JaZzArt en València

Al aire Tengo el alma llena de canciones, tengo el cuerpo hecho al remiendo, y esta mente plena de ilusiones… Que no quieren morir y están muriendo. …

Un bello poema de Carmen Barrios (editor Francisco Bravo Cabrera)

Pinche el enlace (link) para leer el poema y más.

GRACIAS

Pensar… sí, eso que uno hace de vez en cuando y que otros hacen demasiado… Pensar es hablar con uno mismo, y entrometerse muy dentro de esos laberintos de la mente y si uno no tiene cuidado allí se queda uno atrapado y puedes estar ahí hasta que se congele el mismísimo infierno. Pero, bueno, al menos algunos pensamientos son buenos, como este: «Date cuenta que todo el universo, todo, enterito, está en ti. Así que pide de ti mismo y trata que tu alma gane mas que tu cuerpo, porque tu cuerpo sera cenizas y tu alma es inmortal.» Y te añado esto: «Aprende a conocer las cosas que debes ignorar.»

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Thinking… yes, that’s what one does from time to time and what others do too much… Thinking is talking to oneself and delving deep into those labyrinths of the mind, and if one is not careful, one gets trapped there and can remain until hell freezes over. But, well, at least some thoughts are good, like this one: «Realize that the entire universe, everything, is within you. So ask of yourself and try to make your soul win more than your body, because your body will turn to ashes and your soul is immortal.» And I add this: «Learn to know the things you should ignore.»

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GRACIAS – CHEERS

Estaba Quevedo cagando en una esquina, cuando pasó una madre con su hija, muy fina la señora, que dijo al ver a un señor con el culo al aire “qué vedo”, y Quevedo, sorprendido, dijo, “jodé, hasta por el culo me conocen”.

A Quevedo todos los de la corte de Don Felipe IV lo conocían, y un día, ya que la esposa de Felipe IV, Mariana de Austria, era coja y sus andares un poco risibles, sus amigos lo retaron a ser capaz de echar en cara a la reina su cojera delante de todo el mundo. Y la suma de la apuesta era buena pasta y Quevedo tomó el riesgo. Pues se presentó a una recepción en Palacio con dos flores; una rosa llevaba en la mano derecha y un clavel en la siniestra. SE los ofreció a la Reina, y delante de la Corte entera, sirviéndole de testigos, le dijo:

“Entre el clavel blanco y la rosa roja,
Su Majestad escoja”.

Y le tuvieron que pagar…

Francisco Gómez de Quevedo Villegas y Santibáñez Cevallos nació en Madrid el 14 de septiembre de 1580. Fue escritor y politico, perteneciente a la nobleza de la época, considerada el Siglo de Oro. Murió en Villanueva de los Infantes, Ciudad Real, el 8 de septiembre de 1645.

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I am so sorry my English speaking friends, but these poems, or fractions thereof, are impossible to translate and keep the same rhythm and meaning…

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GRACIAS

Pensar… sí, eso que uno hace de vez en cuando y que otros hacen demasiado… Pensar es hablar con uno mismo, y entrometerse muy dentro de esos laberintos de la mente y si uno no tiene cuidado allí se queda uno atrapado y puedes estar ahí hasta que se congele el mismísimo infierno. Pero, bueno, al menos algunos pensamientos son buenos, como este: «Date cuenta que todo el universo, todo, enterito, está en ti. Así que pide de ti mismo y trata que tu alma gane mas que tu cuerpo, porque tu cuerpo sera cenizas y tu alma es inmortal.» Y te añado esto: «Aprende a conocer las cosas que debes ignorar.»

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Thinking… yes, that’s what one does from time to time and what others do too much… Thinking is talking to oneself and delving deep into those labyrinths of the mind, and if one is not careful, one gets trapped there and can remain until hell freezes over. But, well, at least some thoughts are good, like this one: «Realize that the entire universe, everything, is within you. So ask of yourself and try to make your soul win more than your body, because your body will turn to ashes and your soul is immortal.» And I add this: «Learn to know the things you should ignore.»

