[Dixielandjazz] FW: Music in the Dark

[Jim Kashishian]

>the listeners experience a heightened state of awareness, becoming acutely
attuned to the intricacies of a psychedelically beautiful soundscape that
unfolds in total darkness"?


I'm not sure about the gibberish mentioned in the sentence above, but
closing your eyes while listening to music can be enlightening (intentional
pun!).  

When working on a mix, it is necessary to be able to hear all the different
parts of the music & where they are placed in the panorama of the mix...in
level, direction & in depth.  Closing your eyes can help to "visualize" all
of this.

After restoring a dozen 1950's recordings for the famous "Monks of Silos"
Gregorian Chants, I heard them live (well, the choir as it is today) in
their church in Silos, Spain.  My wife & I sat in the front of the church,
but I soon moved to the very back of the church & sat behind a pillar where
I couldn't see the choir.  Seeing them was detracting from my listening,
particulary as that was how I had been experiencing their music (hearing
only) during the some 500 hours it took me to complete their collection in
my studio.

Spain's renowned jazz saxophonist, Pedro Iturralde, normally sits with his
eyes closed if he comes to hear our band.  That is not because he can't
stand to look at us, it's because he is concentrating on what he is hearing.

Jim