l , r , r . , . . r t i r : : : .Tr . . ,

notes f rom asp r i tual journey

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FeraLslebefn Pub srer

Redaklion Fa r.,

Renale Da Rin

Gratsche Gesial i ! .g l j ra l r .n.3! l

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Abs.hrllt lrans.fpl

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Marce Meier

Fotoiachvve se aul Sete 140

Pro1..rec ts s.e page ll0

Übeßeizu.g des VoruJorts

Tran: al on of the lofe,lDrrl

Patr.k S mek

Druck ft rl

O 2006 W lam Pa eriq 1007l i r d ese Ausgabelor tF s edion

buddYs kn 1e jazed tion

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tsBN 978 3 00 020141 7

AleRechLerorbeh.tcn vervelätgung undZtate

aj glei.h we.hefArt, nuf mt schfttl.her Genehnigun! des Autors.

A , !:[t! !, r] c.py !ht5 i th s nat.r.r are res.lec

airl :narthDfze{l re,r.du.1on 5 tr!h b ted

inhalt contents

Dav'd BLrdbi

einlei iung prclace

isten ng to un versesoundlourna entres 1967 2006

6

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20

22

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who owns nusn2wurd. bcarbelct lnd herausgegebei von

Rcnate Da Rn, buddys knfelazedtion, Kön. Das Buch enthät Passager

a!5 W lam Parkers Schrlten und ph los.phisch.n Ge.lanken wie &m

Aespiet Sa]n.t Jarnat, L4ayat .t Punkrille Dacunenl Hunanun i4ust.

a..t the ShadowpeaPle t wie e ne Ausvrah sene. Ged.hte. Enge Absätz.

aus dem Kapitel so,d lo,,n,] enties 1967 9AA6 s ft nr Janua' 2004 n

lranzös sch.r Fassunq n t denr Tte s,rrdlo,r"a/ beßils ers.henen(a!5 dem Englschen ubersetztvon Aexandre Petrcpont, nil Förderung

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vorwort foreword

raining on the moonDavid Budb (Dezembe ,006)

In New York C ty werden S e Avantgarde Jazz, Free JarzAvant Jazz oder w e alch rnmer nran den St I nennen w | ,vor alem downtown genauer gesagt !m East V lage, aul derLower East Slde - hören kdnnen. Der Le two I del LrngekrönteKön g, der Vater und Hohepriester d eser Szene heiUt Wi iamParker Se ne Algegen!!ärtgket !nd schler unerschöpj ichef -g- d" fa, t -"9" tDot.B.at at^^ ^.m.W lam Parkers , ,nie ermüdende Power !rd selne steis0pt jm smus versprlrhende Si immung" s nd geradezu erneHerku esle stung l lm es auf den Punkt zu br ingen:W lam Parker g l t n der Szene n cht ohne Gturd as der Mann.

E n Krii ker der LA Week4l, der uber Pafkers Kompos t onenund den St i se nes Sp e s schrleb, meinte, er habe sel len lemanden getroffen, der so ve dealsmus Lrnd Menschlchkeitbesitzt. Und d e New Yorker Zetschrift The Vjllage vaice scft ehüber ihn 'Während se ner Konzerte kann die Komb naton auselenrentarer Kraft und m tre ßender Großzügigkeit dem Zuhörerganz schon Lrnter d e Haut gehen. IEr rst ] der besländ gste TopFree Jazz Bass st aler Zeiten.' Das kanadische Jazzmagaz nCoda charakters erte ihn sogar rnit der trellend knappenFormu ierung:

'W lanr is i ein{ach einer der größten lebenden

Bass slen. ' Jeder, der hn schon e nnral gehört hat, w rd diesbestät gen.

Wil iam war af mehr a s 200 E nspie ungen bete lgt (StandDezember 2006). Doch neben alseinen Alfnahmen undAlrftritten sowoh mit se nen eigenen GrLrppen wie etwa demWillian Parker Auartet Lnrd de-rl The Dttle Huey CreativeMusic Orchestra, um nrr zwe zu nennen - und se ner führenden Role in def Downtown'Szene lst er ebenso Ph losoph undTheo oge w e auch D chter Darum geht es n who owns

W lams vorrafg ges Lrnd wicht gstes Lebensz e st es,ein gl ter Mensch /Lr seln lemand, der se ne Achtsamketgegenüber dem Le d n der Welt n cht ver ler l . D es g l t nsbe-sondere tÜr d e N,/ lefschen n dieser We t d e nach se nene genen Worten ,,Opfer des lJnterdrückungssystems, däs s chLeben fefnt, wurden, ufd a s dessen Ursachen Kap ta sm!s,lmperalsmus und Rassismus anzlführen s nd' . Fr lr hn ist eswetaus wchtger e n guter N/ lensch zu be beni as e n gLrterMusrker zu se n Das sagt s ch so lc ichi denn nach e nst mmiger Enschätzlng st er d e kreatvste und dynam schsleebe'rde Persofitiz ertrng e nes Koftrabass sLen Doch trotzse ner verb ilffenden techn schen Fertgkeitef und se nesErl ndungsre chtums st lMusik für Wllam ledoch be We ternkeir Selbstzweck

A s Mls ker st er der N4einLrng dass w r um d eses Lebenund d e Mensch ichke t als Ganzes rlber d e N.4uslk zu stei endas mus ka ische Werk a s he ige relgiöse Kunst m D ensteGottes sehen müssen. n se nen ALrgef ls l dcr Mus ker, !einJunger des Herrnier spet, schreibt und tr t t auf, Lrn nderWelte fe spir i tucle Botschaft zu verbreten, die von Liebe lM tgefuhund Freude erf l l l t ist ."

Wenn e n ['lus ker lv]ensch chke t höher bewertei a s N.4usikund se n mLS ka sches Werk als hei ige Kunst ansieht, dannwird d eser nach se nen Worten prakt sch von se bst zLr e ncnr,.mitfüh endef Wesen' (Ihe Rose ol Compass;on) ,D esesWesen", so W jam weler. , , fühl t a es leden Schmerz ledeTräne ledes Grube n leden W!i lsch, leden traLrrgen Seufzerel f der Welt Deine gesarnte Ex stenz musst du m t d esemNl tgefühl er[] len, b s du das Kofzept der Se bsUosigkeilverslar iden hast. 'So nimmt der lVusiker die Ro e eines Arztes,eifes He ers, eines Priesters an.

