All posts filed under: Writing

April Showers of Poetry and Prose

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Do I have regrets? Yes, I do. I do. I regret every lost opportunity to look towards you and to smile, (instead of looking down at my feet, or at your feet, how lame!) I should have gazed more deeply into your eyes. I should have tried to say what I feel but without words, with a glance; words were not needed. (Are they needed now?) Oh yes, I regret that I was shy. I regret thinking that you could read my mind, thinking that you understood that I could not bear to look at you. It was pure fear you would see how much you meant to me. (You mean so very much to me.) Do I have regrets? I used to say, “No.” but I realize now, that’s not true, I regret every lost opportunity with you. –Laurie Early, 2018 [Regrets] He says: “the sun doesn’t know anything, it’s just a stupid star.” I die a little inside. No poetry remains in his heart. He doesn’t realize all those “stupid stars” know everything! …

Roman Moments (I Never Knew)

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I am back in New York now after a particularly poignant Barry Harris Jazz Workshop in Rome. It was really special being there with so many people that love jazz, that love Barry, and maybe even love me a little too. At one point I was overcome with emotion as I looked around the room and realized I knew almost everyone by name and that some of the dearest people to me were there. People I truly love and cannot imagine living without. At a casual “picnic” dinner a couple of days later I mentioned this epiphany to Barry and I thanked him for bringing so much joy and love into my life. After we finished eating he asked us to sing and I did an a capella rendition of one of Lester Young’s solos on “I Never Knew” – not as fast as Lester blows it out, but fast enough (I include my lyrics below). I had joked with Barry earlier in the week that Lester was my new boyfriend as I had spent …

Easy Does It

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“Blue skies, smiling at me, nothing but blue skies do I see”….for a while that song meant everything hopeful. I had a glimmer of a wonderful future that seemed to be possible. For a short time I began to believe that life could really bring exciting, joyful experiences my way. I was really happy, until I was hit with some difficult life upheavals and it took me a long time to get my balance back. I allowed external situations to influence my feelings, my reactions. Now I have learned that responding often means just allowing, just observing and not turning everything into a stress, not feeling that I have to fix or control what is going on around me. As I learn to ride the waves of life more languidly, I find that I am happier. I see those Blue Skies again! In the Spring of 2015 I was in Basel, Switzerland, for a week and while I was there, surrounded by fresh air–redolent with roses and flowering trees–I turned some of the images of …

Poems for Billy Strayhorn (IV)

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The technical side of this piece began when I read a songwriting book that suggested opening a set of lyrics with the word “And” (which, as we were all taught in elementary school, is NOT an acceptable way to begin a sentence.) So, just starting my poem with this word was a purposeful act of defiance in a grammatical sense, not even taking into consideration the subject of the piece which evolved into its own defiant statement. I have witnessed this violent story in many forms over my lifetime. It is never the same, yet it is always the same. These words were inspired by the melody and they flowed out of my pen and onto the page in a stream-of-consciousness way. They surprised me. Listen to Lament for an Orchid by Billy Strayhorn  – The Dutch Jazz Orchestra This song is also known as Absinthe – click this link to hear Duke Ellington And Again ©2009 Laurie Early And again, he apologizes, as he begs her, please, to give him one more chance. So, she bends, and …

A Burgundy Twilight

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I feel a major shift in my life, starting today, October 1, 2017. Without going into details, a nine-year cycle ended yesterday for me. Yes, yesterday I learned many things: revelations about people I know, observations about how love is expressed (or denied), thoughts about how I am (or am not) respected, and a new confidence about my ability to keep going through extreme periods of grief, stress, and rejection. I sometimes see flashes of my future, I know certain things are coming, and I try not to judge them as good or bad. This ability is sometimes very reassuring as it gives me hope. But, there are times I am frustrated when I know something unpleasant is heading towards me and there is nothing I can do about it. And, sometimes, I am just plain WRONG and my “prediction” turns out to be just a negative fantasy. A small case in point, my lyrics for Barry Harris’ fantastic tune “Burgundy”. I wrote them the week following a class where we scatted syllables along with …