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GRACIAS – CHEERS

Those Little Purple Trees
(Listening to Mozart’s Oboe Quartet K.370)

So they’ve discovered space and planets,
with telescopes and instruments that measure
even the slightest degrees of their absolute silence,
and they say it’s a void dark and eternal,
they call it the universe and say it’s empty.
But it isn’t, no, not at all.
In those places, that now we cannot see, there are forests,
not of oak or pine,
but of little purple trees whose leaves and branches
are whispering about the futility of their discoveries
and how they waste our time.

Little purple trees grow,
as do those imagined asteroids
that orbit moons and dance with icy comets,
and become the daring iconoclasts sipping tea in earthly gardens.

Astronomers deny them as they do not fit within their schemes,
which are filled with laws and theories like gravity.
They’ve convinced us there are things we’ve never seen, or ever will,
like light years and black holes in outer space,
but for purple trees, in their schemes there’s no place.

Little purple trees are a judgement against closed-minded reason,
existing just to mock outlandish theories,
with their tiny roots and purple shade
which they provide in every season…

They’re the essence of truth,
the more absurd, the more phenomenal,
precise, perfect, fantastic,
makes them more real than quantum calculations
and more meaningful than algebraic equations.

And when the day arrives and we sail through purple groves
in wooden ships smelling faintly of lilac,
we will know with certainty there is no space,
that we exist within a garden,
where nothing’s empty,
and we will see,
next to apple, olive, pear and orange,
little purple trees.

C.2025 – Francisco Bravo Cabrera – 20/30 SEP 2025 – Chios, Greece

CHEERS

Now this was «the» band during the early 60’s, of course without counting The Beatles… But the sound of The Kinks, their guitar riffs, their powerful vocals and provocative lyrics, made them a force to reckon with in those days and beyond… They formed in Muswell Hill, London, in 1963 by the brothers Dave and Ray Davies… Their song «You Really Got Me» (1964) made it to the number one in the UK and hit the top 10 in the US… But the Kinks were not only about this proto-punk sound, like in «You Really Got Me» and «All Day and All of the Night«, they also delved into British Music Hall, folk, and country. They were influenced by many types of music and they influenced many that came after… Songs like «Lola» (1970), «Destroyer» and «Come Dancing» are prime examples of their sound and why I became a fan, at a very young age, and still am… The Kinks! Five singles in the Top 10 Billboard; Nine albums in the Top 40. In the UK they had 17 Top 20 singles and five Top 10 albums; Four Kinks albums certified Gold. The lads have sold over 50 million records worldwide. In 1990 the four original members were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 2005 they were inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame. Quite a record. They disbanded in 1996. Efforts to reunite have been unsuccessful so far, but who knows. The power groups of the 60’s and 70’s are the only ones filling stadiums and arenas nowadays, so maybe…

Enjoy!

CHEERS

Ryan Weideman (born in 1941) is an North American photographer who, while driving a taxi in New York City, took photos of his passengers… He drove the taxi between1981 and 2016 and converted his unique and unusual photographs into a book he titled In My Taxi: New York After Hours, published in 1991. Additionally he also makes lithographic print-based art… I found the photographs brilliant and intriguing, reminding me of the New York of the early 80’s, the decadence, the glamour, but mostly the energy of life that one finds (or use to find) in New York between the hours of 5pm and 5am.

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Ryan Weideman (nacido en 1941) es un fotógrafo norteamericano que, mientras conducía un taxi en Nueva York, tomó fotos de sus pasajeros… Condujo el taxi entre 1981 y 2016 y convirtió sus fotografías, únicas e inusuales, en un libro titulado In My Taxi: New York After Hours, publicado en 1991. Además, también crea arte basado en impresiones litográficas… Encontré las fotografías brillantes e intrigantes, recordándome la Nueva York de principios de los 80, la decadencia, el glamour, pero sobre todo la energía de la vida que se encuentra (o se solía encontrar) en Nueva York entre las 5 p.m. y las 5 a.m.

CHEERS – GRACIAS

Many, either from within or without of the «art world», feel that there aren’t any good artists any more. That there are businessmen of art accumulating huge fortunes, but producing rubbish. And many of us feel that frustration with the art world right now. The high-profile names (Koons, Hirst, Emin, Kusama, etc.) are not even painters! They are mostly about spectacle, branding, and marketability. They thrive in the gallery–auction–collector ecosystem, which rewards shock, gimmicks, and recognisability far more than subtlety, craft, or genuine vision.