W am Parker fasst se n Konzept so rusanrmeni, ,N.4us khande te und handel i mmer von N/efschen und ge st gerGesundlng [ ] Nlusik egt den Ke m fr l r Freude [ ] DurchMus k erfährt das Leben e nen Wandc. Erst wenn der Zuhörerversteht, dass W I ams \,4us k n cht wen ger beabs cht gL als dre

Veränderung des Lebens! a s se ne Verbesserung, nsbesond-.ref l l r a le, die durch best mmte Umstäfde zu Opfern wurden erstwenn dcr ZLrhöref d ese lundamentae Ernsthaft gket selnerlVusik versteht, kann er selne Vl!s k wirklch horen.

Der G larr ist Joe Mons drückl es so alrs 'W lams MLrs kst lre von Zyn smls D e kraltvo e Energie se nes Spie s z ehtef aLrs dem M tgelüh Lrnd se ner t efen, rea st schen Mora.D e Ehrl chkeit und das Engagementi die se n Werk pfagen,sind r lber leden Zwe fe erhaben'

Genau d ese sanfte Art macht Wllams Vis on so d fekt undlberzelgend. n einer Ze t d e von Zyn smLrs und Sarkasmls

la sogar von d rekter Feindse gket gepragt si wirkcn W iamPafkers Freund chkeit !nd unerschöpf iche ge st ge Großzug g'ket nsprerend aul a e, die rnt hm in Kontakt kommen.

Und tatsäch ch:So we er redet ebt er In sener Wohnung! i dcr New Yofkei Lower East Side herscht e n ständ gesKornmen Lrfd Gehen von Mus kern, Freurden, Freufden vofFreLrnden und K fdern Und ganz g e ch ob ef s e kennt odern cht - leder der hungrig st , bekommt be! hm elwas z! essen.Wil am iebt es, se ne Gäste zu bew rtenr manchmai gibt es,Nahrung' n Fonn von N,4Lrs k dann w eder se bst gegri te

Wi iam Lrnd ch sind berets se I fasl20 Jahren glr ieFreufde ch ebe und ! ,randere gerne m nörd chen Te I vofNew Eng and wo s ch w de Berge und von der Landw rtschaftgepragte Taler abwechseln. W lam dagegen ebt n c ncr anderen Art von W dnis: in New York Cty. Dod wandert er zwischen

w e er es auszudrücken pf egt ,rechleckiger Bergenf amens Wohnungsba!projekten' umher. lmmer wef n ichgeme nsam m t W iam d e Ha b nse Manhattan durchstre fe stdies - so unglaubwurd g das k lngen mag e ne enispannendeLrnd wunderbare ErfahrLrfg. Ganz g e ch ob man m t hm h naufnach Har em zlm Afrlcan Bazaar aul der l16. Straße, Eckelvlalcolm X Bou evard, fahrt oder e ne Tour den Broadway h nebzLrr äuBersten Sp tze von Manhattan macht um den w ldesten

Tei von New York C ty zLr er eben:Wenn es s ch be m ,Expe-d t ionsle tel um den stets !nerschütter chen, afgenehmen,treLrnd ichen Lrnd gui gela!nien W ll am Parker hande i, machid eser Ausfhg so richtig Spaß. Es kommt mir dann tast so vor,als leße ich m ch n me ner He mat af einem schönen Sommertag n einem Kanu e nen r lh gen FlLrss h nablre ben

Während dle Großsiadt !m e nen herLrm lärmt lnd brü lL,geht Wilam ruhig und st€tg se nen Weg. Dabei gnorert er deGroßstadtkakofon en um hn herlrm n cht e njachi vielmehr ster ganz da ln d esem Leben, zug e ch aber auch n se nem

W lam Parker :st ein schwarzer Zen-Nlönch der Großstadt,ein Rosh , eln selbstbeherrschter und zugie ch vo lkommenbeschedener demüt ger Lrnd zurückhatender Mensch.Er besitzt die besondere Gabe, ganz bei s ich selbst se n urds ch zug eich fach außen wenden zu köffen und so die Weltum ihn herlm schr pfäzlse wahrzunehmen. W lam Parker st -wie es Chrsten formLrleren würden -, ,ganz und gar i , ledochn cht vo, dieser We 1". Ob er sich durch den w rbe nden Stfldebewegt, dem se n Leben n New York C ty ähnelt oder ob errund um den Erdbal re st , immer st er der Bezugspunkt, dasAlrge des orkans de Rlrhe m ZenlrLrm des Sturms.

Manchmal wenn ich W lam n New York Clty besuche,gehen w r zum Mittagessen uptown fach Hadem, zum Freder ckDouglass Bou evard Ecke l5l . Straße nen afroamerikansches SoLrl Food Restaurant namens Charles'SoLrthern StyleKtchen. Es besteht nur aus einem winzgen engen Raum vo erResopa T sche, in dem s ch leden Tag e n buf tes Grüppchentf f t :We ße und Schwarze, N4änner und Frauen, Ate und Junge.Dort wrrd mir jedes Ma erneut k ar, dass w r ale Wl lams Tralmleben, den Traum von Fr eden und Harrnon e zwschen denRassen und K assen, von einem Ort, an dem wLr al e zusam-menkommen, gemeinsam Spaß haben und eine g ücklche Ze tereben achen, m te nander plaldern Lrnd heruma bern unddabei gegr l te Hähncher, Co lard Greens qnd kandierte

D ese V s on der Wet, we s e se n könnte, d ese Visionvon Frieden und Harmonie, diese Entsch ossenheit , d e Entternufgen Lrnd D f ferenzen zu überw nden, die !ns vonernandertrennen, f indet nirgendwo besser lhren A!sdruck a s n demGedicht am Ende von ü,ho oW/ls nustc? mit dem TtelRaining An the Moon:

... Verpflegung und Unterkunft stnd unsonst,der Ktieg lst aus und die Polizei lst nett.Sitting Bulls Gebuftstag witdzun NaUanalfeiertag erkIärt.John Wayne und Huey P Newtonnachen einen Hähncheninbtss auf,während die Black Panther und dL,Ku Klux Klan Saftball auf denRasen des WeiBen Hauses spteien.

Alle Schh,atzen, die ln den USAgelyncht wurden, werden wieder lebendig.Diejenigen, die sie getyncht haben,g ßen sie und bitlen sie un Vetzeihung.Die Väter, die thre Kinder venassen haben,kehren heim, um alles wieder gutzurnachen.Diese und wettere seltsane Dtnge

geschehen, wenn es auf dem Mand regnet.

n W lam Parkers Universum regnet es auf dem Mond.

