I haven’t written much about my piano playing lately, amid this whole move to a 100% raw vegan lifestyle. Transitions and transformations are very important in life. So, consciously making (which to me is a major deal, a profound effort) this transition to become 100% raw is a very important part of my musical life.

Over my entire lifetime I’ve mostly been a vegetarian, then a vegan. I’ve tried a few times to get to certain percentages of being raw, from 60% to perhaps 75%. But I repeat that 100% is a very big jump from 75% raw.

So, how does this affect my piano performance? Or performing musically?

Clarity! Subtlety…

I think that might be the difference in my playing music.

If you look at your body as a machine that needs to perform at certain levels of artistry and musicianship, then you definitely are what you eat. And whatever you are eating or drinking at the time will have a profound affect on the way you play your instrument.

Many of the great Jazz giants knew this, but unfortunately many of them resorted to heroin… namely, Miles Davis and Charlie Parker. Reading their biographies, many of these jazz greats wouldn’t perform on stage until they got high.

But looking back positively on food as a drug, I think food profoundly affects a musician’s level of performance. And for me, I somehow get to feeling the immediate effects of food right after I eat a meal.

If I eat something, will I feel sluggish afterwards? Will I feel energetic and on top of my game?

But getting back to the subject of piano playing….

To me, it IS ZEN…

…pure and simple.

On a beautiful sounding grand piano, I could play middle C every 30 seconds, just tapping lightly, like how the Indian Gurus chant “OM”… and to me that would be music enough.

So I’d been thinking a LOT about my piano playing and where that journey could lead as far as a musical journey. To me it is a path to enlightenment of sorts… and lately I’ve been treating the piano in a very improvisational manner. Not to say that I don’t play standard songs like Pop, Rock and songs from the Great American Songbook. And some Classical pieces, ragtime, etc…. But I’ve been approaching the instrument as an improvisational voice, as a language that transcends language and becomes thoughts expressed through the instrument. The piano, then becomes an extension and other voice of my being… who I am…

But improvisation is the key.

There is a whole art to improvisation that I feel I am competent with, yet still aware that I am but a student, forever learning. Yet, it’s also important, like in Zen, to always keep a beginner’s attitude to playing. A beginner’s mind. And one has to be aware of a few things:

1. Music as an art form is dependent upon the space between the notes. The silence.

2. Improvisation has to be a reaction to one’s surroundings. To the audience. To the room and the building in which one plays the instrument.

3. One must be aware of the natural dynamics of music, just like the dynamic changes of nature. Music isn’t played at one volume, at one speed, at one intensity. It should be breathing, alive, like the swaying of the tree… the rise and fall of the tide.

4. Music has to come from the heart. It has to be an emotional expression. A personal experience.

5. The intention is to reflect back your life experience through music.

So, with piano… I’ve focused mainly on improvisation, just as Keith Jarrett has improvised, just as Ravi Shankar has improvised… two heroes of mine who’vereally taken the art of improvisation to new heights. Who have deconstructed the art of improvisation and reconstructed it into a new art form.

The idea is to be… CREATIVE! So, every day I try to challenge myself to play something different from the previous day’s playing…

I don’t think I will use the term “practice” any more. I’ve learned from Miles Davis when he said, “Practice at the Gig”… which I think he meant to say, every time you touch the instrument, PLAY! So, every day I play piano. I perform. Never practice.

You never say, “Oh, today I practice talking”… well, if you were giving a great speech you could practice. But in Zen, everything is practice, everything is performance… everything is “being”…

So…

I play. I perform. I live.

And that is my piano ideology thus far…..

My wife and I had been entertaining the thought of moving to a new, larger home. This notion had been going on for the past 2 years. We had been going to “open houses” all over San Diego County, some homes we obviously could not afford unless we were capable of plunking down $2 million dollars for the down payment. Some homes ranging from 5,000 to 10,000 square feet…. homes where it would be easy to get lost in…

But here we are today, and it’s not a very good time to sell a home in California, let alone move to a larger, more expensive home. Well, if you have the money, it’s a good time to buy a home in California.

We have a modest 4 bedroom 2 1/2 bath, 2-story single family house in the Scripps Ranch area. It’s been home these past 18 years and my wife and I watched our children grow up here. And we’ve spent a lot of time at “feng shui”-ing the home.

Should we stay or should we go?

My brother once told me, “don’t move”. That we have a nice home already. Though it would be nice to have more room, say for a home recording studio, and a place to put the grand piano. And maybe buy into a house that already has a nice pool and jacuzzi… other than that, I suppose we’re happy where we’re at.

So, here we’ll stay until the economy gets better, hopefully (and I pray) that we’re not in a position to lose our home. When you’ve been some place as long as we have, you’re “dug in” and the thought of moving would be a traumatic experience nonetheless.

What Does The Mind Really Want?

I’m also serious about my philosophy to live life more frugally and sparingly. I want to sell a lot of things that I already have. I want to reduce the clutter and as Jim put it, to begin a process of “actively decluttering our lives”.

