Thoughts and Non Thoughts

Eden Atwood is one of the best kept secrets of jazz. Playing this album (180 g 45 rpm vinyl) brings an hour filled with musical enjoyment. The recording quality is superb, it brings you into the session. Eden sings with a lot of soul, her style borders on the raw rather than the over polished, which makes the songs come alive with emotion. Superb set of musicians. Tom Harrell brings in a spontaneity rare in recordings these days, as in the first cut (Without a Song) where his flugelhorn weaves around the vocals of Atwood, as if coaxing her next sigh. The sparse arrangement of "Blame It on My Youth" brings home the point of the song, and bares its heartache. Overall a nice selection of ballads that Atwood makes her own. This album and this artist deserve a wider audience.

Reviews to follow...

Used the Jim Furyk grip, the double overlap, during yesterday's round. This really helped me swing with my left arm and hold back the right arm and hand. Scored 41 on the back nine.

Could this be the dream of Fernando Amorsolo, what he saw in his sleep? Or could this be his worst nightmare? If not, then maybe Van Gogh's then.

A harvest scene in Batangas, coming from Laiya going back to Manila. What attracted me was the unique architecture of the building in the middle of the field. It doesn't look like someone lives there, more like a storage of tools. Yet it has a veranda wrapped around the second floor. Perhaps a rest house? Or a watchtower?

After reaching the top on plane, how to make the downswing on plane? Here's the tricky part, because the feeling of an on-swing plane comes from the rotation of the shoulder. But the downswing is not initiated by the shoulder. The shoulder rotation is just an effect. Initiating the downswing with the shoulder will tend to result in an over the top (outside-in) move. What seems to work is to initiate the downswing by tucking the right elbow into the right side and then quickly turning the right hip toward the target. Tuck then hip turn. The club will pass close to the right side and after a crisp impact the club is released on the follow through and the shoulder rotates on plane. Sounds complicated but tuck then hip turn simplifies it. Tuck then hip turn.