You’re probably most familiar with pianist/keyboardist Nik Baertsch through his creative “zen-funk” quartet Ronin, but the artist is equally adept at the pen. This creative and enjoyable book is a series of writings about his passion about the holistic view of combining all parts of one’s life as one giant symphony. Through a series of stories, proverbs, poems, reflections and photos, Baertsch is reminiscent of a Zen Master focusing and enhancing one’s listening abilities for not only music, but for life itself.
Mixing humor (“A Useless Guide For Everything”) with stories and proverbs, Baertsch combines drawing, martial arts, diet and stories of Shostakovich and his hero Stravinsky to create a mosaic and tapestry of free flowing ideas that somehow tie into a Byzantine masterpiece of color and depth. There are time when you’ll think “is this written tongue in cheek?” and other times you’ll go “this guy’s on to something”, making the book like a carry along conversation with your quirky but brilliant friend. If you don’t learn something about music or life itself here, you’ll be a lesser person for it. It makes you think of his music as the soundtrack for this spiritual travelogue. Imbibe deeply.