Sunday, March 20, 2016

If Only I Had Been Thirty Years Older...

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Pain never makes me cry
but happiness does

Eagle-Eye Cherry 


"Eagle-Eye" is the name that appears on his birth certificate, according to his brother, whom I met at Tower Records in Pasadena.

In 1990-something, David Cherry and I had two lengthy conversations in-store and he was very impressed him that I was teaching at Jefferson High School.

"The legendary Jefferson High," he exclaimed, "that hotbed of jazz! It's got a roster as famous as the 1927 New York Yankees." 

David and Eagle Eye's father,  DON CHERRY,  was a student at Jefferson but many years before my time. 

"The legendary Don Cherry! David, if I were thirty years older, I might have been your father's teacher. Wouldn't that have been something?"

"Paul, if that were the case, my father might have gone into avant garde mathematics instead of avant garde jazz."

"And you would be working at Cal Tech instead of Tower Records. Eagle-Eye and Nenah Cherry would have become Ivory tower professors."

"If that were true, we might have given the world Cherry Mathematics. Wouldn't that have been something?"

"Yes: Avant Garde Cherry Mathematics where polygons–instead of having different numbers of sides–would come in different flavors!"

"And Infinity would just be another exit
off the Santa Monica Freeway.
But Paul, I have to exit this conversation
because Tower Records
gives me a paycheck
and they won't be going bankrupt
for another five years!" 

David Cherry

Eagle-Eye Cherry

Neneh Cherry

Don Cherry
One of the founding fathers of avant garde jazz
and the actual father of David, Eagle-Eye and Neneh!

He is also the composer of  MULTI-KULTI
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3 comments:

  1. To which Eagle Eyed Cherry are you linking?
    On first sight, I was jealous
    due to your title.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I was linking to the
      Eagle Eyed Cherry
      with no d in his name.

      Oh, by the way...when I met David Cherry
      twenty years ago, I had a an album
      of Don Cherry's and the Dad looked like
      the son's twin.

      I believe David told me that there are
      two other Cherry siblings in the music biz.

      David, himself an accomplished musician,
      also does a lot of producing
      and arranging music.

      Delete
    2. Also...as for Pere Cherry:
      when I used to jog 5 miles every day–
      always with music in my Walkman–
      I must have listened to a short solo
      of Don Cherry on "pocket trumpet"
      100 times (= 20 times a year for 5 yrs).

      It is an utterly extraordinary piece of music
      and Mr. Bach, Mr. Mozart and Mr. Beethoven
      would ost assuredly agree with me.

      Delete