body is made with talent.” Stanley Clarke kept praising Jun Hyuk.
“Anyway, do as I say. Jun will bring out the potential in you that you didn’t even know about.”
As the two n slowly got drunk, Jun Hyuk opened the studio door and stuck his head
in.”
“Oh my God! Jun!”
“Stanley!”
Stanley Clarke put his wine glass down and hugged Jun Hyuk.
“It’s been a really long ti, hasn’t it? Every ti I perford in New York, you were abroad.”
“Is that so? Are you sure you didn’t co when I wasn’t there on purpose? Ha ha.”
They have only t once but shared a precious experience that left them as though they are friends forever, so there are no walls of skin color, age, knowledge, or etings between the two of them.
“When did you get here? You should have called in advance.”
“I just got here. I’m coming here directly from the airport.”
Stanley Clarke was so glad to see Jun Hyuk again that he forgot Lee Carlton was next to him. When he saw Jun Hyuk smile as he saw Lee Carlton approaching them, he snapped his finger as he spoke,
“Oh right. Look at . It’s the first ti you two are eting, right?”
“Mr. Carlton, it’s an honor.”
Lee Carlton took the hand that Jun Hyuk held out to him and shook it.
“Leave the Mr. out. You can just call Lee. Is it okay if I just call you Jun? Or do I have to say Maestro Jun? Ha ha.”
Jun Hyuk rembered the picture on the album cover he released 25 years ago. A gentle, manly, and handso young man has beco a middle aged man with thinned out blonde hair.
Stanley Clarke handed Jun Hyuk a glass of wine as well, and complinted him on all of his accomplishnts since the last ti they saw each other.
“I felt like a fool because I had been so happy thinking that the next jazz god had appeared. I almost pushed Beethoven to go on the path of jazz. It’s a good thing we haven’t t since that day.”
“The most thrill I felt while in the U.S. was when I was performing with you. I didn’t even get that feeling when I was conducting the New York Philharmonic.”
“Really? Then, let’s forget all of this about being a maestro and go on a playing tour with . What do you think?”
“Well... You don’t know yet. Both are possible. He he.”
“What? You lost all of your modesty ever since you picked up a baton? Ha ha.”
The 3 of them joked around and kept drinking wine. When the new bottle of wine was about to be empty, they started discussing the performance approaching them.
“You know the performance schedule?”
“Yes. From Saturday at 5 in the afternoon. I heard that it’s an hour and a half. Did you decide on a repertoire?”
“No, not yet. We waited to pick with you.”
Lee Carlton looked at Jun Hyuk, who was a little flushed because of the alcohol.
“Is there sothing you like about my music?”
“I didn’t hear everything to the live performances, but I know everything that was released in an album. I did watch the live performances that weren’t included on albums through
YouTube, but not all of them. Anyway, I don’t know if I can ask this, but I would like to perform
Early A.M. Attitude and Room with you.”
Jun Hyuk said the 2 songs he likes most out of Lee Carlton’s.
“Of course, it’s okay. Those 2 songs can be played on the piano too. Your piano will make them shine.”
“Oh right. I should have told you in advance, but I wanted to play the guitar this ti instead of the piano. What do you think?”
“The guitar?”
“Right. I was forgetting that Jun’s great at the guitar too. Ha ha.”
Lee Carlton was surprised by ntion of Jun Hyuk’s guitar, but Stanley Clarke cut in.
After making the decision to play the guitar, Jun Hyuk also worked with the n to select their repertoire. Stanley Clarke and Lee Carlton wanted to arrange the songs on Jun Hyuk’s rock tribute album, but Jun Hyuk shook his head.
“I decided to participate in this festival because I wanted to perform your songs. I don’t want to arrange my songs and perform them.”
They chose 8 of the two greats’ songs and then decided on the order. And they also planned to play more than 6 songs at the least even if the improv performance got too long.
“Then, shall we do 2 songs lightly? It’ll give us a chance to listen to your guitar. That’s okay, right?”
Lee Carlton felt rushed because he wanted to hurry up and hear this young genius’ music.
“I’m always up for it.”
“Let’s go really lightly. It’s hard to even hold up my guitar because I feel drunk.”
Stanley Clarke made a fuss as he put the heavy bass on his shoulder. Jun Hyuk picked the Gibson of the guitars laying around the studio, and started tuning it.
Stanley Clarke’s bass guitar started dinging and a light guitar riff ca from Lee Carlton’s guitar for the first song, Room 335.