In Zen, the process of decluttering the mind is to go back to “the beginner’s mind”. It’s akin to the lake with ripples of waves… and trying to get the mind to where that lake is crystal clear… no waves of thought… just pure essence of mind and spirit…

This is so cool…

Obama is a small fishing village in Japan.

Facing Wakasa Bay due north of Kyoto and Nara, the city is about four to five hours by train from Tokyo, and is served by the Obama Line of West Japan Railway…

Obama in Japanese means “little beach”. Awww, cute! And they had been following and supporting Senator Obama throughout this presidential race.

Japan’s Obama Town Celebrates Namesake’s Victory

By JAY ALABASTER – 8 hours ago

OBAMA, Japan (AP) — The Obama Girls were halfway through their routine when the results came in on overhead TVs.

Barack Obama had been elected U.S. president, and the citizens of Obama, Japan, were ecstatic. Dozens of supporters swarmed the stage and joined hands, jumping up and down as they chanted “Obama! Obama! Obama!”

The Obama campaign brought an air of excitement to this normally sleepy seaside town. Local leaders, trying to revive the economy, latched onto the connection as a way to promote tourism. An “Obama for Obama” supporters group attracted 1,500 members.

And then there are the Obama Girls, a hula dance group formed in honor of Obama’s Hawaiian heritage.

I have a simple request to ask of my friends today…

Please take a few seconds of your time to vote for a good friend and musical colleague of mine… the lovely and talented Valerie Pierce.

Vote for Valerie!

Valerie Pierce - Official Website

Local Jazz artist Valerie Pierce has made phenomenal strides in her career as she recently earned the title of number one ranked Jazz Artist in the Hollywood Talent Quest hosted by The Burnley Music Complex in North Hollywood, California. The next step for Valerie is to garner more votes than the other 5 contestants which will entitle her to a live performance at the Hollywood Music Awards on November 20th and a fully produced album valued at 25K. This is where you come in. Please help Valerie win by going to hollywoodtalentquest.com, select the “Cast Your Vote Now” link and vote for Valerie Pierce.

Valerie says:

We know that we cannot win without you and… your support has been beneficial in getting us this far, that is why we are asking that you forward this email to everyone in your contacts list and ask them to do the same.

Valerie has been performing in the Southern California area for the last several years creating a wide and varied fan base and many friends. She is practically a household name among Southern California Jazz artists and musicians. Valerie has performed with several groups (Mama Jamma Blues Band, Quiet Storm, Full Effect, Coupe De Ville, Pressed for Time, Mystique Element of Soul, etc.,) in numerous venues around the country and has completed two USO tours in support of our troops. She is currently performing exclusively with Big Daddy Orchestra, her personal troop, the Brass Riders and cultivating a new sound with Soulful Vibes in venues across the western seaboard.

Most of my online time today was spent working on Rice Bowl Journals’ new stomping grounds, a brand spankin’ new social network created on Ning.com.

From Humble Beginnings

For those unfamiliar with Rice Bowl Journals, this has been a project I had started way back in the Fall of 2000. It basically started out as a links page to a few of my favorite Asian diarists on the web. One thing led to another and others wanted to be added to the list. The list grew into a registry and then I began organizing this registry by country, location, etc. And in a few years time it had grown to over 5,000 members.

Becoming A Full-Fledged Community

Then, the site expanded into the realm of an online community with a discussion board being the heart of social interaction. But nowadays, in a world where “social networks” like Facebook, MySpace and Digg command everyone’s attention, a relatively small community like Rice Bowl Journals was bound to get left behind….

Building Upon Social Interaction

And thus, I finally came to my senses this weekend and created a social network for Rice Bowl Journals, one that has similar features like the big giants such as Facebook, that I feel will finally bring the RBJ community up-to-date with Web 2.0.

Come Join Us

So far, I think the members who’ve joined up are liking the new diggs, as there are plenty of opportunities to socialize and connect, more effectively than with the old discussion board…

And, now a new journey begins… and everyone is invited!

Please join us at: http://ricebowljournals.ning.com

I’m sure everyone’s seen those green screen challenges on YouTube, but I especially love this one with John McCain on drums. Actually, it’s the great Dennis Chambers who’s actually doing all the work. McCain is just talking!

Of course, if John McCain really played drums (or piano) he’d definitely have my vote. :o)

On another note:

Dhrumil posted a link on Twitter about actress Gwyneth Paltrow and how she dealt with her father’s death from cancer, and dealing with her own health. I admire Gwyneth’s devotion to Ashtanga Yoga and interests in healthy living. She was featured in the GOOP October Newsletter.

I had read somewhere that in Asia, the concept of going to the doctor when you were already sick was akin to digging a well when you were already thirsty. This struck a chord with me. Over the years I have had my share of medical issues, as we all do. Recently I have found three doctors (one in London, one in New York and one in Los Angeles) who have helped me tremendously. Heeding their advice has helped me out of some very sticky health problems (pneumonia, anemia, stress, etc.). —Gwyneth Paltrow

Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything. —George Bernard Shaw