Playing Music at Night under the Bridge

When I was a teen, I used to sneak out of the house and play music in the woods or, especially, at the loading dock of the local mall because I loved the echoey sound and the sense of being alone, “out there,” playing music as if I were Sonny Rollins on the Brooklyn Bridge or some other improviser reckoning with self and the numinous. Later, I’d play in the outdoor concert hall at my arts high school. In fact, the night before graduation, a friend and I snuck out of our dorms at 3am and I played saxophone and he played the organ which was set up for the ceremony. Badasses, I know. I love playing music at night, and especially outside. I still do this, sometimes playing under the bridge to the 403 Highway near me. I like the susurration of the cars above and the otherwise stillness of the night.

Here’s a recording I made of me playing a couple days ago under that bridge. I go out late at night. It’s a kind of slow meditation, or lament. And it centres and calms me. Maybe it might do the same for you as a listener.

I’ve added a video of night driving (not mine) just to give that nighttime highway effect.