***
When they were done playing Room 335, the alcohol almost completely wore off from Lee Carlton, Stanley Clarke, and the drumr was hiding the sweat on his forehead.
Even though the drumr who will be performing with them is a skilled drumr who has a great sense of rhythm and a sturdy foundation, he felt like they had played for over an hour when they had just played one song.
The drumr looked down at his watch and understood why he felt like that. 25 minutes had flashed before their eyes.
Stanley Clarke shook his head and laughed, but Lee Carlton looked blank like the drumr.
Jun Hyuk alone looked refreshed as he drank water.
“Lee. You know what I ant before? Whew.....”
Lee Carlton did not hear Stanley Clarke’s words. He had only one thought since they finished playing.
The First!
The title of the album that Stanley Clarke recorded with Jun Hyuk.
The First did not indicate the first ti they t, or their anticipation for the next eting.
Pleasure regarding music that they experienced for the first ti. That is what the title is showing.
He has never played like this before. Pleasure of jazz? Spontaneity of improvisation? Unity of a perfect ensemble? He has seen this before. He would not be considered a jazz great or legend if he had not had such experiences.
But the pleasure he just experienced while playing with Jun Hyuk is a different kind of pleasure.
A feast of endless lodies.
What would this kind of lody be like? Should we try a lody like this? It had felt like soone was whispering things like this into his ear. New phrases, lodies, and fun codes kept buzzing around his head. Lee Carlton only picked at his guitar strings as he thought of it.
When the lody inside his head stopped, 25 minutes had passed.
Stanley Clarke put the bass guitar down, plopped down on the sofa, and lit a cigar.
He took a long pull, let out white smoke, and looked at Lee Carlton standing in front of him.
“What are you doing? You want to do another song? Then, you two do it. I’m so tired I can’t.”
Lee Carlton finally ca to his senses and leaned on the sofa.
“At this rate, we won’t be able to do 3 songs, much less 6.”
“It’s hard during the performance. They could at least appreciate it if it’s an indoor performance. It’s outside though... The audience will be so tired that they fall away first.” The drumr had not said much until now, but spoke up cautiously.
“I don’t think that this kind of performance is fitting for a stage either.”
Jun Hyuk put down his guitar as well, and agreed with the drumr’s opinion.
“Then, let’s try playing together again after adjusting our conditions. We’ll figure out when to cut the 8 songs too.”
Stanley Clarke had just been looking at Lee Carlton, and looked to Jun Hyuk.
“Jun, you must be tired from flying. What do you think about going to your hotel to rest?
Let’s really have a drink after rehearsals tomorrow.”
Stanley Clarke laughed as he winked, and Jun Hyuk nodded.
“Yes. Then I’ll co back at noon tomorrow. You should both get a lot of rest too.”
Lee Carlton could not shake the shock so much that he did not hear Jun Hyuk or realize that he left. Stanley Clarke watched him as he lit a cigarette and handed it over.
He took 2 puffs and let the rest burn before he finally snapped out of his blank state.
“Stanley. Is this the talent that you were talking about? That he can find balance perfectly?”
“No. It wasn’t to this point when we were recording together. He changed a lot in the ti we haven’t seen each other. Ah, is it because of his experience conducting an orchestra?”
“Stanley. I’m not thinking wrong, am I? That kid Jun just dragged us around and made us play, right?”
“Of course. Was there ever a ti it was like this when it was just the two of us playing?
There’s an instantaneous change when Jun joins us. Then it’s because of Jun.”
It is not sothing he wants to believe, but it has already happened and his whole body rembers it. It is not sothing that he can deny.
“How is this possible? Letting the people he is playing with the lody... no, he made us realize it. I can’t believe it.”
Stanley Clarke only smoked the cigar, and did not respond. He wanted to give a refreshing response if he could explain it. But even if he knew what has happened, he does not know how to explain it.
“There’s one thing that’s certain. Jun conducted the 3 of us as though conducting an orchestra. He showed us how to play and how to progress. Jun’s guitar lody was the baton.
We just played the way he told us to.”
“Is that possible? Is it possible for a song that we haven’t practiced before with new lodies and phrases that we don’t know and were just brought out?”
“Why are you asking that? You experienced it for yourself. And... I told you, didn’t I? That he would bring out the potential in you that you didn’t even know about. Of course I didn’t know that we’d be able to prove what I said so soon.”
Stanley Clarke could not hide his dazed expression either. A few years ago, Jun Hyuk was a young pianist with trendous talent. Now, though, he has beco an unimaginable monster.
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