A Macho Gazpacho Kind of Afternoon

It was a gas to see Jim Z. play vibes yesterday with his quartet at Susan and Michael's house in Bernal Heights. They removed the furniture from the small dining room and the band (vibes, bass, drums and sax) crammed itself in. People stood in the kitchen and hallway or sat on chairs in the living room and listened while Jim alternately played his beautiful tunes and explained some of the processes involved in writing the songs and playing that demonic-looking instrument. A sweet, old, grooving black dog walked in and settled under the vibes.

It didn't look like anyone in the room was under 40, and that might be a kind assessment, but then bop and straight-up jazz are not the flavors of the month to 20-somethings. But this music sure appeals to the rest of us, especially when you're standing so close to the guys playing that you feel you're just waiting your turn to solo.

The Salon idea, where people throw open their homes for artistic events, is an idea for our times. Even more important than the music, or painting, or photography, or short-story writing or poetry that attracts friends to these afternoons, is the sense of building a community of like-minded people.

In the end, all our Think Pads and IPods point our lives towards self-absorption. We can do it all ourselves, so we do. We hole up in our offices and Think. We download music and Pod. It's cheap. It's easy. And it makes us crazy. We need community. That's what the Salon does.

Jim Z. is a professional drummer by trade. Drummers are not like other humans -- they can do different things at the same time with both hands and both feet. Some even sing at the same time. Jim Z. didn't sing yesterday, and he was playing vibes instead of drums, but he did manage to hold four mallets in two hands and make each mallet sing for him. His tunes have names like Prints of Whales and Macho Gazpacho. The Great Plotnik knows this because he was staring over the shoulder of the saxophonist, following the music charts, while he took his imaginary piano solos in his head. What a great day.