I took this photo in August of 2009 while I was on a trip in Europe. While walking around Paris late one night with a friend I had met and strolling along the Seine, we happened upon a group of people sitting around playing music. There was something about the music and energy they were putting out that led us to hang around and listen for a bit. At some point they asked me if I played and handed me a guitar. I remember putting my whole soul into playing with them, singing a minor ¾ tune of mine called “Your Throne’s Been Sold.” When I handed the guitar back to them, they continued on with more gypsy-like music. I forget now which country they were from but it was definitely of the Balkan peninsula, I think Albania.

 

It was such a magical evening. The full moon was rising over the Seine with Venus there shining brightly. As the energy of the music picked up, some of the women got up to dance and I grabbed my camera, clicking away while trying to catch the magic of the moment, one with just enough movement and just enough clarity.

 

The image has been used a couple of times publicly now, once as the primary image for a women’s spiritual inquiry group, and just this past week I received a copy of the upcoming December 2011 issue of The Sun magazine where it is illustrating a short story called “Buenos Aires, Dancing, 1982.” You gotta love fiction.

 

They didn’t speak much English, and I didn’t speak their language, but we certainly connected over the language of music.

 

I’m adding another image here to give another flavor of the scene.

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