An email remembrance to friends and fans of the 58th anniversary of Thomas Chapin's birthday on March 9, 1957. We all still miss him so much!
"Hello Friends:
Temperature's are warming up in the East this week and it's a great day to warm to a great friend and Force in music, my late musician-husband, alto saxophonist-flautist-composer Thomas Chapin. It's the anniversary of his 58th birthday today, Monday, March 9th. Let's take him into our hearts and offer gratitude for all he gave us, including pushing us to the edge with his music and inviting us to ""FLY""!
LETTING THOMAS SPEAK
Here are some random sayings from 'In His Own Words,"" at the website www.thomaschapin.com:
“Playing, for me, is about changing my state of mind, moving out of my ordinary self. I’ve noticed that when I play, it’s almost like a different person takes over, someone who I don’t deal with in my day to day life, but who is inside me. I try to let this creative force take over. I try not to get too much into my conscious thought. It’s more a matter of setting up conditions—gaining mastery of my instrument, mapping out structures, that kind of thing—that will allow the conduit to open. And when the conduits do open, when that other person takes over, I just sit back and watch the show, and see what comes out. To me, that’s what’s divine about all of this. That’s why I love to play.”
“Compositions are a balance. It’s like saying, ‘for every poison there’s an antidote‘—if a composition gets too sweet, you have to mess it up, on purpose.”
“Once in a while I like to listen to polkas—that’s no sin.”
“All my ideas are influenced by my work in Lionel Hampton’s big band, but it doesn’t encompass the whole range of what I do now.”
“If I’m really going to be a ‘free’ musician, I should be free to do whatever I want to do. I should be able to step in and out with equal facility. If I want to play it all inside and it feels good, then why not?”
“You need opposition, friction. Without friction there is no heat, no energy, no life. You strive towards higher things, but you also have a body that wants to swing, that has erotic desires, that has to eat. Those are the devils, good and bad, that you should remain on good terms with. Sounds that are nothing but sweet end up not being sweet at all; it’s when they’re bittersweet that they become beautiful… “
In a way the disease kind of presents an opportunity. You’re alive. It’s something you’re going through. It’s something that’s very difficult, but it’s not something that is purely wasted. It’s something that can be transformational as well. You’ve got to make what you can out of what there is. It’s a rough lesson because it’s never what we want. Our mission sometimes does not go the way we want to go. But, nonetheless, we are in life for some kind of purpose in all things that you might come across, or might come across you.”
“I love my life… I’ve had a great life!” – spoken in his year of illness. “I’m at peace… because [I played] on Sunday.” – spoken ten days before his passing on Feb. 13, 1998.
“When you die…the melody remains. It’s the song of your life.”
LISTEN NOW
""NYC's late-great avant jazz master Thomas Chapin, alto sax, and his Trio w/Mario Pavone, bass and Michael Sarin, drums, took this Beatle's tune, Ticket to Ride, out, out, out, speeded it up and did a punk-version takeoff of the classic, beating it to a pulp.""
Hint at 6.00 minutes, Chapin ""beats it to a pulp""!
Click Here: ""Ticket to Ride""://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rx_GsBg1ofw
Ticket to Ride w/Thomas Chapin Trio - Tondela Arts Fair, Portugal 1995
FILM UPDATE
It's being edited now! An early 45-minute version will be shown this August, 2015 at The Litchfield Jazz Fest (CT) where a big band will play Thomas' music and the TRIO w/Mario Pavone and Mike Sarin and guest artist/s will play augmented with Strings or Brass. Be there!!!
MAKE A DONATION TODAY:
From filmmaker of Night Bird Song: The Thomas Chapin Story, slated for release in Fall, 2015:
""I posted this on Facebook today on the film's fan page. We have 604 fans now. Here's the post I wrote:""
Friends, Thomas's birthday is Monday, March 9. Have you supported this film yet? Donations are MUCH needed to pay for the things that must get paid at this time -- transcribers, editing equipment and software, fees for rights and permissions. Make a gift in his name to this film and be part of the kind donors who are making THOMAS CHAPIN, NIGHT BIRD SONG possible, who are keeping us going. If you've already given, won't you please consider giving again. Go to ""Donate""://www.thomaschapin.com/donate. Tax deductible. Small or large, we welcome any donation. Thanks!!
Warm regards, Stephanie Castillo filmmaker, Thomas Chapin, Night Bird Song Watch my film's trailer +1-808-383-7393
Think of Thomas, smile, and have a beautiful day, everyone!
Best and love, Terri Chapin"