In Memoriam
Sylvia M. Rocha
January 11, 1948 - November 25, 2005

Who is Sylvia? What is she,
That all our swains commend her?
Holy, fair and wise is she;
The heaven such grace did lend her,
That she might admired be.

Is she kind as she is fair?
For beauty lives with kindness.
Love doth to her eyes repair,
To help him of his blindness,
And being helped, inhabits there.

Then to Sylvia let us sing,
That Sylvia is excelling;
She excels each mortal thing
Upon the dull earth dwelling:
To her let us garlands bring.

"Who is Sylvia?" from "Two Gentlemen of Verona" by William Shakespeare

Occasionally, I take my cornet into the street to play music. Sometimes I busk. One afternoon, while playing underground at the San Francisco Powell Street BART station, I noticed out of the the corner of my eye, someone standing nearby. I turned, and a fellow introduced himself as Gabe Sheen. Mr. Sheen told me he was a student at the San Francisco Art Institute, and was interested in photographing me for his thesis project. Since I had already purchased a ticket for one of the films at the 4th Annual San Francisco International Animation Festival screening early that evening, we agreed to meet afterward. Check out Gabe's website .

Attended the San Francisco Jazz Festival this evening - a performance of the Ornette Coleman Quartet at Davies Symphony Hall.

The quartet was quite unorthodox, featuring dual bassists (Albert McDowell on acoustic upright, and Anthony Falanga on electric), drums (Ornette's son Denardo Coleman), and Ornette on alto saxophone, trumpet and violin.

Attendance was near capacity for music that has probably seldom (if ever) been performed on American radio or television.

The music was well received, with exuberant audience applause that garnered three encores.
This evening's performance was the 50-year-anniversary of Ornette's original quartet's premiere at New York City's Village Vanguard in 1959.

So the little prince, in spite of all the good will that was inseparable from his love, had soon come to doubt her. He had taken seriously words that were without importance, and it had made him unhappy.

"I ought not to have listened to her," he confided to me one day. "One never ought to listen to the flowers. One should only look at them and breathe their fragrance. Mine perfumed all my planet. But I did not know how to take pleasure in all her grace. This tale of claws, which disturbed me so much, should only have filled my heart with tenderness and pity".

And he continued his confidence:

"The fact is that I didn't know how to understand anything! I ought to have judged by deeds and not by words. She cast her fragrance and her radiance over me. I ought never to have run away from her . . . I ought to have guessed all the affection that lay behind her poor little stratagems. Flowers are so inconsistent! But I was so young to know how to love her . . . "

Excerpted (w/o permission) from The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery (translated by Katherine Woods)

THIS evening I attended the Derrick Hall and Company CD Release Party at the Southbay Community Church in Fremont, CA. The "company" included singers, dancers, horn section, wailing lead guitar, violin and an opera singer! Passionate, rocking, spiritual music (HALLELUYER!!! and PRAISE JESUS!!!). One of the best live music concerts I have ever had the pleasure and privilege to witness. All the music was composed and arranged by Mr. Hall, who also sang and played beautifully on the piano.

Much thanks to Angelo Luster for the complimentary ticket.

w/trumpet/flugelhorn player Producer, Mr. Roussell White

At the 2009 San Francisco Gay Parade

With Vernel.

Getting into the groove during the after party!