1. |
Oracle of Delphi
04:13
|
|||
Sacred Muse,
be with us now.
Let no heart
be closed off from the world.
Come inside, take a seat.
if you’re thirsty, sip a glass.
Please don’t worry, it’s not a test.
No wrong thing to say.
Lie down if you wish.
Make yourself at home.
Exhale your woes.
When you’re ready, we’ll begin.
Stare into this light
or close your eyes.
Listen to my voice,
count back to ten.
Every muscle will relax.
Every worry fly away.
You are floating
on a wine-dark sea.
Nothing harms you here,
not man, or beast, or god.
Your memories
won’t cut like bronze.
From the mid-point go back
to the very beginning.
|
||||
2. |
Caeneus
05:35
|
|||
What happens when
your blade won’t cut?
What happens when
your arrows break?
Do you curse
the strength they have?
When it won’t fit
into your pack.
Can’t be stacked
or put away.
Do you crush it
under oak and stone?
When you swallow your pride,
gazing at the ground.
Will you tell them
they’re wrong?
Oh so wrong.
When you let it out
what is in.
Won a blessing and
made your wish.
Do you let them
neigh and jeer?
When you’re in
over your head.
The cavalry is coming
over the hill.
Will you flee
or stand your ground?
Is it pride
that weighs you down?
Or do you want
to stand unbowed?
|
||||
3. |
Deucalion and Pyrrha
07:46
|
|||
Shadow drawn back,
reveal the wind-swept stage.
The props and turf we know,
roaring coldness rushing in.
Batten down the hatches,
for the end will not come slow.
Seal the timbers, start the pumps,
set the clock, cut the lines.
Hoist the anchors, check ignition,
buckles snapped, worries cinched.
Heavens eyes survey the scene,
the divine decree, mission control.
Papa’s spark, Mom’s propellant,
light the fuse and get away.
The vessel, it casts off.
Rock and Roll, Rock and Roll!
Each shudder prompts a shiver,
each groan offers dread.
The flood drowns the world,
but the earth is not dead.
Check the timbers, fix the pumps,
calculus, empty tanks.
EVA, check for mold.
Quiet yawning, wide and waiting.
They strain to seek each orbit.
Roughness wards the cold.
Blood for red, wings for white.
Colors to stain the scape.
Catch and release the clamor,
horizon in their pockets.
With each survivor
we nod our heads.
The flood will drown us, the world
The earth’s not dead.
Humans made life like gods,
life like gods.
So it’s been said.
|
||||
4. |
Menoceus
04:20
|
|||
For the smiles traded slyly.
For our fathers who were sown.
For the band that sang no song unseemly.
Let me not fall in despair.
Let me not fall in despair.
So that seven gates let in only friends.
So that this curse is cut away.
So that the butcher drinks his fill,
drinks his fill.
Let me not fall in despair.
Let me not fall in despair.
If this mad pox melts away.
If those standards tear and flutter.
If his words are sage and true.
His words are sage and true.
His words are sage and true.
|
||||
5. |
Autolycus
07:16
|
|||
The funny thing about it all:
Announce that this is yours,
and yours alone, don’t touch,
don’t move, don’t leave a scratch,
that’s when fingers start to itch.
Paste a mountain onto the plains,
it’s clearly there for climbing,
as firewalls are for cracking,
as boxes are for opening,
as fences are for vaulting.
Like those mystics say:
Owners owned, souls weighed down.
Can’t be taken with, doesn’t help today.
Let the coins fall from your hands–
–wherever they may.
And oh yes, there’s a rush that comes
from walking through the walls,
knowing what lies behind each door,
plucking secrets from the world tree,
having everything for free.
Hands can be filled at any time
no dread at being empty,
Tips and tricks on throws and tumblers.
Pressure points for profit
grab the burning yam, then drop it.
One way of looking at it:
Cheeks stuffed with nuts can’t speak.
Gold locked away can’t gleam.
Traders trade too much to live–
–So only thieves can truly give.
Biometric chips, too easily foiled,
each camera has an obscure angle,
each hide has dyes that best soak in,
nothing can’t fit under a new roof,
what sick bastard would brand a hoof?
The world herself a thief that steals our bones,
She’s careful, and leaves no prints at the scenes.
Lovers steal the heart, actors steal the show.
All gold and lives will go to Hades,
And even the sun will steal the shades.
All in all:
Youth will leave their mark.
A rose upon a table,
a sigil scratched upon a wall–
–An ornate card for them to call.
|
||||
6. |
Asclepius
05:14
|
|||
Don’t let them hear your prayers,
don’t let them give their blessings,
don’t let your voice drift up to the sky.
