The Colour of Music
“What are they playing ?” …
A man, artistically dressed in a black shirt with the text ‘Jazz Is Not Dead, It Just Smells Funny ’, asked me to explain more. The inauguration of the exhibition ‘ heArt in Music’ in the Casual Lounge Gallery in Lisbon opened not only the spectators’ eyes but also their ears. The conversations about favorite artists and their repertoire were framed by a jazz performance by Maria Anadon.
‘ Whatever you want ! … ‘ I answered. ‘‘ The glorious face of the lady tells me it must be a brilliant performance.’ … ‘Right! ‘’ ‘Your perception is exactly what I wanted to express ! ‘ …
The reaction of the jazzman motivated me to go on with the conversation …
‘ Do you know the American jazz pianist Bill Evans ? ‘Oh yeah, I bought a record of his trio years and years ago, a live performance, isn’t it , in a jazz club, The Village Vanguard on 7th Avenue, New York.’ ‘So, the sound of that performance inspired you to transform it into colours?’ ‘Sure!’ ‘That’s why the subtitle of this painting is ‘A colour is like a music note; it has to find its place in the composition.’ ‘ The sound of the piano, for example, has a scale of colours. In a composition such as “ Waltz for Debby”, there is an opening of five different notes—yellow, orange – dark yellow – dark orange – purple… The double bass, played by Scott LaFaro in this performance, is in the same five chords: brown – sienna – Van Dyck brown – dark red – raw umber. The bass player in that trio created the contrast with the bright tones of the piano. The moments of silence between the soundcolours are white. The drum solo in this composition has a range from black for the pedal bass to light gray for the brushes and a mixture of white and silver for the cymbals. ‘
‘Thank you for this colourful explanation ! ‘
I gave the jazzman my presentation card and offered him a drink.
Maria Anadon starts the second part of her performance, accompanied by a guitar player. The combination of watching the paintings and listening to the colourful sound of the live performance created the ideal atmosphere for creator and consumer. “ Why does this painting have such dark colours?”
The jazzman waved to me to give him feedback about the diptych ‘ Waltz for Debby’. At the same moment my curator fixed a red spot sticker beside the title of the darkest painting I ever made …
