thisnewday

A few months back, I "favorited" a YouTube video of Laurel Masse performing with The Manhattan Transfer, one from the early days of that now-classic jazz/pop ensemble. I also posted it on my LiveJournal, along with a few comments on the amazing life and career of the featured artist and mentioned that she provides an interesting and engaging perspective on her current life and work through her own online journal at http://laurelmasse.typepad.com/my_weblog/.

In her blog, Ms. Masse covers a wide range of topics, from personal matters like settling into a new apartment to social issues like recent staffing practices at Walmart. And she handles it all with a wisdom and compassion which speaks persuasively of her own spiritual nature and does so in a manner that's so easy-going and engaging that we might be listening to one of her amazing vocal tracks.

Which, I'm very happy to say, will soon be much more accessible with the forthcoming re-issue, on CD and internet download, of her previous recordings. In addition, she'll also be launching an entirely new CD which is now in the final stages of production. (For current info on those projects, as well as her schedule of upcoming performances, please consult Ms. Masse's official website at http://laurelmasse.com/.)

Anyway, imagine my surprise when I opened my email recently and found a very kind and generous "thank you" for my previous mention of her work. It's surely my pleasure to count her among the artist friends who graciously share their busy lives with us online while pursuing the passions which confirm and inform our shared humanity...

LPK
LiveJournal
8.31.2013 (b)

Having done my usual superficial and inept search for a translation of "Je Voulais Te Dire Que Je T'attends," I managed to find only slight variants of the same translation on several different websites. And now, as a result of my "lazy-faire" approach, I'm now faced with the same basic problem with each of them.

That problem being that literal translations of a song lyric seldom result in anything even remotely, well, lyrical. A problem which is compounded for me by the fact that, having fulfilled the language requirement for my B.A. by taking two years of college-level Spanish in one summer while holding down a full-time factory job which I got to via a 12-mile commute on a second-hand 3-speed bicycle (yes, sniff, I was shamefully abused in my youth), I have no means to personally ascertain the lyricism of a poem originally written in French.

I could, I suppose, make the assumption that because this lyric has been covered, over the years, by a number of reputable artists, their professional integrity might alone be taken to guarantee the quality of the original lyric. An assumption which, on the other hand, could put us in the same company as the literally hundreds of "artists" who have shamelessly cashed in on the completely inane lyrics of, say, "MacArthur Park."

A song which, not coincidentally, also stands as an embarrassingly obvious example of how a poorly-written lyric, especially in the pop-rock genre, may hide behind (or shamelessly dance to) a hard-driving bass or compelling paradiddle. (Thank you, Lars, for your service to the Pop/Rock Nation. But I do hope that Michael Kamen, rest his soul, rapped your knuckles for your performance that summer's eve in 1999 at the Berkeley Community Theater.)

Alternatively, I could simply ignore any questions about the quality of the original and, while at the very apex of that leap, assume that the translation at hand is at least competently literal. Then, following the tack of Ezra Pound in his transliteration of Li Po's "The River Merchant's Wife," simply poeticize what we've got. An idea which admittedly interests me and which I may eventually have a go at, if only as an exercise.

What stops me is that sense of an inherent lack of honesty in this approach, which gives me pause each time I contemplate it. And so, for now, I continue just to listen. Remaining, all the while, breathlessly transfixed by Laurel Masse's flowing mane of wild, red hair. After all, why would one not exploit this one small benefit of being a slacker. Otherwise, one is not truly a slacker, non?

LPK
LiveJournal
3.15.2013 (a)

because I've just found the online blog, http://laurelmasse.typepad.com/, of Laurel Masse, accent on the final e. Laurel was a founding member of the jazz vocal ensemble, The Manhattan Transfer. She toured internationally and recorded four albums with the group in the seven years before 1978 when she was involved in a near-fatal car accident.

Following a two-year convalescence, she embarked on a solo recording career and has also been active as a teacher, clinician, and member of the professional choir of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City. She currently records and tours with the female jazz vocal trio JaLaLa, comprised of herself, fellow founding member of TMT Janis Siegel, and singer Lauren Kinhan from New York Voices.

The YouTube clip which follows is from her days with The Manhattan Transfer. Don'tcha just love the wild, red hair? C'mon, now, remember it was the '70s, LOL...(I don't own any of the rights to this but figure it's a great avenue to let others know about these amazing artists, their lives and careers. In that spirit, please enjoy!)

LPK
LiveJournal
3.10.2013 (a)

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