ABOUT THIS EPISODE
A few weeks back, I went over to my mate Shahida Jobling’s apartment for a jam. He was housebound at the time due to recently having had knee surgery, so I imagine it didn’t really matter that I butchered most of the songs we played; I think he was glad for the company regardless :-)
We’ve performed a few times together over the years at local open mics here in the Blue Mountains, and I always enjoy it. Shahida has a beautiful voice… especially when he sings jazz, in my opinion; I once told him I thought he sounded like Billie Holiday, and his eyes went wide and he said, “Why thank you!”
But he has an enormous repertoire, transcending genres. On this day we played “Mad John” by the band Small Faces, whom I had never heard of, as well as “America” by Simon & Garfunkel, “Candyman” by the Grateful Dead, “The Hive” by Jimmy Web (also a new one to me), and a bit of guitar and mandolin improv on blues and bluegrass themes / chord progressions.
It’s always a pleasure and an honour getting to play music with Shahida, and I look forward to our next jam.
Otherspect is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free subscriber (or, if you already are one, I welcome you to support me even further by upgrading to a paid subscription for only five bucks a year!). Thank you :-)
Get full access to Otherspect at otherspect.substack.com/subscribe