Dard Br. lb 5t D.F:€r rn, . : lJr at le E'eLt rWrr iLL t l5A

räining on the moonr:. ,r F!,lLr ilrc! r L:r , rllrirl

I r o. 1. .d. , o" oa

it what you w I s for the rnost part, a Downtown th ng, down nthe East V lage, on the Lower East Sde. And the Papa Bear,the Unoff c al N,/layo( ihe Father Confessor and H gh Prest ofthat scene s Wl am Parker. W lam's omnipresencc and miLless energy Dow, Beat magaz ne caL s t W lam Parkers' indefat gab e eiergy and upbeat sp r t ' are l roth HefcLr eanand Gargantuan. In short, Wi lam Parker is lbe Mar.

A reviewer for lA Week4, sad of Parkefs compos ionsand p aylng. 'Rare y have I encountered mls c of sLrch idea ismard hunranity". New York's Thc Village Vaice sad,' I carceip" t - on br b o o -LFr -r " por" " .d. . 1o r .ocncrosly can be earth shaking lHe sl the most conslstentybri ant free jazz bass st of a t me' Ard Canada's lazz magazine, Codä, summed t up n.e y say ng "W lam Parker ss mply onc ot thc greatesl bass sts a ive". Anyone whos heardW lam play w I agree.

As of December 2006, Wliam Parker has appeared onmore than 200 record ngs But Ln add t on to a ol h s recordings afd performances, both wth his own groups - ke theWtllnn Patker Auartet atld The Litlle Huef Creetive MusicOr.hesta, to name lust two and his leadefsh p ot theDowntown scene, Wil iam s also a ph losopher, theo og an,and poei which s what who oLl,ns rnlsic? s aboul

Wi iam s f rst and most mportant goa ln fe s to be a goodhuman be ng someone who s attentve to the pain of the wordespcc a y 10 those peop e n this word who are as Wl am putsit "vict m zed by the oppress ve system ca led le as detifed bycapita srn impera sm and racsm" l t s lar rnore mportanttoW am to be a good hLrnran be n! thän io be a good mlrs c an.ts easy to say this about W I am s fce he s by almosl cveryone's elsi rnat on the most creaUve and dynamic avatar ot theacousnc bass a ve Al of Wr iam s dazzl ng technicaL lac lty and

invenUveness foiwithsiand ng, for W l l am, mLS c s a means toan end, noi an efd in tsef.

For W I a.n as a mus c'an n order to put th s ife and olrcommon human ty before music one needs to see the creationol music as a sacred, felgious act n the serv ce of the Lord.As Wi iam says, 'A musician is a d sc ple of God; he or shep ays! wrtes, and pertorms mus c to spread a sprritual messageol en ghtened love compass on, and ioy to the world."

When a mus c an plrts human ty before mus c and seesthe creai on of rnusic as a sacred act, then the musicanaLrtomatcaly becomes what Wl am refers to as The Rose afCompessior. "Th s rose" W lam says, 'Jeels everything everypain, every tear, every wonder ng tho!ght, every w sh, every sighot sadness that er sts in the world. You must f ll yoLrr entirebeing with ih s compass on unt you understand th-a concepi ofsefessness." In th s way the musican becomes a phys clan,

In summary W ll am says, 'The music was and wi I alwaysbe about peop e and ihe restorat ion of the spir t . . . MLrs c sthe incubat ion of loy . . . ThroLrgh mus c l i {e is al tered". Unt I theI stener understands that the plrpose of W l lam s mus c snoth ng less than ater ing i fe, making l fe better, especa y{orthose v ctim zed by certa n c rcumstances! until the istenerunderstands ihe deep rooted serio!sness of h s mus c, the| . rö ' i l r r \ r | öa l / tpa i , q Wi l i "n Dd 'a r L . l

As gu tarist Joe l4orris says, 'Wi liam's mrrs c s free of cync sm. The powerfu energy in h s p aying s drawn from compas-sion and a profoLrnd, realstic set oi eth cs. The s ncerity andcommitmenl n his work s beyond queston."

I t is Wliam's sweetness of spir i t that makes h s vis on sourgent and compel ng. In an age sal!rated with sneering,sarcast c, in yourface be ligefence W ll am's k ndness andal l i fc us ve gen-.ros ty of splr i t is an nspratonioal whocome in contact with him.

And Wi iam Parker practces what he preaches. Throughaprr - - o ' N4 . Yo L ' ' l r l Lorp f . I rd- p. ad-. a

constar i stream of musicians, f r ends, l rends of Jrends, k dssome known, soTne unknown -, and a I o{ them are fed, Wil iams ded cated to feed ng peop e; somet mes the tood s mlrs c,someUmes ts his own fr ied chicken.

W lam and I have been frlends for a most 20 years. veand wander n a wi lderness of mounta ns and farmland in north-ern New Ergand. Wllam ves n another k nd of wi derness.ca ed New York C ty There he wanders amofg nhiswords,' rectangular mouniains caled housing prolects ' . R dirg aroundl j ,4anhattan ls land wi lh Wil iam is, beleve i t or not, a relaxing,de ghtlu exper ence. Wheiher ts a t p up io Har em 10 theAfr can bazaar at ll6th Street and Malcolm X Bollevard, or acru se down Broadway from Lrpper to lower Manhattan lor atour ol ihe widest pad of the New York w lderness - when yolrw lderness guide is the unf lappable congenia, pleasant andfunny W lam Parker, the l r ip w I beapeeslre. l lsvefymlchke canoejng dowf a qu et stream on a summer's day in my

Wh e the sounds of the city crash and bang al around h rn,Wil am Parker moves ca mly and steadiy through his days, notob ivior.rs io the cacophonols ife around h rn bui rather totalywth n that i fe, yet at peace wthin h rnselt as wel.

Wi lianr Parker is a b ack, Lrban Zen monk, a rosh , a se t-possessed, yet complete y modest and humb e, sef ef fac nghuman be ng He is sor.eone able to be at once both fu yins de h msef and fuly outs de h rnse f and therefore attentveto the wof d. Wil iarn Parker is. as Chr st ans woLr d say "loia yjt b|r1 not ofthe wor d". As he moves through the welteringsw r that s h s lfe in New York C ty, and as he trave s aaround lhe world, he s the po nt ol re{erence, lhe nner eye,the st lness at the center of the storm.

