Greetings, One & All~
I for one was more than happy to send the old year up in sacred smoke and ring in the new year with time’s chimes. So with all best wishes for all the best to all in 2017, please enjoy these upcoming highlights in your January A 440 Newsletter!
UK Interview with Terry Hawke
I’ll start the new year on an international note with a live interview on the Hawke Chill Out Sessions radio show, which flies around the world from its home aerie in the United Kingdom. Wherever you roost, you can live-stream this far-reaching conversation between yours truly and host Terry James Hawke at one of these three links:
http://tunein.com/radio/Harborough-FM-1023-s55586
The show airs on Saturday January 7th at Midnight GMT (7 PM EST / 6 PM CST / 5 PM MST / 4 PM PST) and will feature selected cuts from my solo Canyon Records CD Pathfinder and my trio Heart Dance Records CD Trialogue with Sherry Finzer & Darin Mahoney interspersed throughout the interview.
Native American Festival with RCNQ
On Friday & Saturday, January 13th & 14th, I’ll land closer to home for a concert and festival set with the R. Carlos Nakai Quartet at the West Valley Native American Arts Festival in Litchfield Park AZ. The Friday night full concert is at 7 PM in Sachem Hall at the Wigwam Resort; the Saturday set will be on the festival grounds, time TBA.
New Kudos for What Lies Beyond
Meanwhile, the boundary-busting new global native fusion RCNQ album What Lies Beyond from Canyon Records continues to garner rave reviews, including this latest one by Angel Romero, writing for the world’s foremost on-line world music symposium World Music Central:
http://worldmusiccentral.org/2016/12/19/nakais-southwestern-jams/
Concert for Elders with Trialogue
On Monday January 16th at 7 PM, the contemporary instrumental trio Trialogue will perform a concert for elders in the Ballroom at Grandview Terrace in Sun City AZ, playing selections from their eponymous Heart Dance Records CD.
Awakening the Rillito Fire
On Sunday January 22nd from 9 AM-1 PM I’ll join R. Carlos Nakai to provide musical atmosphere for the Rillito Farmers Market. This newest addition to the panoply of Old Pueblo open-air markets features organic produce from local growers and artisanal products from regional craftspeople. Add homegrown Native American flutes and world percussion and it’s a don’t-miss Sunday morning outing down by the river!
Myths & Masks at Cheyenne Traditional School
From Monday January 23rd through Friday February 3rd I’ll return to Cheyenne Traditional School in Scottsdale AZ for my 20th annual Myths & Masks Artist-in-Residency. It’s become a rite of passage for the fourth grade students there, and I’m looking forward to a new crop of mythic persona poetry, wearable mask art, and of course our community showcase at Evening Under the Stars in the Spring.
Preview: Myths & Masks at Galactic Center
Looking ahead to next month: On Friday February 10th at 7 PM, in conjunction with the internationally-acclaimed Tucson Gem & Mineral Show, I’ll present a rare concert performance of Myths & Masks at Galactic Center in Tucson AZ. Tickets will be $10 at the door only for this don’t-miss evening of mythopoetic storytelling, world music and original mask art, all in the Old Pueblo’s most intergalactically groovy art gallery!
Preview: RCNQ & The Healing Power of Music
And looking a bit further ahead into next month: the R. Carlos Nakai Quartet will make a rare hometown concert appearance as part of The Healing Power of Music conference at the Berger Center for the Performing Arts in Tucson AZ on Friday February 24th at 7 PM.
info and advance tickets are available at:
www.newgroundevents.com
Photos of the Month
One Sunday morning over the winter solstice holiday I happened to be doing some dishes and looking out our Window on the Wild when this gorgeous trickster leapt into the frame after one of our bunnies; failing to catch one (whew!) it decided it might as well quench its thirst with a cold drink from our standing water bowl. Shery happened to have her phone-cam in hand and leapt into the frame to capture these spontaneous snapshots. Enjoy!
Poem of the Month
It was a challenging and difficult holiday season for us here at Rancho Improvisoso. I found daily inspiration and hope in the blessings of our abundant wild nature, especially the fierce joy with which our tribe of indigenous hummingbirds conduct their winter magic. This January Poem of the Month is an ode of gratitude for all the silver linings that outshine the dark clouds. Enjoy!
Infinitesimal Vastness
Inches from my nose the thunderous drum of your heart
beats within the iridescent shimmer of your emerald breast;
the breeze of your wings as they carve infinity out of thin air
fans my hands that hold the cold fresh nectar in a mason jar.
I’d love for you to grip my finger with those tiny talons
or flick my face with your Quetzalcoatl tongue; alas
your obsidian eyes bore into mine with untouchable ferocity
and you keep the infinitesimal vastness between us inviolate.
© Will Clipman 2017
Embrace possibility and be of good cheer:
it’s a brand new day and a brand new year!
Hopeful voices harmonize most beautifully when hope is all we have.
~Guillaume Henri
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Will Clipman
musician • poet • performing & recording artist • maskmaker • storyteller • educator
phone: 520.591.0776
fax: 520.743.0650
email: williamclipman@aol.com
website: www.willclipman.com
facebook: www.facebook.com/willclipman
