Sommelier butler Madame Red writes about the jazz and the single glass she enjoys alone on her days off — a story of an elegant night where a pastime and fine wine dissolve into one.
Sir, my lady. This is Butler Madame Red. Today, let me tell you a little about jazz, which is a pastime of mine — a modest confession of how I spend a day-off night, away from work.
On a night when the day's duties are done, I lower the lights a little and set the needle on a record. And I quietly tilt a glass chosen to match my mood that day. Jazz and fine wine — these two are, within me, inseparably joined. For both reveal their true worth only when savoured slowly, over time.
What I love above all is the low, singing tone of the bass. That resonance which seeps quietly to the depths of the chest. Not a sound that talks at you volubly, but one that softly keeps you company, gently unravelling the fatigue of the day. More than a flashy solo, it is the bass line that quietly supports the whole which always steals my heart. Perhaps because there is something in it akin to the butler's work — supporting the room without standing to the fore.
Amber sways within the glass, and a low melody flows from the speakers. Time that is mine alone, shown to no one. Yet it is because I have such quiet nights that I can stand before guests again the next day with an elegant smile. To hold time that moistens the heart is, for one who serves others, by no means a luxury.
Do spend a night of your own, everyone, with a favourite piece of music and a single glass. And so, let us meet again in the next entry.
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