Playing for Ram Dass

On Maui.

Playing the cello for Ram Dass was always a trip because he was a cellist too. I miss playing for him now- he’s been gone almost 2 years. Even though I sometimes I felt self-conscious, wondering if Richard Alpert was still inside him liking or disliking my playing, he was my teacher. And as I sat in his living room performing Bach for a small gathering each year, I’d look up from my cello and into his eyes for some teaching. He gazed intently back at me, deeply engrossed in the moment.

Although he told me he’d pushed away from his intellect, it felt in those moments as if that part of him was fully present, as present as his huge soul. After I finished the final cadence, he’d raise one hand in the air in salutation. He could only use that one hand after his massive stroke, and his own cello days were now part of a previous life. He’d tell some funny stories about them, like when his high school conductor stopped the orchestra and said, “Mr. Alpert, you can’t fool me!” RD was faking his cello part! Telling the story, he had a good laugh and so did we.

When I was at the house last, I rode in the backseat of his Leaf as his caretaker Kathleen Dassi Murphy drove us to the beach for the weekly swim. I connected my phone to the car stereo. As we moved across the Maui landscape, my new album with Wells Hanley (in an early stage of creation) moved through the air. Dassi complimented me and Ram Dass called the music, “very meditative.” Although he always spoke the truth and I should have taken him at his word, my mind moved to an alternate reality. The scene transformed, and I had the distinct feeling that I was a kid with Grandma and Grandpa, on a special trip to the beach. They were listening to their grandson’s music and reacting the way kind grandparents would. It was so real, so vivid, that I knew in my heart the Universe was giving me a precious gift. It always gives us exactly what we need, and there was deep healing in that moment.

That album, Love Rules, Meditations for Cello and Piano, is now ready for the world. It’s a collaboration with amazing pianist Wells Hanley, with beautiful playing by Mark Egan and Arjun Bruggeman, both friends from Krishna Das’ band. It’s coming out very soon but right now you can hear a couple songs and preorder the CD or download in our Shop.

I hope it’s very meditative for you too.

We appreciate all of your support and all you do! It all goes a long long way.

Stay in the Heart.

Noah

Amazing photo by Mary Godschalk