Sunset drumming

Last night I road my bike across town to the World's Fair Pavilion in Forest Park in St. Louis to take some photos. I didn't know what I'd find--I assumed I'd be shooting a sunset. It's a spectacular overlook at one of the many edges of one of the largest city parks in the U.S. I did find a compelling sunset, but what was equally compelling was a group of first rate drummers that go by the name of "Soularo," including Nafi Rafat and Marcus Jones. They gave me permission to photograph part of their session. IMG_4237 drummers Soularo-3 IMG_4202 drummers Soularo IMG_4185 drummers Soularo As Jones noted hours later, drumming is like heartbeat. That is true, and it is also a powerful elixir, capable of erasing one's woes and filling one with thirst for good-hearted life. That's what seemed clear from watching the dozens of people who were drawn to this spontaneous gathering. IMG_4225 drummers Soularo IMG_4191 drummers Soularo Only a few weeks ago, I spent time at this same location honoring the life of Sonny Glassberg, who recently passed away (she was the mother of a friend of mine). She gave substantial financial support to allow the renovation of this extraordinary venue.

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Delightful unplayable music

Those of you who read music might enjoy John Stump's score titled "Faerie's Aire and Death Waltz (from "A tribute to Zdenko G. Fibich"). I ran across this and enjoyed its repeated moments of musical absurdity. Faerie aire I searched for some background for the piece and found this:

The composition Faerie's Aire and Death Waltz (from "A Tribute to Zdenko G. Fibich") by John Stump is an unpublished satirical work written and copyrighted in 1980 that is best known for, simultaneously, its humor and unplayability. The piece is most often seen hanging on the walls in music rooms and orchestral settings for the musicians' amusement, due to musical directions such as "Rigatoni", "light explosives now... and... now", "insert peanuts", "Moon-walk", "release the penguins", and "Like a Dirigible".

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The lowest note ever played

It is "played" by the Perseus Cluster, and it is a Bb 57 octaves below middle c.

In 2003, astronomers detected the deepest note ever detected by mankind in the cosmos, a B♭, after 53 hours of Chandra observations.[6] No human will actually hear the note, because its time period between oscillations is 9.6 million years, which is 57 octaves below the keys in the middle of a piano.[6] The radio waves appear to be generated by the inflation of bubbles of relativistic plasma by the central active galactic nucleus in NGC 1275.

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