They wrote this setting’s premise,
they set this cycle spinning,
they had us live to die.
Ten seconds from disaster,
ten paces from a poison,
ten words to provoke a killing blow.
Rivers flow to oceans,
dust is dust again,
what is above is now below.
All the rules are in their hands,
worlds made to be broken,
speed limits to be surpassed.
Dig the wax out from your ears,
bow your head and bend your knees,
so dangerous secrets can be hissed.
Broken hearts are mended,
their tears and cuts sewn shut,
blood in the holes on two they missed.
Jagged arcs from heaven,
hairs stand up on end,
the lighting comes before the thunder.
|
||||
7. |
Atalanta
04:05
|
|||
Hot breath,
over your shoulder.
Pins and needles
on your spine.
Keep going,
you’ll run it down.
Pick up the pace,
choke down the air,
exhale.
Keep going and
you’ll draw first blood.
It looms overhead,
a bonfire bound in fur.
Bloodshot eyes,
as they blame you for its plight.
Rainbow slick,
and flowing past the concrete wall.
Skim the surface,
race the ripples,
walk on water.
You’ll run it down.
Pick up the pace.
You won’t get gored.
You’ll draw first blood.
Hot breath,
over your shoulder.
Pins and needles
on your spine.
Keep going,
you’ll run it down.
|
||||
8. |
Philemon and Baucis
05:37
|
|||
Roads run into marshes,
roofs like little islands,
climb up to dry your feet.
I remember their love,
like solid ground.
Marble ceiling scorched by smoke,
stairs like rope and empty rooms,
packed up like provisions.
I remember their love,
was stacked like wood.
Blurry photos, fruit laid out,
Incense sticks in holders,
inchworm ash crept along.
I remember their love,
caught and released.
Under an over grown and linden tree,
was a bench grey and weather worn.
Two places that were smooth,
from the act of two sitting forever.
Milk like nectar flowing fast,
bottles like a honeycomb,
delivered bright and early.
I remember their love,
never ran dry.
Oak and Linden intertwined,
casting shade like fishing line,
to shelter passerby.
I remember their love,
put down deep roots.
I remember their love,
never ran dry.
I remember their love,
like solid ground.
|
||||
9. |
The Dioscuri
06:51
|
|||
We feel the thunder,
echo through our bones.
The lamppost flickers out ahead.
Tangled alley mazes,
attic shadows litter,
Neon walkers out to bust some heads.
Our fists will talk with cracking,
each back will guard the other.
The night is long but we’ll be strong,
for our sister and our brother.
Polygonal Dudes (Lightning Chop!)
Turf-breakers, alarm clock wakers.
Our discord echoes like a lion’s roar.
Polygonal Dudes (Gutter Kick!)
Healing food, fighting in the nude.
The thunderclap of our palms pierce new stars.
Big goons on your six.
Fresh meat jumping in.
No time to stop, no arrows blinking ‘Go’.
Wonder for her welfare.
Fear for her fortunes,
Time imprisons whether fast or slow.
We know she’s fighting,
to turn about their unfair play.
And come the dawn,
They’re blinded by the day.
Polygonal Dudes (Dragon Shock!)
Snapping bone and fractured stone,
Our discord echoes like a lion’s roar.
Polygonal Dudes (Falcon Flip!)
Reviled, dispute filed,
The thunderclap of our palms pierce new stars.
At last the cities edge,
the peak that holds the throne.
The big boss throws the cup down on the stage.
The fist that snapped the horns,
twisted leather wraps,
uppercuts that spiral out in rage.
The snakes coil at his feet,
his edge won’t dull our grind.
His ship unfurls black sails,
our blood strikes from behind.
Polygonal Dudes (Heavens Heal!)
Polygonal Dudes (Scything Fist!)
Polygonal Dudes (Crushing Blow!)
Polygonal Dudes (Body Lock!)
Polygonal Dudes (Shoulder Pop!)
Polygonal Dudes (Crushing Blow!)
|
||||
10. |
The Peacock
05:54
|
|||
11. |
Three Views of a Secret
05:54
|
|||
12. |
River
06:39
|
Jazz String Quintet Chicago, Illinois
He has a Bachelor in Music Composition from DePaul University and a Masters in Music Composition from Northwestern
University. Jim Gailloreto is the artistic director of the non-profit Jazz Artists Resource
Jazz String Quintet started on a dare to combine jazz saxophone with a string quartet.
... more
Streaming and Download help
Jazz String Quintet recommends:
If you like The Pythiad (featuring Cheryl Wilson), you may also like:
Bandcamp Daily your guide to the world of Bandcamp