memory bits for EB               yuji takahashi

remember earl brown?
his long arm creating curved shapes fading in space
mobil
his music almost visual but changing instantly
in different combinations with other shapes
his fingers indicate
fragments are times five in a page
performance-oriented
unlike theories of his contemporaries in europe

i saw him at xenakis' home in paris for the first time
watched them discussing the difference of the word passion
in french and in english

i saw him conducting his compositions in athens
two weeks before the coup d'etat
the night air was already sensitive
his fingers showing the combination in right time
an immediate play of rare bits
big gestures mix the sounds in and out

asking questions to young composers in a dark bar
near zoo station in berlin
was it in 1970?
recording and taking pictures in a studio in london
for time records

the last time i saw him
appeared unexpectedly in the waiting line
for merce cunningham performance in brooklyn
with susan sonntag
a few words and disappeared in the crowd
fleeting memories
from a city to another
move is also an art