Tony Rice & Swiss Watches
Whatever Tony Rice did he approached on the genius level. I knew him to be not only an incredible guitarist, but also a superb amateur photographer, audio recording editor, and it’s worth mentioning that he could solve Rubik’s Cube in less than a minute!
Tony spent the last period of his remarkable time on earth exploring the world of Swiss watches! I must admit that that one really had me wondering. Allow me to speculate…
Recently, I read a biography of the sensational composer/orchestrator, Maurice Ravel. In the first chapter the writer (H. H. Stuckenschmidt) described the area where Ravel was born, the Basque region of France. To quote the eloquent Mr. Stuckenschmidt…
“Running obliquely through southern France there is a road called Route d’Argent, the Silver Highway. It starts near Lake Geneva, that silver droplet among the peaks of the Jura, the glaciers of Savoy, the snow massifs of Mont Blanc, and the gentle meadows of the Canton Vaud. The best watchmakers in the world work there. This industrious artisanry is at home in the villages around Geneva, where they speak a broad, resonant French. It produces little miracles of precision and dependability, weighing only a few ounces, assembled out of tiny metal wheels and jewels. They are dwarf machines that measure a little bit of eternity and last longer than the life of a man, often more than a century, in their unceasing labor.”
It took me all day to get this!
That’s when it hit me. Of course! That is why Tony spent his latter years in the amazing world of Swiss watches! They represent yet another concentration of his genius. I was there when he directed that focus on to photography. In those days he lived on Crystal River in Florida. When we weren’t busy preparing material for our recording of “River Suite”, we were exploring Crystal River in Tony’s boat. When Tony saw a shot he knew exactly what lens, filter, timing, and film type to use that would capture his vision. We practiced capturing fish jumping in mid-air from the boat!
Tony Rice was at home in his boat on Crystal River!
I so miss Tony. We all do. But I am grateful for his priceless recordings and for the good times we had together…as friends and as colleagues.