Somelimes, when am v sit ng W I am ln New York City, wego Lrptown, to Har em up to Freder ck Doug ass Boulevard and

lslth Street, to a black sou food restaurant ca ed Charles'Southern Style Ktchen, a t ny p ace with Formica tab es afdnot much room, {or unch. A bLrnch of us go wh te fo ks, blacklo ks, men and women, old fo ks and kids.i's ihen that I rea ize that we a I are liv ng W liam's dream, ad -" f ofpF" . d ' rd d I 01. bat F-r - ra. p. . l - ta -a dream of peace and harmony where a I oi !s can be who weare iogeiher, hev ng a good t me, a happy t me together aughng and visi t ng and cown ng arolnd and eat ng fr ed chicken,co ard greens, and cand ed yams.

Th s vs on of what cou d be, th s vsiof of peace and harmony, lh s determinat on to overcome the d stances and d ffrencesthat separate us s nowhere belter expressed than in the astpoem in who owrs musrc?.aled Raining an the lvlaon:

... foad and rent are fteethe war stops, palice are nrce.Silting Bull's birthday is declareda national holdayJohn Wayne and Huey P Newtonopen up a chtcken restaurantwhile the Black Panthers and lheKu Klux Klan play softball anthe white house lawn

every black nan who was lynchedin Anetica is rcsurrectedthe men who lynched thengreet then and apalogizeall the fatheß who left their childtenreturn hone to heal thlngslhese and nany other strange things

happen when i! ruins on lhe moon

ln W lam Parkers wor d, r ight now, i t s ra n ng on the moon.

U:, 'd U!.b :np.etandpalrr l lht !n! n W.. .11 LISA.

t9

einleitung preface

When L began to study music I was on y taught aDoLit scalesrne od es, rhythm, and harmony. As L grew c oser to mus c andbegan lo develop a more personal relatonshpwthsoLrnd, dscovered lhat mus c was much more lvlLrs c was a synonym torife. lt was not my job to own or possess t, nor was t my Job to

undersland t. t was my job to ove and accepl tnusrc on ts own

lerms. rvho olvrs mus/l]? s a shar ng of deas, through ioLrrnalentres, reco ect ions and poems. This book traces my sp rtual

lourney thro!gh the wor d ol creatve mLrsic.

13 Auestions1) What s music?2) What js solnd?3) What is s lence?4) What is strLrctLrre?5) What s co or?6) who def nes these ihings?7) Who makes up the ru es and regu ai ions of rn!s c?8) Do those ru es appy to th€ cnt re world?9) What ls mprov sat on?

l0) What is cornpositon?l l ) What are rhythm, harmony, and me ody?l2) Why are dead mus c ans more valLrabie than iv ng m|s cians?l3) Who owns music?

' 'r,r . P.,r,. 5lptenrLr:. 2üaLl

l !stening to universe

MY ConcernI am concerned about the enlghtenment of a hlmans Thoscwho have been v ctim zed by an oppress ve system thal m tates

fe as def ned by capltalsrn, mperial sm, and racism am a so

concerned about the d ciators of the world who scnd otherpeoples ch ldren lo war I wolld lke to ove iirose kno!\r wrro

might be caLled fam ly and those who do not know with the

1968In 1968 | was 16 years old, my father p aycd the mlsrc ofDuke E I ngton, Couni Bas e, Gene Ammons Colemaf Hawk ns,

Don Byas BenWebstera thetme I istened each t me w th

both ears opef. Then I begaf to lsten to Moderf Jazz OuartetJohr Col l rane, Abert Ayler Ornette Coeman Afch e Shepp,

and Cecj TaylorIt became very c ear to me thal Lhere was a tremendouspower in riusic lt ,,,/as the th fg thai accompan ed the great

ceremonies I le By ceremony I mean thc sun ns ng andsett ng, ocean waves mov ng towards the shore as birds takco11 n f lght.N4Lrs c was the rilual that wou d lake away al the aches andpa ns of those who suffer each day with llness Music was a

sp r t that was f led w th gface and sp endoLrr l l mLrs . worked

lor me I could work for someofe else fe t I could make acontr bution lo music as a bassrst

The 8as5o\re the bass and the stel ar work of a I the bass p ayefs who

have bcen involved in creatve mls c f you ar€ unfam iar YriLh

.reatve muslc here are some ot my recommendalons:

Ron Cartcrs bass playing throughout h s n!slcal career one

that spafs over 40 r,ears, has ä ways been exqlrs te L sten to

any recording he s on part cu ar ly lke h s work wl lh M cs

Dav s Er c Do phy, Arch c Shepp, A Lce Coltrane Andrew Hr ,

and Herbie Hancock, aways n top lormi i f everything he hasrecorded you wi f nd exqu s te morncnis from the beginnifgto the end. He s a so an exce lent ce list and very good com

R chard Davis you m ght say s the al seeing ear ol basspayers.He s underneath each musical moment every t me hep ays, add ng slrala and depth to every mus ca s tuat on he snvolved rn Lstentotheseseected recofd ngsr Heavy Soundswith Ev n Jones, Eric Dolphy's Out to Lurch, any ot h s workwth the iMe Lcws Thad Jones Orchestra

J mmy Garrson (1933 1976) r 'as one of the unsung heroesol bass p ay ng. He was the foundatiof for lhe John ColtraneOLrartet from 1961 unt the time of Coltrane's death n 1967.Jimmy was a fantastic masler o{ time and pLrlse. H s \,ra k ngbass inesaref ledwitha kfdsof beautfu syncopateddances heavily drenched in the b ues. As a solo st he was oneof the bcst storyt- . lers in music. Employi fg sLrLnrs. doub e andLD- oo.." . - t " qo,o-or otgL,p '"p"d- | p.

to .l mmy on any of hls record ngs w th John Coltrane, or theEv n Jones Trio He s also on the Sonny Rol l ns c ass ctecotding East Broadway Rundawn.

lv." r " .o Mool o 'L /o^ .00r d. o.öo tröaööpp

bass brothers of the planet. H s sound was buoyant, res I entn lone and attack He has p ayed and recofdcd w ih a I them!s c ans from the AACf,4 (Assooat o| fof the Aovafcemenrof Creatve N,/llrs cians) based n Chicago w th the Art Ensemb eof Chrcago, Archle Shepp, Sunny Murray.

Henry Grimes rs ofe of the great master bass st of al l t me Hisp aying both arco and pzzcato s r iqht there, strong afd eterna.Henry wou d aways g ve the mus c that extra push to take ttoihc nert eve . R ght there ln the face ol sound. Henry is onmany notab e recordings wth Don Cherry, Cec Taylor, AlbertAy er, Arch e Shepp, Sonny Ro ns, and many oiher renowned

'A d reclve 10 vlo n (Df a bowed.trn! .sirlmeni) drur.ran5 to pe.lom. paJlcuar pa5sale b! s1 kng the sn ngs üth Thc wlor l01 the bowrelhd lh.n \ r lh lhe haL

W bLr Ware who is one ol the fathers of thc school caled'sel f soufd ' ' , had a delt sense ol t me and rhythm ard wasaways partcipatng nthedanceof fc. l fyou get a chance,sten to his dlrets with Suf Ra.

