Django's Cosmic Echo
There is a moment beyond the ticking of the clock, where melody and memory entwine. It is a realm as fleeting as a forgotten song and as endless as the echo of a distant note. It is the space between past and future, between what is remembered and what is yet to be imagined. Here, a musician finds himself lost in the harmony of tomorrow. This is the stage we call—Django's Cosmic Echo.
Afterword: Final Thoughts & Questions
by Alan Bryson
Chapters 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 In 2019 the film Yesterday was released. A struggling singer/songwriter is hit by a bus and a “glitch" occurs--he suddenly discovers he is the only person who has ever heard of the Beatles... In a panic, he googles them... nothing. No spoiler, ...
Continue ReadingChapter Seventeen: The Unspoken Duet
by Alan Bryson
Chapters 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 The air backstage at the Teatro Municipal thrummed with a contained electricity. Technicians scurried, musicians tuned, and the low murmur of the expectant Rio audience seeped through the heavy velvet curtains. Django Phralipen stood in the wings, his custom Gibson gleaming softly ...
Continue ReadingChapter Sixteen: Ghosts of Ipanema
by Alan Bryson
Chapters 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 The year was 1973. Five years had passed since the Kumpania tour had, against all odds, blazed a trail across the American Northeast, five years since Lenny Kramer's Rolling Stone feature had catapulted the Django Phralipen Brotherhood from an underground sensation to ...
Continue ReadingChapter Fifteen: The Kumpania Conquers the Northeast
by Alan Bryson
Chapters 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 Dave's call to Billy was met with an explosion of enthusiasm. “The Kumpania Plan? Man, I've been waiting for someone to have the guts to try it! Boston is cool, but the whole Northeast is full of places yearning for real music!" ...
Continue ReadingChapter Fourteen: The Kumpania Plan
by Alan Bryson
Chapters 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 The glow of the Paradiso triumph still lingered when Dirk gathered the band in their warehouse rehearsal space. “Good news, and... well, different news," he began, a familiar managerial caution in his voice. “EMI is ecstatic with the live recordings. They agree, ...
Continue ReadingChapter Thirteen: Paradiso Fire
by Alan Bryson
Chapters 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 The alchemy was immediate. The new members of the Django Phralipen Brotherhood hadn't just slotted in; they'd fused, creating a sound far richer and more complex than before. Marc Reuter's Hammond B3 swirled and pulsed, adding deep, soulful colors, while Rico's congas ...
Continue ReadingChapter Twelve: Toots is in Town
by Alan Bryson
Chapters 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 The roar of the KLM jet engines faded as the plane taxied towards a private section of Schiphol. At the behest of EMI, a sleek black Mercedes limousine waited discreetly on the tarmac. As the VIP stairway was positioned, a familiar figure ...
Continue ReadingChapter Eleven: The Brotherhood Expands
by Alan Bryson
Chapters 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 Dirk Bakker, ever thoughtful, decided to pick Bobbi Holloway up from Schiphol Airport alone. A transatlantic flight was exhausting, and he figured the young woman would appreciate a quiet welcome rather than an immediate immersion into the full, boisterous band. He found ...
Continue ReadingChapter Ten: Blueprints and New Blood
by Alan Bryson
Chapters 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 The Monday meeting with Mr. Alistair Finch, the solicitor Ronnie Scott had recommended, was a refreshingly straightforward affair. Finch, a dapper man with a keen eye for contractual nuance, confirmed Dirk's assessment: the EMI offer was not only generous but also remarkably ...
Continue ReadingChapter Nine: Big Deal
by Alan Bryson
Chapters 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 Relying on Dirk Bakker's wise counsel was rapidly proving to be one of the most providential decisions of Django's young, dislocated life. While Django was still navigating the dizzying aftermath of their second Ronnie Scott's triumph, Dirk took a quiet moment with ...
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