I suspect I heard this before but ignored it. You know, denial and such. But we were watching a concert last night and the lack was noticable.
Derek (Ding Dong) Bell of The Cheiftans passed away several years ago.
Derek was the serious guy on the baby grand or the harp, think he even played harpsichord. Private sort of guy. Baby face with serious expression, and you wondered why the others would look at him in expectation -- until it was his turn. You know The Toybox Symphony? That's what he reminds me of. Very, very good musician, classical and Celtic, one who plays to support the others, but he could also let loose with a heavy duty classical piece that just happened to be based on the jig they'd just played.
Kudos to the rest of the group for not trying to replace him. Their concerts were always a case of inviting the audience and a few local musicians into their kitchen for a evening of anything musical, and they've extended that. It's now more than ever The Chieftans and Friends, and the friends fill just enough of the void that the music can continue.
Derek, I picture you up in the sky behind that baby grand, adding yet another complex line to the music and sneaking in notes and bars that keep us smiling.
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Between stimulus and response there is a space.
In that space is our power to choose our response.
In our response lies our growth and our freedom.
- Viktor E. Frankl
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