my name is mwd

My attempt at the intro to Julian Lage’s performance of I’ll Be Seeing You.

It’s not as rich or nuanced as Julian’s wonderful performance, but I can’t express how emotional it was to play this for the first time and discover I could play anything approximating the right sound.

I can count on the fingers of one hand (and have room to spare) the number of times I’ve been moved by my own playing, that realisation that I could make a magic sound that is the gift from proper musicians. This video doesn’t really capture that moment, as here I’m too busy trying not to fluff it up after half a dozen attempts, but when I forget about the practice and just enjoy the piece, it still boggles me that I can attempt this piece, which I find so moving in the original.