I a so shou d mentiof Regg e Workman (check out the CDFour far Ttane hy A,tcll e Shepp, also his recordings wthwayne Shorter, A ce Co trane, Art B akey, John Co trancand h s own)

A an S lva has been p vola to creatve mLisLciäns as bassrsland teacher and is h gh y noicd lor h s spontancous conductrn! lfor arge orchestras. His p ay ng on the J mmy Lyons CD OtheiAf lernoors is a whole other thingi a so h s signature arco workwith Cecil Tay or and h s b ues vr'ork with the Ffank Wr ght

Ouartet s both transcendent and fundarnenta

have thoroughly enloyed Buster W I ams bass vr'ork Partcuary vr'ith The Jazz Crusaders, it cou dn't get any better than thatsou ful e ast ic i ty t me, cho ce ol noies, a thls withoLrt os ng thel l rnk. A of these wonderlu mls c ans have contr butcd to thee eval on of ife, each insp ring me in a different beaut tlrl way

Then comes Peter Kowa d the bass st from Germany, whotook e I ihe r l r les and brokc them into p eces lhen pLtthemback together aga n I h s own se f ess vr'ay. Pa ntinll bass f esn an abstract fo k system Lrs ng al the co ors on the palettePeter, who died n 200r, lovcd the work of al the h storl(: bassists ke Ray Brown GeorgeDuvver,andMil tHnton lbeievehis own mlrs c stands up to the r work w thoLrl quest of, be-cause he oved ife lLrst as much as ihey d d Peter showed usthcre ere many roads to ihe same v lage and they are a Iequa ly bcaut i tu.

A l lhe bass sts who ove l i fe are constanty Lookrng lor newü/ays to comrnunicate r,lith the muses to get c oser lo lhe divinemus c. lshoud also menton the stronc com posit o nal work olBrian Sm th. lv laro Pavone, Dave HoLlard, John Patt lcci B l

'A phrase..ne.i by lhe .t. poei ied Joans

Lee, Mark He as, [4ark Dresser lM chae Bis o. L ndsey Horner,. lohn L

' idberg, and the aLrt !mna work of Eddie Gomez with

' r .pp log" " o o"L Bl- o t D -oo.

The dark lrce slr ng s gna s la d down by Ralael Garretl andLew s Worrel , the Egyptan ight cyc cs dcve oped by Cec I[.4cBee L sten to h s arco work on a song caled Loye on thePharoah Sandefs record ng trembl or any ol h s own rccordngs (L4utitna, Altenate Spaces. Liye ,l Sweet Basir. The

olten Lrnheralded but a ways magn f cent Art Davis w th hjslmplemertrng the foLrrth l inger as en individual force I f fger nl lthe bass, a so h s p ayng w th Colt'ane (Art shed 1or u/eeksuri th John Co trene p ay ng duets).

Here s a part a I si of music ars/bass p ayers whom I love:Stafford Janres, Scotty Ho t, Curt s Lrndy, John L ndbergRoberto f,4 randa. H Greene, Jean JacqLres Avefel W lbertde Joode, John Edwards, Vttel Cherry, Harrson BafkheadJar bu Shahid, Miroslav Vtous, Gary Peacock, Chaffett \4offett,Steve Swalo,",r . LseE is TomWlamson LousSpears

^verySharpe, Leon Lcc Dorsey Henry Frafk n. Tyrone Bro\fin, KcntKess er, Kent Carter, M ke Formanek Robcri Pope, Hak m Jam.

-^"S. "r .Dor Vo.. , . ' D.o.d,o, lo- la.Fo o-B. -Ph ips Ess et Ess et Leofard Jones. Char e Haden, Steve Ne .Robe H!rst Ray Drummond, Vctor Spro cs, Jym e Vlerr i t t ,Larry Gales. Butch Wanen, V ctor Gaskin, Herbie Lewls, BobCunn ngham . . .

The ale Pops Fosle' Jimmy B afton. We lman BraLrd, TonrrnyPoiler, Oscar Pettford Niels Henning Orsted Pedersef, PaulChambers Harry M ler Edd e Jones, Char es Clark A bertSl nson Ahmed Abdu Nla[k, Water Booker Sam Joncs, PauChambers Doug Watkins Earl Freemrn Red l , / tche , RayBrown lM lt Hinlon, Geofge DLrvvier, Jay O ver, Fred Hopk ns,lsr:re Crosby, W ber Morrs, Bobby V dal, Ronnic Boykins,Cervera Jefferes, Johnny Dyanl Scotl Lafaro Percy Heath,. l .F Jenny C ark, Beb Gu6rn, Bob Red . . . Specal menton toCharles M ngls and srae Lopez for the r nstrumenta andcompost iona conk bui oIs

: i

VoicesI d dnt trust schoo s bccalse at an early age I began to hearvo ces. I never heard a vo ce com ng out of schoo that sald anyth fg that I co! d fc ale lo. The vo ces L heard were from thestreets and the ora h stories of the people There w-.re alwaysthe sentiments of f owers and faifbows that accompanied a Iof ths. was aways more interested nthesprt thanthemnd.t was my dream in early years to become a ieacher I couldmagine everylh ng school shou d be and was not. Early on Iknew t was poss ble to nurlure and develop the nd v dLa vo ce

SometimesSomel mes, when I stand on a street corner and a breezecomes by and can fee and see the ove y memories that lven the spaces between day and n ght, say th ngs, wrte things.Some peop c read these th ngs and they don t be eve tirenr

