After a week in Quito, Maria Paz, my friend and host, asked me what was the thing I liked most about her city. I told her I had yet to discover...it would be the people, I supposed, the beautiful moments hidden in everyday life. I was still a tourist, my domain was still old churches, landmarks, breathtaking but inanimate views of mountains and valleys, pictures with stories that were not my own.
I met Paz's circle of friends later that afternoon. We shared wine at a local video rental store turned Jazz bar. Since most of the conversation was over my head, I sat there, soaking up the atmosphere and watching the musicians. I don't think I've ever listened to Jazz live before...and as I studied the faces of the musicians, the furrowed eyebrows of the guitarist, the wide-eyed concentration of the drummer, the surprising twists and turns the music took, I realized: Jazz is to watch at the very moment of invention.
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