Tim Price Bloggin For Rico- A beautiful day hangin' with Ernie Watts.

...What a beautiful day with Ernie Watts at my home... Getting the Raagini < a drone machine used for tanpura by Indian musicians> in our zone... great fish and veggies...Charlie Mariano playing " Plum Island"...Ernie sharing the book " The Divine Matrix" by Gregg Braden with me...What a beautiful day...This is why I am who I am.... A traveler in this life...beyond the everyday sensory experience. ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ~ I am always uplifted by Ernie Watts blend of personal story telling and how the latest findings contribute to his own personal self-realizations. Be it in the music, or a personal experience in this life, travel, health and daily stuff. Over the past few days Ernie have been in touch- as he is on an East Coast leg of a CharlieHaden Quartet West tour that ends up with his performance at Berks Jazz Festival, in my hometown, with the Air Force Band. I heard Quartet West on Friday in New York City. This band is the place to be, a inner musical world that rings true. Everytime I hear them with Ernie Watts, it is an asset to not just me but the to higher levels of creativity in this music we love, always reaching and inspiring. My respect for the splendor Ernie creates within his art is beyond words. The color and the significance…and the way his music has touched my heart for decades is inspirational. --- We've known each other for 25 years! We were having a conversation at the New York City gig, and he remembers the day we finally met, and the exact parts of that day like it was yesterday. And let me add, here is a man who is on the road 24-7, and always meeting people. A Saxophone Journal article I did on him over 22 years ago was something the editor still refered to as the best article he ever published. Ernie has been an asset to me in more ways than he knows through visualization and the the energy of emotions applied and focused to the music we play. He's helped me find that energetic space in which you actually become that which is imagined in your minds goals. Of course he also inspires me with his daily practice with his outlook because it embodies something to chew on, think and meditate on. Something that addresses not just my logical mind but my inner wisdom mind as well as a musician. Ernie Watts has always been a huge supporter of all I do as a player, author and friend. He has recommended me for gigs, gone the distance verbally to let people know my energy and committment is something special to him. For that, I am always ever grateful. I've believed that there is a highrer reason that people like Ernie and I are connected. We both are from the Charlie Mariano mind set and have been at Berklee at various different times. Our love of everything from Count Basie and Trane to Indian meditaional music is always a deep conversation. The overall concept is that there is a web of energy where all things begin and all possibilities exist. It's this "web" that connects us to everyone and everything, and through which we bring possibilities into existence. ---- I've heard of Gregg Braden's pioneering work over the years, on the Zero Point, the Science of Compassion, the Isaiah Effect, and the God Code. Somehow never checked him out. Yesterday while Ernie was in my home studio, he showed me his copy of the book by Greg called "Discovering the Divine Matrix: The Mystery That Connects All Things." WOW! I ordered it immediatly on Amazon. --- Other highlights were the DVD I shared with him about our mentor Charlie Mariano. It was a special thing to do this as Charlie touched us deeply in music and life. The DVD showed us why Charlie was so important in this music and why we were inspired by his sound and vision. Charlie in Ernies word always states " Charlie Mariano is a timeless human being". That idea and his personal aspect that provided the enrichment. I was loving Ernies fascination with my Raagini drone machine that is used for tanpura by Indian musicians. I have been using it for the past 5 years in many aspects of practice, study and internalization of things in my mind. The Electronic Tambora comes with digitally-tuned pitch Pitch Range, this makes it very versatile to tune with. Raagini is set to play Pa, Sa, Sa Sa (Kharaj) ( 6 Matras, Carnatic music style). Pressing Select switch while switching on Raagini Tambura sets it to play Pa, Sa, Sa Sa (Kharaj) (5 Matras, Hindustani Music Style). Then there is the keyboard style display. For me also I adore the external speaker socket to connect it to bigger external speakers. As many of you can imagine the dimensions I can get with that aspect and my electro-bassoon are beautiful. Ernie probally has ordered his last night upon returning to his hotel before he hit the bed! Ha haha!! I used the machine as well to work on long tones on my woodwinds, experiment with harmonys against the drone and much more. ... Couple all this with a great dinner made by my wife Marcia, and some great conversation at dinner and you've got a beautiful day with Ernie Watts at my home. He'll return, count on it as we share a brotherhood of supreme friendship, sympatico and search. It has been my belief that spending time in the music with like minds like Ernie has a direct and measurable effect on the quality of life. This I believe can be an asset in concrete ways-- a very good one. Ever since hearing him in the late 60's on his record " Planet Love" I was hooked- to know him on this level is a blessing. Speaking of which, it's 8:53 here on the East Coast and I got to go practice some things from the Slominsky book that Ernie and I were talking about yesterday. In closing this weeks blog, yesterday conformed my vision in life of love, strength, and balance in music and life. Always keep your focus on dreams and visions close dear reader, along with a larger picture of unconditional human faith. Your music will blossom- and results will be inspiring to you and others. See ya'll next week. ~ Tim Price