Friends!
I'm writing from a beautiful hilltop house in Hawaii, looking out over the Kona coast and reflecting on life and work over the last month.
My new album REFLECTIONS: Scott Joplin Reconsidered came
out on February 4, at the top of the Billboard and iTunes charts! Right
away, I started hearing from listeners far and wide - incredibly warm
and personal responses. And when this NPR Morning Edition feature aired, there was even more of an outpouring. This music, and Joplin's story, is resonating in some very deep ways.
A few weeks ago, I spent a beautiful (if absolutely frigid) day in New York with Seth Colter Walls, walking through Joplin's Harlem to tell his story, and my own, for this wonderfully insightful deep-dive cover story for the New York Times.
I'm
beyond grateful to share this work. This week, in an interview
with "City Lights" on WABE Atlanta, I offered this perspective about
Joplin and so many other composers of the past: "We keep playing
their notes over and over again. Don't we also have to dig under that
surface and honor who they were - and who they weren't able to be
, because of their time and their circumstances? And to put that
possibility back into the notes. That's what I'm trying to do."
NEXT
UP! An evening of music and conversation with the brilliant author and
cultural commentator John McWhorter (who's a Joplin fanatic!) at WNYC's
The Greene Space on March 30. More stories, secrets and scandals from
Joplin's final years in New York, at a time of intense and rapid change
in American life. Please join us if you can! Limited tickets are
available HERE.
Thank you so much for your ongoing support and friendship - I'm sending you love and sunshine from this spectacular place!
Lara
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