ComposerA composer arranges soLrnds n a particLrlar order alternat ngbetween sound and s ence. The resu i s a solrnd paint ng.Solnd painted over a canvas of s ience. The range, shape ardqualty of the sounds used to make !p a sound pa nt ing ar-.im t ess Any sound that exists I the universe can be Lrsed na sound pa nl fg Beethoven was a composer (sound painter)James Brown (he d ed on 12125106) was aso a composer(so!nd pa itet. They Lrse the same mater a1s, they put Lhesoufds togcther i different ways, but they are both sound

rö o .a.o po r , omnr r . -d o rra ooi , l^ om!s cans a so varies frorn cornposer to cornposer The scorecan bc wri l icn down on paper ut lz ing symbo s shapes, co ors,

air graphs, etc. The nformat on conla ned n a score may a so beconveyed to ihe nstrumenta st verba ly or by the cornposerp ayng the sounds oo a mus ca instrument and havng theother fstrumerta ists copy the sounds eilher exactly or n the rown way on the r nstrument. Th s lorm of commun cat ng spassed on throLrgh the mLrs c iisell. When p aying a sound, the

other members ol the ensemb e who hear that sound haveseverel opL ons. They can repeat the sound, p ay a comp ementary solrd or contrary sound, or choose not to react at a .When a sound paint ing takes of a l fe of ts own, going p acesthat were not ntended in the or ig na design of the conrpos 1orwe have d scovered inus c

\ lusic, kegravtyafd green plants s a forever-pervas ve lorcethat seeps nto our sLrbcofsc ous. Af{ecUng !s n ways we arenot even aware of. Each mus c an heafs mus c his or her ownway. Th s ind vdua i ty contr ibutes to the deve opment ofsystems of improvsat onlcompos ton. Aesthet cs, ph osophiesand mus ca train ng of the mus cian he p to determ ne the co orand character of the mls clv lLrs c is emol ona, bLr l the emotona state of th, . rnusic afshou d not get n the way of the musics f ow The slghtestvarat on oJ a trad t ional musca deaw I carry the mLrs c an nto

wor d. There are over fJly counlries in Afficaeach ofe has ts own .u ture and music. Dvers ty of people andmus c is paradox ca no matter how dilterent (we are the sameand at the same t me d fferent) I have heard voca music fromt- o.-u o, - o loLgop- |

f rom A abamä. The core of a f i rusc svbratonoJsound, n1ated by human beings, al sons and daughters of creaton.

Ore of the most mportant deas that | lot ffom reed ng theworks of Hazrat nayat Khan was the concept of broaden ng thedef n l ion of mls c. De{ n ng mls c as more than lLrst sound.Solnd \ , /as on y one of i ts propedies, and not the most mportant one N/l!s c was actually afyth ng that was beautitu. t wasthe elemental th ng n fe that nrade th ngs fesonant n themost perlect way poss b e N/lus c s fe Sw ng is any ife-aff rm'ng gesture that t ranscends the mundane Tak fg both themr rdnond he ener orohe e.el . t or ' , rL ne 5The highest evel ol mls c cou d up l t and heal the humanspir t . Takrg one nto the colr nt es s olher worlds lhal are al olrd sposa. The owest evelof mus c cou d ater our emotons,taking one trom a state ot sadness to a state ot optim sm whenneeded Comforting olr t red, weary sou s to get Lrs throullh

another day Al t 'res

th s cou d take ofe to the lootpath of themLrses. He p ng us to l to anolher step n our search for atm cpeace. The br ight mus c of sunsh nc The sad happy music ora n on top of a gray purple sky. The mus c chi ldr- 'n make whenthey are augh ng and p ay ng.

We d d noth ng to earn ih s l le t was a g f t givcn to us Wthth s ! l f i comes a huge respons b l ty maintenance of the bodyand m nd n o.der to { nd out what ife Ls al aboLrt. ll we can'tagrce on how we got here. we can ai east come to some k ndof agreemenl on why we are here. The art s the art of v ngOut ol th s comes a message to ove one anolirer n accordancew th the divine aws of the Creat. i r ol i fe. For some t s famable, t ls JesLrs, A ah, Blddha . lehovah. For othels t is fame-less, t s the sun, moon, siar9, t rees, p afets, and moLrnta nsThe messenger s caled humaf bcing We exerc se th s ar l ofv ng through our da y I fe cyc es. Not how we 1a k bLt what we

have lo say not how !!e wa k but !,/here we are wa k ng 1.) andwhat vr 'e are ca'rying on our backs who we rneet on our lou'ney How deep do we want to take thls ca ing? Atter acknow -edg ng that be ng born s tsel f a ca ing Wth t come ccrtanfespons b l t es. Where are v/e gorng and what are we golng todo when we affve at our deslnaton? Not how we ookorhowvre drcss bLrt how we treat one anolher Art er sts to he p gLj deLrs to the center of i le. t isnotasocla r tLra lor theei te.Art se spi f l l ra ceremony n the most adorning rel ig ous sefse. sowe may reach ihc area where th s myster ous force ca ed ex stence rad ates the rrost. We as human be fgs need io be .on-stanly inlormed how to ive, hov/ Lo incorporate our knowledgeso t is n synch wth the f ov'r of the winds oceans and moLrf-i.r ns. Mak ng sLrre that it s noi v o at ng the earth n any way.The best nrcthod lo convey this information is through nsp rat on. say th s because insp rat on can bypass ihe braln and gofighL to the heart Th s s based olf of the hypolhes s that \,.re

" " .o- g - . braÄ'öo dlöd

solr l , whch s a reservorfor sprt . Sprt is anothef namelortheln€xpla nab e inl ni te fe force or NOUS Al ol these th ngs arenked to i fe. Vl ls c was e malor component n th 5 scenarlo. t

was p ayed to |pl f t and help rn:r i f ta in the hrrmaf sp r l . Music s

a necess ty, it s part of the core of every hlman be ng. lvus ctor me was aways based on the strongest natLra envrronmentthat was omr present aid had un versa appeal Thc sky, sLin,mornta ns, and trees these were the th ngs that were the clos-est to God. No maiier what rc g on you wefe, you cou d agreethat the sky was beautful and the iarn was warm and b uc.There sof lyonerelgon tscaied fe. l f wasgongto earnmLrs c, I wanted a f ower 10 leach rne harrnony I wanled Lhe ra nto teach me aboLt rhythm, and | ,,,ranted the clouds n the skyto tcach mc abol l me ody and spac ng.

l.lealsThe acknow edl lement of thcsc dcals gave me lhe aeslhet cthat the muslc I was go ng to do was not jlst aboLt ente a nment t was not just about art, t was about " nner atta fment''The music was and w I always be abort pcople an.l llre restorat on of the spirit. A sp rit that s ndefatgab e Ofce we haveihc sl lhtesL ink in! lhal th s sp r t ex sts, 1 soon becomes centfa to our be ng. t is the p ace where compasslon res des andlove reloices. These ideals have becorne essental to my ife andled nre to a ncw wey ol lh lnkng n regards tothetradtonapedasosy ( earn ns how to becorie a rnls c an).

