Reading P Anecdote

[Will Layman]

Today I went down to the Freer Gallery in DC with my son to catch a  
free concert by alto saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa, pianist Vijay  
Iyer, and their quartet.  Fantastic.  I'd brought the paperback MASON  
& DIXON with me to read while we waited for the concert to start.

On the way out, the musicians were sitting at a table to sign CDs.  I  
went up to talk to them and, after shaking Rudresh's hand, Vijay  
immediately said, "You're reading something by Pynchon!"  We talked  
about the new book and the fact that both AtD and M&D are historical  
novels.  He also asked me if I thought they would be thematically  
linked -- a logical question for a jazz musician to wonder about.

Hooray jazz!

-- Will