One of my early morning stops is Bronzeville, where I pick up three Leo students Johnny, Joe and Daylon. Daylon is a 6'4" freshman who has slimmed down from his doughy 340 lbs. football heft to a trim and fit 315. Daylon lives on 35th Street in an apartment complex conveniently located across the street from a Dunkin Donuts. I meet Daylon there at 6:30 AM. As I tend to early for any and every occasion I enjoy some quality Me Time with the working folks,cops, trades folks, EMTs and two high school students from the Chicago High School of Arts.
Festooned in my Leo habiilments, people easily fall into the trap of making eye-contact and conversation with this most garrulous of gents. One of my salon now is young master Isaiah Collier who asked me if I knew his cousin who attends Leo. This was before Christmas. We are now daily communicants of Dunkin Donuts products and conversant on matters Leo/local/and lyrical. Isaiah is a gifted, but more importantly hard-working musician. He is a jazz student and saxophonist of great gifts.
This past weekend, Isaiah played in a jam session at the Fine Arts Building on Michigan Ave. and last week at live performance at the school. The Chicago High School for the Arts is a credit to public schools.
Here is a fine young man perfoming with a quintet of like-souled young gents performing Wood and Mellin's My One and Only Love ala Coltrane.. Isaiah Collier is a credit to his craft. Coltrane has son and his name if Isaiah
Every day on this earth is a blast! How one could whine, " I'm bored........." remains beyond me. I remember one of my teaching mentors, American philosopher restrauteur, chick magnet and jazz scholar, Nick Novich's reply to whining high school kid beefing about how boring her life in Kankakee happened to be, Nick pulled himself to his fullest height and asked, " And what, exactly, are you doing about that Miss Mope?" Indeed.
Every morning, Isaiah is pouring over his notes, his charts, or reading thick novels. He could never be bored.
I am never bored, but I am huge sap. Here is voice of America singing this beautiful song.
