You just never know who is going to love to cook. A case in point is our friend Lynn Seaton, jazz musician extraordinaire and music teacher at the University of North Texas. You may know him as a world-class bass player that has played with the likes of Count Basie’s orchestra, but last Sunday I got a glimpse of another side of him.
“If I were anything other than a musician, I’d be a chef,” Lynn said. Well, shuck my corn! I had no idea.
We were both out in the lobby before church, and his son Aubrey was in his usual spot fund-raising for his class’s trip to Boston this summer. I was munching on a cranberry muffin made by his wife Marianna, who I already knew to be a good cook.
This led to a discussion about cranberries, and I said that I liked them in salads. I noticed that Lynn was instantly interested—fresh cranberries, he wanted to know? I said no, dried ones, along with some crumbled goat cheese, sliced Asian pear, toasted walnuts, and raspberry vinaigrette. That’s when he told me that he’s into cooking.
I asked him about his specialties, and he said Chinese and barbeque, and lately, he’s been experimenting with Indian. As someone who has struggled with the nuances of the Asian spice palette, I was impressed.
I confessed my lack of Indian food know-how, and he told me that basically all the spices that start with “C” are used in Indian dishes: curry, cumin, cinnamon, coriander, cayenne, and so on. He’s a fan of Madhur Jaffrey, whom the New York Times calls “the Indian cuisine authority.” I need to check her out. He also likes Alton Brown’s show, Good Eats, on the Food Network.
Unfortunately, the service was starting, and we ran out of time before I could pump him for barbeque tips, but I could just tell by the way his face lit up that the man knows his stuff.
It was the second time in a week that I made the music-food connection (see earlier post on New Orleans), and I’m starting to wonder what it is about each art form that draws them together. Maybe it’s that eating and music are both activities that are best when shared. I toss it back to you all—what do you think?
Meanwhile, don’t forget that Lynn’s band, Corner Pocket, is giving a concert this Saturday, January 23 at Horizon UU Church in Carrollton. Show starts at 7:30 pm, and tickets are only $10. I can’t help but hope that Lynn or Marianna will have some of their home-cooked “good eats” for purchase at the refreshment counter, but I’ll be fine with just the fabulous jazz. They’ll have their hands full enough, putting on the concert.
I love cranberries in salad and love good jazz. I may not be a “foodie” but I do like to try new tastes. Learning how to combine various flavors is an art, just like combining various sounds for jazz.