But that doesn’t mean that good painters don’t exist anymore. In fact, there are many remarkable contemporary painters working today — they just don’t always dominate headlines because they don’t fit the art-market circus model. Some examples:

• Cecily Brown – British painter whose large, gestural works sit somewhere between abstraction and figuration, with real painterly energy.
• Peter Doig – Scottish-born, Canadian-raised painter, creating atmospheric, dreamlike landscapes and figures.
• Jenny Saville – Known for her monumental, raw depictions of the human body, technically virtuosic. (definitely one of my faves)…
• Kerry James Marshall – American painter who explores Black identity and art history with both narrative depth and painterly brilliance.
• Julie Mehretu – Abstract painter, blending cartography, architecture, and gestural abstraction in vast layered canvases.
• Neo Rauch – German painter, mixing surrealism, socialist realism, and dream imagery in technically masterful ways.
• Dana Schutz – Contemporary American painter, combining grotesque humor, bold color, and real painterly skill.

There’s also a huge wave of lesser-known artists working outside the mega-gallery scene — in local studios, regional galleries, or online — who are pursuing painting with as much rigor and creativity as any “old master.”

The tricky part is that the fame system in contemporary art doesn’t necessarily reflect talent. The business side rewards those who can generate headlines, big installations, or are able to move nuveau riche collectors who are trying to emulate the old rich but cannot have the paintings they already have, usually from the great masters, so they create new masters, (usually talent-less businss-savvy ones) and collect their art and pay exhorbitant prices for them. The «artists» think they are artists and they think they are collectors and it all works out because with a lot of money you can do many things. Meanwhile, many strong painters remain semi-underground or known mainly to curators and serious followers.

So yes — there are still excellent painters, even brilliant ones. But the system makes it seem as if all that’s left are marketers and showmen.

CHEERS

Hemos entrado en la época de las fiestas, para los cristianos, el Advenimiento y la Natividad de Jesus y para los judíos Chanukah… Dias para celebrar y festejar con colegas y familia… Bueno, para algunos, días de concertar funerales, llorar, sufrir y tratar de superar el horror y la tragedia. Ayer vimos horrorizados como dos hombres (que resultaron ser padre e hijo) abrieron fuego, indiscriminadamente, pero cruelmente, contra aquellos judíos que celebraban el comienzo del «Festival de las luces», matando a 16 personas e hiriendo a mas de 40… En Amsterdam, protestas violentas que necesito venir la policia, contra el cantor de las Fuerzas de la Defensa de Israel que estaba programado a dirigir una ceremonia y un concierto el el Royal Concert Hall de esa ciudad… Y yo me pregunto: ¿Por qué este odio? ¿Qué derecho tiene nadie a meterse con otra persona, o a tratar de censurar la religion de nadie? … Pues no lo tiene nadie, no hay derecho a eso. Y ojalá que estas personas, motivadas por el odio que han fomentado gobiernos, como el mismo de España, (y de muchos otros aquí en Europa), contra los judíos, y a favor de los terroristas, recapitulen y se den cuenta que lo único que uno necesita para vivir es AMOR.

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Well, we are finally into the holiday season where Christians celebrate Advent and then Christmas and Jews Hanukah. These are days of parties, fun and uniting with coleagues and relatives for a good time… For some… For others these days are the days to plan funerals, to lament, cry, suffer loss and attempt to overcome the horror and the tragedy. Yesterday we all witnessed how two shooters, a father and son team, gunned down innocent people celebrating Hanukah at a Sydney Beach in Australia. Sixteen people dead and more than 40 injured all because they were out there celebrating the beginning of the eight day Celebration of Light… In Amsterdam violent protests to which the police had to respond, all because the Cantor of the IDF was about to leada concert at Amsterdam’s Royal Concert Hall… And I ask what fecking right do these people have to try to deny others their rights to celebrate their religion? What right have they to judge? What bloody right have they to try to censure? They have no right at all! NO one does! I just hope that these people, motivated by the hatred fomented by many governments, including the Spanish and British governments, against Jews, come to the conclusion that they have been used and manipulated by those who support, not peace or coexistence, but terrorism. It is about time that people realise that to live all you need is LOVE.

GRACIAS

CHEERS