We have written – more than once – about Music Section patron Justin Kauflin.
Last October, Justin performed a wonderful jazz set at the Library of Congress celebrating 50 years of service by the NLS Music Section, and demonstrating his prowess and creativity at the keyboard.
Thanks to technology, Justin’s performance can now be heard by one and all. His performance is available on the Library of Congress YouTube channel.
Those of us who were present can remember and relish the music, as you can, too, if you go to the link below. But the music was not the totality of the evening’s performance. Justin spoke before each segment giving us a sense of what it was about and indicating that it was a creation. It was not a packaged done deal.
No doubt each piece had endless hours of preparation, exploration and experimentation, but the performance was new, spontaneous. This is one of the beauties of jazz which Justin made clear with his words and his playing.
So both his words and his music should be listened to – with care and attention. The rewards are great.
For those who want to hear even more about and from Justin, there was a pre-concert question and answer period in which Justin responded at length to many questions, some of them quite excellent. Here, too, careful listening will be rewarded with insights into Justin and his music.
The concert performance is introduced by Karen Keninger, Director, National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped. Here is the link.
The Q&A session can be found at this link.
So, in conclusion, go forth and enjoy!