The Rhythm of the Universe

Posted on Mon 1st May, 2017 @ 12:36am by

1,018 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Wrongs Darker Than Death Or Night
Location: Orchids & Jazz, Deck 600
Timeline: MD 3, 1520

The restaurant was in that quiet time between the rush of people eating before going to work and the rush of people eating after getting off their shift. Music by the Cymbidiums, the Orchids & Jazz 3-piece jazz combo, played in the background, and Jade sat with the blond reporter, Caroline Post. The table held an assortment of small desserts, many containing chocolate.

"Please, help yourself to whatever you like while we chat," Lantz said, waving at the dishes between them. "You mentioned when we spoke on the communicator that you were interested in doing a piece on the music I play in Orchids & Jazz," she continued, getting things started. “Or that my entertainment groups play, rather.”

"I’ve heard you play, as well, but yes, I've heard so much about it, and if the piece playing is representative, I understand why. Do you mind if I record?" Caroline asked, showing her small recording device.

"Not at all," Jade agreed, leaning back in the comfortable chair.

"Let's start with the piece I'm hearing, then," the reporter said. "What is it?"

"A favorite of mine, There Will Never Be Another You. They’re playing it in the style of Lester Young." Seeing Post’s puzzled look, she continued. "I doubt you've ever heard of him if you don't follow Earth Jazz of the second quarter 20th century. Actually, most people who know that era don’t know of Young. He did record, but he had a … I guess you could call it a sketchy career. No one could make a breathy clarinet sound so … so alive, though."

"And how is it that you came to know the music?" Miss Post asked.

"Oh. Well … it’s a long story, really. I was introduced to jazz by a friend … a very long time ago.” Jade’s eyes held a momentary sadness before she smiled. “I guess you could say I’ve made it my business to know everything about the music of the era from about 1925 to 1975, or a little later.”

The reporter laughed lightly. “It is your business, isn’t it?”

Jade inclined her head graciously. “It is. As you remarked earlier, I do play here sometimes. My instrument is the alto sax, another habit I picked up while studying this type of jazz.”

“Was that easy for you? I don’t mean to be rude, but I know El Aurians live an extended life span. Do you find it a relatively simple thing to choose a talent to develop and then just do it?" Miss Post asked.

“If you are asking whether it is easier for me to learn, for instance, to play the jazz alto sax than it would be for someone of Terra, then I’d have to say, no. No easier at all,” Jade said, with a shake of her head.

“Musical instruments, styles, perfection … it all takes time for anyone who wants to learn any instrument. I do happen to have more of that commodity than some species, of course. So, yes, I can decide easily to devote the time it takes to master something, and then move on to something else.”

Caroline thought about that for a moment as she listened to the music for the last few moments of the piece. "I don't know if I could dance to that, but it certainly gives something inside me a lift."

"Probably no dancing to that piece, if you stick to dance styles of today,” Jade agreed. “If you danced like you lived in 1950, … yes, you could.”

“You’ve studied the dance of the time, as well?” Caroline asked, surprised.

“A bit. My friend … was quite good at it and taught me a little. It’s much more … hmm, romantic, I suppose, than the dancing today. Close body touching is involved, though how close depends on the two people dancing.”

Again, there was a softness about Jade that people didn’t normally see. The reporter almost asked more, but something held her back … a feeling of stepping on sacred ground, perhaps. There were some things a person was entitled not to share with the public.

Another selection began to play, and Caroline smiled. "This one is different. I believe I could find a way to dance along.”

Jade laughed, “I expect so. That’s I Can’t Give You Anything but Love, Baby, also a classic of course, and also played many different ways. You should come listen to my collection sometime. That particular song has been recorded often, even long after the time period where it was written. The style they’re playing came from 1999, the very end of the 20th century – a time of turmoil, in the music world and politically.”

"It's beautiful," Caroline said, after listening a moment. "Are there words?"

"There are, and Diana Krall’s version is both vocal and bouncy," Jade replied.

"I'd love to visit and hear that. Tell me, Miss Lantz, do you personally play music based on your own musical heritage, for the most part?" the reported asked.

“Not really," the El Aurian replied. “For one thing, my own people didn’t have music that is anything like the jazz I love. For another … they didn’t have an alto sax.”

That was only part of the truth, of course. Most El Aurian culture had been destroyed. A few things had survived, a few instruments, a few recordings, and … people’s memories. With all the will in the world, that couldn’t be turned into a wonderful database of everything El Aurian. There were so few left to access it, if it were possible.

Thoughtfully, Lantz continued, "Actually, I suppose I tend toward romantic jazz. People like it with their meals," she shrugged.

Caroline wasn't sure if the shrug meant people were inexplicable to Jade; perhaps she meant that, of course, customers preferred beautiful music with wonderful cuisine.

"Why only jazz?" she asked, intrigued by this music she had heard seldom in her life.

Again, Jade shrugged. "When you find the rhythm of the universe, why play anything else?"

 

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