Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Davu Seru — Just That Moment

Davu Seru, Nelson Devereaux, Devon Gray Davu Seru, Nelson Devereaux & Devon Gray

I've been working on this quite a while now and I'm still not sure if I've got it right: "improvisation being the sincerest form of expression." Hmm ... got a nice beat, easy to dance to. I really don't know squat about jazz. Oh, sure, I've gotten the cursory introduction to Miles, Monk, even Klemmer, Walcott, Corea and Jarrett; but never live improvised jazz. Jazz improvisation has always been a reservation for me, an enigma that was far more than I wanted to think about.

Davu Seru, Nelson Devereaux, Devon Gray

Back when I'd geek out about the Guthrie and doing theatuhhh, I once read an interesting observation from Garland Wright which might be appropriate. Essentially, Garland was pointing out that going to the theater was a conscious decision made by audience and actors to engage in the event. An event that is precious and will never happen again. He meant that the people, once in that place, for that happening, in that moment can never be truly replicated. This is what made a night with Davu Seru, Nelson Devereaux, and Devon Gray an exception.

Davu Seru Davu Seru

Nelson Devereaux Nelson Devereaux

Devon Gray Devon Gray

I confronted the band after their set and asked, "is that repeatable?" in my most admittedly novice manner. All three welcomed my question and were very accommodating; appreciative that I asked and willing to assure me that at least the form was repeatable. All three instructed me they had just gotten together for the evening ... they knew each other. I'm not even sure they had actually played together before. It didn't matter. I was there at that moment.

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