jazz at woodlawn cemetery

tonight was the night.
i secured 4 free tickets to a jazz concert.
this jazz concert was held at woodlawn cemetery in the bronx.
woodlawn is the final resting place of jazz legends.
hence it's fitting that a jazz concert would be played, if at any venue, here.

miles davis
irving berlin
duke ellington
lionel hampton
and many more jazz legends
also buried amongst the jazz greats are
geraldine fitzgerald
herman melville
(among others)

the little sisters were coming into town.
it was necessary to pull out all the stops;
can any more stops really be pulled out when you offer a concert in a cemetery, and not just any cemetery, but the one where the legends of the genre are resting?
thank you nyc for such an event.
thank you nyc for a free event such as this.

we rode the subway a long ways- we had two babies (our friends jessica and olive joined us)
it was quicker than i thought.
this cemetery is impressive.
each lovely rolling hill was speckled with the loveliest of grave markers.
a large lawn became the prime venue.
everyone brought lawn chairs and blankets as seating.
prior to we took a little stroll.
there is a jazz corner you see- every jazz legend covets this as a final spot.

but enough talk how about some pictures.

our set up. 

 the surrounding scenery. 

lovely. 

 mary wasn't sure what mode of transportation to take to the jazz corner. 

mom. 

hannah.

rapid foot action. 

a complex choice. 

 we entered jazz territory. 

 miles davis.... you are the man. 

 the corner of jazz legends. 

sir miles davis is the one closest. 

 mary has been waiting to see these aunts for 4 long months. 

this makes my momma heart go ***

 a future as a weather forecaster started looking grim. 

 a triple confusion of which one is her mom. 

 an  awesomely eerie purple glowing chapel. 

 mary mauled her maggie and hannah and jessica all show long. 

but this moment she was mauling she was being extra affectionately cute. 

this venue though. 

 i had high expectations- they were exceeded. 

this was one of those simple moments in my life i never want to forget. 

while it was a bit chaotic at times... (due to a toddler using me and everyone else as a jungle gym)

there was something indescribable about being able to experience a situation like this. 

one of the finest moments of the evening was when i looked up to see a couple dancing. 

it was one of the most beautiful dances i've seen firsthand. 

not because it was perfect or artistically brilliant- it was the type of beauty you see acted out in the movies. 

an older couple. 

one black, one white. 

being everything jazz was intended to be. 

it was beautiful. 

something so simple became lovely in every way. 

at that moment in my life i felt like i was in a movie. 

between the dance and the blare of that cornet i felt inspired to try and soak in every beautiful second of my life. 

i also ached a little to hold my dad's trusty cornet in my hands once more. 

perhaps become a jazz legend.... 

it couldn't have been a finer evening with any finer company. 

here's to being inspired by a simple dance and hopefully inspiring others with my own kind of dance.