The Swaying Bridge, Chicago

Possibly my favorite recording of the trip…this musician’s exuberant playing on his improvised drum kit is infectious!

During the bustle of a workday at its close, and once the wind and rain had subsided, the same bridge setting where I had heard the sax player offered more musical sounds. Easy to forget the rudimentary drumkit that included plastic pails and a milk crate, this guy displays playflul energy and enthusiasm!

At the beginning and end of this soundfile, what sounds like a horse passing over cobblestone is in actual fact a guy in his wheelchair, shaking his paper cup of change, the same guy I had given some money to earlier in the shadow of the Lyric Opera building. I wonder where he found shelter when the skies opened for half an hour minutes earlier.

And what might sound like a flute here is in actual fact the squeaking of a bus riding its brakes behind me as it inches through gridlock traffic on the bridge. Did I mention that this large bridge swayed eerily once in a while from when I first set foot on it? I just figured, well, that’s what bridges do in Chicago, and certainly none of the passersby seemed phased. With the recent bridge tragedy in Missouri, this potential impermanence underscores the fragile construct of the day-to-day that we otherwise assume to be solid and real, not to mention the ephemeral nature of music…all the more reason to revel in this drumming, so visceral and electrifying - if in the mood, it picks you up and carries you along, as strong as any wrought iron bridge Chicago has to offer!

The way UrbanFlute seems to be unfolding, I wouldn’t be surprised if this player is related somehow to the fantastic drummer I had heard the night before at the REX in Toronto.