Greetings, One & All~
Sonora (the “Singing Desert”) is in full bloom, not only with beautiful flowers of every description but also with indescribably beautiful music; so venture out and enjoy one or more of the wonderful performances described in this April issue of your A 440 Newsletter!
Ambient Funk at Noble Hops
When we’re not working with R. Carlos Nakai as three-fourths of RCNQ, AmoChip Dabney (keyboards, saxophones, acoustic guitar and lead vocals) Johnny Walker (electric five-string bass and backing vocals) and Will Clipman (drums, percussion and backing vocals) venture out as Ambient Funk: an irresistibly danceable trio playing an eclectic mix of originals and classic R&B, funk, jazz, reggae and worldbeat covers. On Thursday April 6th from 7-10 PM we’ll be on the patio at Noble Hops in Tucson AZ.
more info at:
photo courtesy Shery Christopher Photography
Trialogue Trifecta
I’m not a gambling man, but I bet you’ll come up a winner with these three concerts by the contemporary instrumental trio Trialogue, featuring Sherry Finzer on classical-jazz flutes, Darin Mahoney on Americana acoustic guitars and Will Clipman on world drums and percussion. Over the span of eight days, we’ll perform at three of Southern Arizona’s premiere venues:
On Friday April 7th at 7 PM we’ll be on the Ullman Terrace outdoor amphitheater stage at the fabled Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix AZ for a magical evening of original music, gourmet dining and fine wine. Please note: due to the latter, this is a 21+ show!
DBG ticket & info link + Fb event:
https://www.dbg.org/events/music-garden-spring-2017-trialogue-sherry-finzer-darin-mahoney-will-clipman
https://www.facebook.com/events/215024808906472/
photo collage courtesy Shery Christopher Photography
On Wednesday April 12th, well venture south to the verdant riparian hill country of Green Valley AZ to perform on the intimate indoor theater stage of the Community Performing Arts Center at 7 PM.
CPAC ticket & info link:
https://performingartscenter.thundertix.com/events/87581/saleable_seats?performance_id=1638583
And on Friday April 14th we’ll return to The Valley of the Sun for a coveted appearance on the world-renowned Musical Instrument Museum Theater stage at 7:30 PM.
We’ll be joined for this show by the William Eaton Trio, featuring harp guitarist and master luthier William Eaton playing his otherworldly multi-stringed instruments, the amazing Claudia Tulip on classical-world flutes and vocals, and yours truly on pan-global drums and percussion; rumor has it the finale of this double-bill will be a world premiere improvisational jam by all five musicians as the Quintessential Quintet!
MIM ticket & info link + Fb event:
http://mimmusictheater.themim.org/evening-trialogue-william-eaton-trio
https://www.facebook.com/events/1408838252524048/
Earth Day Concert for TMA
Since 1934, the Tucson Mountains Association has been dedicated to preserving the Tucson Mountains environment while enhancing the well-being of our residents; on Earth Day, Saturday April 22nd, R. Carlos Nakai & Will Clipman will perform a benefit “friendraising” concert for TMA from 4-6 PM at Painted Hills Church in Tucson AZ.
tickets & more info about TMA at:
http://www.tucsonmountainsassoc.org/index.html
photo courtesy Robert Doyle Photography/Canyon Records
if. . . Forever
March 30th marked the 30th anniversary of the untimely death of guitarist Dan Hill at the age of twenty-six. Dan’s incendiary intergalactic sound was at the heart of the mid-80’s cosmic rock band if. . . , which included bassist Darrel Mayers, lead vocalist Spanna and yours truly on drums. In fond remembrance of Dan’s astounding musicianship and beautiful spirit, Darrel created a Bandcamp page where our CD Forever can be downloaded for free. . . as our gift to the universe. . . and our thank-you to Dan!
https://ifmusic4.bandcamp.com/releases
photos courtesy SpannaMo Archives
Poem of the Month
Your April Poem of the Month is a meditation on the ever-changing unpredictability of weather, both outer and inner; and on the impermanence of things, including ourselves, that we take for granted will last. . . forever. . . . For me, this is anything but morbid: it’s a wake-up call to live fully in the present moment, and to try to make a difference every day as if it were my last. I trust you’ll find it as uplifting to read as I did to write!
Water, Wind and Time
Winter ends with bone-dry record-breaking heat
and Spring begins in cold wet winter storm.
Filling the water bowls at sunset
as the dying of the day arouses air
it’s easy to see how water, wind and time
dissolve things: the topmost of the unfired
Mexican adobe bricks stacked artfully
without the use of mortar loses form
and crumbles back to dirt; a chunk
of Antarctica the size of Rhode Island
melts back into the sea. How easy it is
to turn the thermostat up or down,
how effortless to add a layer of clothing
or remove it. Immense galactic cauldrons
boil over, freeze and die, and one
small speck of possibility persists
against all odds: improbably blue-green
and draped in wispy veils of white
amidst the endless black. How like this
a life is: the days eroded imperceptibly
by water wind and time, until the form
is lost, the solid body rendered down mud;
and all that seemed so permanent and everlasting
disappears, and might as well have never been.
© Will Clipman 2017
Spring into Spring!
To be fully engaged in the everyday enjoyment of living,
one must do each thing as if it is being done for the last time
yet as if its effect will last forever.
~Guillaume Henri
[
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
