Pianist Molly Flannery, long time performer at the Acton Jazz Cafe, hosted a house concert at her Littleton home for Harvey Diamond, her teacher, mentor, and jazz icon, along with New York-based double bassist Cameron Brown, and Cuban-born drummer Francisco Mela.
On a sweltering Sunday at the end of June, Flannery had arranged chairs and seats on the floor and around the table overlooking Long Lake to create almost a concert in the round. People brought appetizers and desserts, creating a festive atmosphere as we snacked and chatted before the concert..
Diamond, in his 80’s, had a sip of water and then sat at the piano and toodled off a little riff. When Molly introduced him, she repeated what he used to say to her before each lesson, “Anything can happen.” This spirit of possibility, inclusion and hope is a trademark for how he approaches his music and performing. He was about to begin when he turned to the audience and said, “There’s a joke I like to tell, but I should probably get playing.”
“Oh, tell it,” Cameron Brown, the bass player, responded. He rested his arm on his bass and nodded at Diamond in encouragement.
Diamond commenced, “A guy walks into a library, walks up to the librarian, and says, ‘Can I have a burger, an order of fries and a large chocolate milkshake, please?’ The librarian replies, ‘Sir, this is a library!’
So the guy leaned over, and whispered very quietly, ‘Can I have a burger…’ We all chuckled, and Diamond seemed to be relieved of his urgency to get out the joke. This set up a tone of informality, intimacy and playfulness that encompassed his music and presentation.
His fingers fly over the keys. He is largely not consulting music on either paper or an iPad, as he digs out jazz standards and Bossa Nova. A Cuban tune has the audience out of their seats and snaking around the space in a Conga-like line. He is fully present, taking his time with a ballad, luring us into the music and enveloping us with its harmonies and rhythm, making room for each phrase so that we may hear it fully expressed. It expands our own experience as he immerses himself in the music.
Diamond has made recordings with two singers who are present in the audience, and each of them comes up to share the stage for a couple of tunes.
These experienced musicians know this music, and each other, but have not played together recently, and listen intently to each other. Making music is a conversation, a blend of harmony and solos and they must pay attention to know where they are and what is intended.
It is a joy, an absolute delight, to be present with them, invited into their world and fully surrounded and held by it.
The All About Jazz website describes Harvey Diamond as an “unsung hero of the Boston jazz scene since the 1960s, both as a performer and a revered teacher” who plays with a “rare combination of technique, intellect, subtlety and heart.” This description aptly captures what he is bringing to us, and it is irresistible, a thrill to be there, and the heat does nothing to diminish this rare treat. To be in such an intimate setting just enhances the experience and we leave feeling full, connected to the musicians and something larger than ourselves. Harvey Diamond is a rare gem, and we are fortunate to have been gifted this time together.
Meg Stafford is an award winning author of two memoirs, speaker, storyteller and columnist. Her forty years as a licensed psychotherapist have provided invaluable insight into the quirks and passions of the human experience.