Before proceeded in ihis vcnlure somc bas c qLrest ons had tobe answered. What s a music an? Where do they come from?Can ihcy be made or are they born? There was a so thisunknown area ca led the f!t!re. What was it go ng to be? wasnol srre abolt tomofrow |rnt | | uras ab e to connect a lract onof the possib i l cs. Mus c del n ic y had mag cal powers. I cou d{ee and taste ts presence every,,,/here. I knew the wondefuef lecl t had on me when stened to t Now was i t al mLrs c orjLrst certain mus c that had this power? Grow ng Lrp ked thcmus c heard on the rad o. Grorps ke The Temptat ons,The Contours, Thc Forr Tops, D ana Ross and the SupremesMus cians such as Smokey Robinson CLrrt s Vlayfield MarthaReeves, Malor Lance Maru n Gaye Ot s Redding, Ray Char es.Beng af m buff laso kcd the qrcatsorndlrack mLrscolVlaurce Jarre, Lao Schfr i i , Emer Bernste n, Bernard Hermanf,George Dc eruc, Ou ncy Jones, and John Barry.

'As quoled bj,W CDnfe Jr

BlLres Fce nq, Pufp c B ues, Darkcr B ucs, Easlcrn B ues B ackBlLres, and Red BlLres The phrase' p eas ng to the ear ' rs a Ircat!c lo ! !ho s bc ng p eased and ! !hat one wants out otmusrc There are as many mrscs as there are peope on earthIt ,,,/as obv ous the who e v/orld oved mus c, yet the wor d ,,rasa ways I t | r rrr io . Why hadf '1 mlsic säved lhewordlrom tsel f?14Lrs c had ceda nly saved me. Then ihought about the theoryol ba ances, whrh says thai every act on n te has a v bration.and that v brat on causes some k nd of ef fect. We arc ei lhcrenhanc ng l fe accord ng to the un versa balances or we areä tcr ng lhose ba air.-.s by disregard ng th,. Lrn versel awsf one cuts down a tree, t m ght have to be rep afted. f yo'rmake m ons of dolefs. yoLr m ght have to g ve some of thatback 1|) thc poo' who halc nolh ni l . These ar-. lhe aws olbaan.e. l f we th nk sel l less postve thoughts and folow themLrp w lh se l ess acLs n our da y ves, we are help ng to keeptheword baanced N4any peope go aong wth the existngprograms ot acceptab ity. They are irnav,/ere ot the povr'er theyhavc as crcat i lc b. ' ngs Amcr ce, ihc coLrntry where I grew up,

r r was never set up to a ow eqLra ty across the board lf t lvereso there wolr ld have lre-.n no need lor a. iv rghts movementt would have been poss b e for any Amer can to be Presidei l ofthe Un ted States. The gap betvveen r ch and poor wou d not beso w dc Thc ads vr 'or d bc pari ol lhe labf ic, no1 an ornament.'You're an art st why don't yo! get a real lobl' What cou d be

enl.iyed every second ol every solrnd. When yoLr are yoirng,everyth ng s new bccarsc you arc crperefcing t 1or the t i rsttme t rs erct ng afd t nantans th s exctemeft tor a ongi mc The n iial loy one lee s when isten ng to the r tavoritesong (me ody memory) ay ast a l fetrme for sone for otherst may {ade as we grow o der Vlelody memory takes Lrs backto the t me whcn wc I rs l hcard a parl cLr & p ece ol mus c(emot onal memory) y,/hat v/e were fee rng at that t meSomclmes, whcn vr 'e are n a partcr lar emotona state, wewant ta istef to mLrs c that a lows us 1lr dance wth I th shappifess or meanchoy in orderto be upif ted out of t o ' tobathe in the cc cbfalon.

more rea thaf up t t ng and nspir ing thc hlman sor ? Teechifqchidrcl l lo halc rcver.nce for l fe Not lusttheir lves brrt asothe l fe of every v fg th ng on earth. Those who rLr le do not seet th s \/r'ay al a . Thc pcop c have e ways gottef the short endor the stck Theyawayscome ast whef t .omestogettngihe amenit es of fe the leed ng o1 the m nd and the sp r t .They have bccn f{st kJ be ed to by those who control trlth,and trere s a groLrp of peop e regu at ng the trLrth wh.i man pLrlate throlrgh fearafd ies crcalngart i fca crses rordertomake monex engag ng,n heavy boLrts of mperarsm, ra. sm,casssm sexsm,andthecLr l tvat iof o lhate Gvng lhe l lsonthat al onc po ft ir t

'rie there !r'as someth ng .a ed the 'good

o d days' Th s s an nner term mean ng the days !r'hen theycorld be rac sl wi ihouL aryonc bolhcr irq thenr or ho d themaccoLrrlab c Days when they cou d do anyth ng they wanted/\'thout afy respect tor anyone anywhere. We are a greal fäL onbecalrse we lold oLrrsc vcs : jo A5k al the rema n ng fd antr bes aboLrt Amer cas greatness. History st rema fs to beHIS STORY and h s 5tory alofe. Now vifral do-.s th s havo t.r do!v lh lhc pcdagoqy oJ ur,sic? f"4an has fa ed mrserab y to useafd develop th s ile that has been glven Right now we mayhave the means to cur-. can.cr or prcvert fanr ne but we arefol do nq these th ngs. We are sti bLr d nq fuc ear weapons(enough to b ow Lrp the wor d one thoLrsand t mes over)

Thefe s one thread oi equaity that comes wth bir th that makesLrs equa ,rhether r ch poor b a.k of wh lc. That s the ,b ty tobe k n| to cach ot rer. The capac ty to lole ore another costsnoth ng, t rs on y a matter ot cho ce t s not mandatory that west'rr] \rars or k pooplc. Thcse tlr nqs crf be prevefted, elentroLrgh some say t s h!rnan natLrre to k one another say not s a .ho ce that we hä!-. Hrman bc ngs .an lo to the nroonwhy can i lhcy rcsist k i ro one afother? Th s afa ogy s str k ngbe.a,rse one th nks ol go ng to the moon as a lascinät ng andcomp et th n!. I ., fot an clcrydäy occLrflence. Yet t s of-a oltre east mportant th ngs that $/e have accomp shed. VlLs ccannot be deleated N4Lrs c . :Lnfot d e. Mls c r ! r . :aler lhaf anyattcmpl by any nrusc s.hoo to codify t Or.e !r 'e are en ght-efed and lve are a\(,are of our enlghtenrient, \ae cen be I ed

with compass on abolt aiy ihing We can see that everyth nghas ts p ace l tsnotvr 'hatoihersdo ncgatvey, l t swhatyoudo that lS

After a ong per od of contemp aton | ,,,/as ab e lo map out acourse ol dlrecton. Th s co nc ded w th my sten nl l lo themLrs c o[ Duke El ngtof John Co lrane Ornette Co eman DonCherry Archle Shepp [,/]ar on Brown A bert Aylc,, Cec Taylorand B I Dixon. Th s gave me examp es oJ sone ot the poss b l it ies of how music co| ld be constructed. l f my second periodot stening I too erarnined the mus c of Leroy Jenk ns, AnthonyBraxton. Roscoe lV tchel Wadada Leo Sm th Joseph Jarnran,and Kaiaparusha [ ,4aLir ice Mc ntyre In the th rd perod therewas the mrrs c of A an S !a, J mmy Lyons, Dave Burrel andGrachan Vloncur l l .

