Tuesday, December 08, 2009

Jack Rose, R.I.P.


Gone too soon

I first heard Jack Rose in 2003 at the now-defunct 611 Florida space in Washington, D.C. The crowded room was silent for over an hour. We were all transported. After his set I talked with him briefly. He was open and funny. I remember him plunking a box of vinyl LPs of Opium Musick (his new album at the time) down on the livingroom floor, cutting the tape with a pocket knife, and selling me the record for $10.

The next time I heard him was in 2006 in Providence, RI. He played the closing set of Terrastock. Our ears (and minds) were fried after three days of incredible music, yet he held the room as he picked out waves of ringing tones. It was a transcendent moment, one that I will never forget.

"Jack was one of a handful of people I've ever saw that can take an instrument and literally go beyond - there's lots of people out there who are merely good or great, but when he really felt it and channeled it, there was something divine and transcendent in his touch. No tricks, no electric effects, just the sensation of making that perfect thing that lifted you out of this world."
Terrascope

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