The Fourth Drawer On The Left

In that all-embracing darkness of the old jazz club’s basement, the thick smoke of bourbon fumes used to mingle with the echoes of the brilliant songs. There, also stood a chest of drawers, with its beautiful mahogany surface weathered by the passing years. The fourth drawer on the left remains still, but in each one of them is the story of how the music emerged.

As I pulled open the first drawer, I found old sheet pieces of music legible only to a musician. The songs played stand out in green ink on grey paper and yellowing notes of jazz standards, which include In A Sentimental Mood, and Summertime. There, like an unbound book and its scattered pages, was the core of a period of musical performance, identified with free imagination and intensity. A musical era characterized by improvisation and soulful expression.

When I slid to the second drawer, I was presented with a completely different picture all together. Here, amidst the chaos of tangled wires and electronic components, lies the machinery of the modern age. Synths, drum machines, and digital video recording equipment. Gone were the days of organic feelings within jamming, youth of discovery had been replaced by a mechanical facsimile of the music that once filled these hallowed halls. The era of discovering equilibrium between finances, fame, and innovation, had come to an end.

The third drawer creaked open, and a soft piano played in the background as I sought some solace for the contemporary comical aggravation of the world’s bad self. But instead, what I only got was silence, which made me feel like I was in a completely different world, of the only sound being the faint buzz of the traffic outside. I remembered purposeful silence as well as love that do not need any expressed words to fill the air. A break from the world filled with noises creeped in. But as I stood in this moment and milked it, I began to understand the meaning of that word. Thus if there was, as there was, no noise, then lay the chance for thoughts. When it’s all silent, one can hear, one can ponder and sink into the mood of the song to the brim.

As I left the fourth drawer on the left unopened, I felt the most gratitude for the music that had molded me. Still, the world is still shifting and changing and yet I know that no matter what the soul of genuine music will remain, hidden in the interstices of the score. Exploring the art that has already existed before is more captivating than anticipating what is to come, as new music may already be familiar to some. There is no need to fear delving into the past if we are unaware of it, as ultimately, it has played a significant role in shaping us in every form of art.

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