Posts tagged dakota

Growing up in Oberlin, Ohio, home of the Oberlin Conservatory, I was always surrounded by great musical talent of all kinds - vocal, instrumental, orchestral, composition, classical, rock, jazz, electronic, etc. Meeting with Nachito Herrera and then hearing him play was a treat that not only reminded me of my home town, but also reminded me how important music is in our lives.

I could write about how incredibly musically talented Mr. Herrera is, and how his trio jazzed up classic Christmas tunes with hip-shakin’ cuban rhythms, but what really stayed with me from that night was listening to Nachito talk for an hour before the show about how much he loved music - ALL kinds of music.

“There are two kinds of music: good music and bad music,” he told us. (At that time I wanted to ask if he had ever seen a performance by Vox Lumiere and if so how he would categorize them.) He told us stories of his youth in Cuba, and how his group of musician friends would learn jazz by secretly tuning in to American radio stations to listen to and transcribe music by Chick Corea, just so they could study it, play it, and have it. They risked their safety and well-being for the love of music.

That story alone made me realize how lucky we are, to be able to go listen to music wherever, whenever, and however we choose. Music is everywhere in the United States. Sometimes it’s less accessible when ticket prices jump into the hundreds of dollars for certain popular concerts, but for the most part music can be consumed by anybody. A resident of a major metropolitan area such as the Twin Cities can easily see live music any day of the week. And if you’re a diligent shopper, you can see several performances for free!

Music moves the soul, and Nachito preaches this message stronger than most. Jokingly, he offered to show us what music he had in his car, and I’d actually love to go for a drive with him just to listen to what he has, and to share what I have as well.