V is Voila! ~ the a to z of one word messages

Word by Wayne Stratz
background by Margaret Almon

This was originally commissioned to celebrate a house.  But considering this is our 26th anniversary of our first kiss (celebrated under the full moon of April!), all I can say is

Voila!

Moon Jazz VII

and so my tribute to the night with the moon ends with an Art Tatum trio...

The Moon Is Low ...



Oh, You Crazy Moon ...





and it all ends with a simple Moon Song ...





Moon Inspiration
Moon Jazz 1
Moon Jazz 2
Moon Jazz 3
Moon Jazz 4
Moon Jazz 5
Moon Jazz 6

Moon Jazz II

Continuing on from this point

4... East of The Sun and West Of The Moon : Kenny Barron and Stan Getz

Exactly where I was standing.




5... Billie Holiday sings If The Moon Turns Green, my iPod had a wonderful version by Norma Winstone.





6... How about some big band... Count Basie does Moonlight Becomes You. My version goes back to a day when Milt Jackson played with Basie's Band



Moon Inspiration
Moon Jazz 1
Moon Jazz 3
Moon Jazz 4
Moon Jazz 5
Moon Jazz 6
Moon Jazz 7

Jazz on Tuesdays... following the Moon

Last night I blogged about what happened when my spiritual director directed me to a lunar happening. Well, what does one do after experiencing nature so fully. Well you listen to jazz of course and maybe drink a Belgium ale while your at it.

So I pulled out my iPod and searched "moon" and made a new set list that contained 49 songs covering over 30 tunes.

The retreat was centered around, Sophia, or Wisdom. It was a return to the director who had introduced me to Sophia soon after I started this blog. One thing I had carried with me from that time was that Sophia is given 21 attributes in The Book of Wisdom and I read somewhere that 21 was especially Holy as it emerged from three times seven. So in honor of Wisdom, the Moon, Jazz, and the number 21, I will post three moon jazz tunes for seven straight days. Here we go with the three that popped up the most on my iPod...









Moon Inspiration
Moon Jazz 2
Moon Jazz 3
Moon Jazz 4
Moon Jazz 5
Moon Jazz 6
Moon Jazz 7

Science Mondays--- directed to watch the moon

The other day I was directed to the moon rise. Something about Mars and the moon was happening. I was at the place to witness it--- on a hill top in semi-rural PA with a big sky containing no clouds above me. I left my room just after the sun had dipped below the horizon. And gradually day turned into night.

I tried to remember the last time I had been a witness to the transition. Birds turned into bats. Insects grew quiet while a new bunch came out to play. The big dipper stood huge above the retreat center. But no moon.

A flash of orange caught my eye behind some trees and soon I was standing next to another person who had been directed to watch the moon. And yes the moon put on a show, but the Mars thing was happening in the opposite direction. And though I remember being amazed at how bright Venus was in the midst on the setting sun, I knew not to look for the Mars-Spica-Venus show that I just read about at Sky and Telescope. I would say I did catch Jupiter because he was by the moon.

But we were watching a moon that was molten orange. By the time it had cleared the trees, it was that lovely creamy orange I had seen before. The photo above was taken by a Flickr friend of mine back in June. Have you seen a blazing orange moon?

Now I am thinking I want to assign my students to watch the day turn into night, but doubt if many live outside of urban settings. But I am thinking all the same and hope that one way they will witness it happening. and I am being grateful for what particles in our atmosphere (why it is orange?) can do to make for encore to a long quiet evening watching things unfold.


Moon Jazz 1
Moon Jazz 2
Moon Jazz 3
Moon Jazz 4
Moon Jazz 5
Moon Jazz 6
Moon Jazz 7