Ornithology

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September–still warm from the end of summer, yet moving towards the frost. I am thinking of all the wonderful music that is my soundtrack now and I would like to share my lyrics for Charlie Parker’s “Ornithology”. YouTube link to sing along Ornithology music ©1946 Charlie Parker lyrics ©2012 Laurie Early I bet you thought you’d never see me cryin’ you prob’ly thought my heart was just like a stone I tell ‘ya, now that’s no lie but you turned it into sand with your goodbye yes, when you said “we’re through” I started to cry the tears flowed down–now you know why When I THINK of you baby I always cry, must be that sand in my eye (I) tried hard to build a wall around me but when we kissed it crumbled down to the ground You held me, and it fell Baby, you know you had me under  your spell I gave my heart to you, couldn’t you tell? I didn’t want to hear “farewell” Tag: ====== Listen, baby, on my word, …

Childhood, Mindfulness, & Avocados

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You might think my title for this month’s post is a strange trio of words, and I agree, but there are threads to tie them together–observation, reflection, and trees. For childhood is where I learned many ways to express my creative soul, when I first learned to explore the idea of mindfulness by observing a single tree. As an adult, I spent a few hours in a large grove of trees, observing the heavy dark green avocados swaying in a light breeze over my head. They were beautiful ornaments hanging under a shady canopy of leaves, fully protected from the desert sun above (that eventually burned my cheeks a bright red.) Years later when I heard a song that had the words “avocado tree” included in a rough translation of the original Portugese, I was reminded of those beautiful trees and that wonderful day. I reflected on the spiritual tranquility I experienced while walking alone there, and I was inspired to write a new set of lyrics in English which also speak to the practice …

Stay in the Now

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I suppose I should be disappointed, sad, or perhaps even a little angry, about all the unusual circumstances that recently came together, all at the same time, like a “perfect storm”, thwarting my first professional gig (as well as a separate CD recording session.) But, I am not; I feel none of these things. All I feel is grateful. How lucky am I to be working with these amazing musicians in such a beautiful country as Italy? My heart literally pounds from the joy when I think about it! And, if you catch me crying when I talk about it, that’s because I am overwhelmed by the beauty of it all, not because of any sadness.         These two events, a gig in Latina and recording session in Rome, involved a lot of planning over the last year or so, but this arc of creative activity actually began in 2014 when I chanced to meet bassist, Nicola Borrelli, at a house-party in the hills of Rome. (Is there really such a thing as …

Longing for the Roman Moon

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Once again, as soon as I rolled my luggage back into my NYC apartment, I was struck with a longing to return to Italy. I am experiencing a feeling of homesickness for a country where I was not born and a longing for friends I did not grow up with. I cannot imagine living without this musical community. Now that these people are part of my life, I must endure this temporary separation from them. I have left pieces of my heart, and hope these traces of my love and respect will keep a little of my energy there with those I adore so very much. Roman Moon Music © Gianni Leone & Francesco Manfredi Lyrics ©2012 Laurie Early                               I let go and I fall silent yearning for you then from darkness recall the bright glow of the Roman moon All those nights you were mine I gazed lost in your eyes hypnotized by their shine star-lights stolen from April’s skies Every moment …

Let It Rain !

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 I will be leaving for Italy in a little over an hour from now. It has been a crazy morning of cooking–a huge baked ziti prepared in the dark, (yes, boiling pasta and creating the mozzarella/ricotta filling with just a small hallway light, my apartment is so small and people were sleeping); searching for my “performance shoes”; and, conquering the challenge of getting 2 weeks worth of necessary clothing and technological paraphernalia to fit into one very small carry-on bag (and what the airlines call an under-the-seat personal item.) Just as I thought I had completed every task, I remembered I had not posted here for February, so here is a sneak peek at a song I have been working on for Nicola Borrelli, composer/bass player in Latina, Italy. UPDATE: Here is a link to a rehearsal clip of Let It Rain Let It Rain © 2016 Laurie Early (for Nicola Borrelli) Each cloud has a melody and when there’s a storm I hear a symphony Yes, it’s a song I can’t explain I hope it …