There !./as also the mus c of Asia. AJrca, South and CentraAmenca How d d the pygm es of the Conl lo make the so!ndstlLey made? heard runran vo ces and a fllte or wh st e Whatwas the techf ique? Where coLrld !et lhese instrLrments f lwanted to p ay lhem? How did the r mus c evo ve olrt ol theirives? Whai were the d f fe.ences and the s mrlart es n lhed lferenl mrs cs ol West Afrca, Central A1rca, North Atr ca?

What did these mus cs have to do wth me? | vr 'asn' t f rom theCongo or was l? Be ng b ack and v fg n Ameica, one is nevelsure of ones roots Lrr less research s done. That i5 go ng backnlo genea ogy to trace tam y or g ns. On the other hand, doest matter what part of Afr ca my arcestors cam-a from? Howdoes sat s ly ng that curosty weigh on my c!rrent statLrs?Does lnrcar wl beagoodmusoan f I come l rom a musicabackground? What s a good mus cian? l l go to the conservaiory, does that make me a good rnus c an or a conseNatvc

The qLrcsl ons are endless wth two inlcresl ing t ie lds seem ngto meet and touch anthropo ogy and ethnonrus co ogy. Whatsends me the most clear message is the now not yesterday ortomorrow bLrl th s momen| | am fterested n how this moment

mpacts everylh ng hov nany music ans can change the wor dby

'näk ng one solnd that even deaf people can hear. They

can hear the most mportanl sornds without eärs. t was abo!tconslrLrcl ng a heart w th ears that wolld see, hear, and lee alat once. At the same t me. golng beyond a lhcf!esenses ntoa word of lght, ighl ca ed tonc, ghl cal ed rhythm. I ght ca ledme ody, aht caled harmony. What s a ght scale? Spir i t sca e?What are Ghosts and the r re alionsh p lo v bfaro rone! ano; rbr" wh . i o Lr b-,p.dba o, o - r l o qo o

jazz school? Th s s the beg nn ng ol the nvesl gatio,r. Systemsof mprov saUon. Systems ol cornpos t on Systems ot rhythrn.' . , . .n o ' - oo q,o ' . o . r ö. or at6l

na sound. Systems ol human sounds. Systcms oJ regu atedsounds Systems o{ mov ng soLrnds Systems of speak ngsounds Systems of fowng sounds. Contnuous and non coft n!ous rhythm. Systems ol anc enl me ody. Syslems ol anc entrhythm. Ofe of ihc key e ements s for each maker oT mus c todef ine their own mus c and not have anyone as a m dd c personor br dge We must empowe' oLIsc vcs. Sland ng Lrp and takingoLrr p ace. Exc a nr n,:t we are the masterp ece ,/1e can write t,we can play, we can ve Ho,,! do we conslrLrcl a sou that

The school ol mus c,r lanted to be assoc aled wth was theb ack mLrs c revo Lr lonery spir i t la schoo At the same t me,had to be open to the !nkno,,^rf schoo that ,,./olrld revcal lsc f

as time went on. Now l,.t me be exact When I say music, rneanthe slra gfr t ahcad mLrs c of Mi lord Graves' Bäbl Musr. . lheJohf Coltrane postAloye Sup/emeperod OL4, l edi tat iat ls,and life Ir Seal//e. The Rclerend Frank Wrght, A bert Ay er,and ihe Archie Shepp Fre Mrsi . per od This was Cosm cMls c. Th s mlrs c was the lel ne for inaiy peop e because thad a catharlc el fcci on Lrs l t lvas a v, ,ake-Lp ca to oLrr innerbe ng. The dormant s eepy area that oltent rnes lay !ndclcclcd.Atunfel that edtoabrghtrayo{ lghtca ed hope l twasatJrst g ancc about nct ng a sp r tual revoutonthat saroLrsngthe isteners of the mus c to beg I to ihink and vc in lefrn:j olthe r own sp r lLral ty This term aso w l have to be def ned in ac car succ nct way by each indiv dua. The def n tof ke a

def n t ons of the spir | ;s not one that can necessarly be pui onpaper. The deJ ni ton mlst be a vngenttywhoseonyjustf lca-t on s ove and compassion for a . Each def n tion hav ng itsown resonat ng chamber U t imatey kfo,,^/ jng that sp r tual ty snotas mportaniaslvingasprtual i fe. Many wars l rave beenfought in the narne ol re lg on. Somet mes re ig on has ttle todo with sp r tua ty and our re atonship with God.

MusicianA mus clan is a disc pe of God. He or she plays, wrtes, andperforms nrus c to spread a spir i tLra message of enlghtenedlove, compass on, and loy 10 the word

A music an hea s olhers by v bfat ing sound through the sou .Wheth-.f a mLrsic af accepts th s respons bilty when mus c splayed on any eve, the process has begLrn Thosc who a lowthe solnd to fo low i ts own palh or gu de t n accordarce to tschadered roLrte have the possibl tyofbenl l more successtu ntranslorm ng soLrnd nlo tofe. Tone s med c na to the stcnerbefore any music s p ayed. Sound is made by b ow ng air ntohorns. whistes, f utes, and trumpets. The v brai ng of membranes (sk ns) stretched across ho owed out logs, gourds, wthnccks made of wood, reeds, or grass p us str ngs of gut or anyother oca mater ial . Rattes. shakers, afd other sound makershave alv,rays been a pad of cvcry cu ture.

Mls c is inv sib e to lhc naked eye. 1 you want to look at rnls cgo fnd a beaut{u lake with wonderlu Lrees that spacedallalnst a ove y blLre sky. That s the c osest thing to mus c thatwe can see A rnusrca scorc is a paint ng that can be apprec ated as a p ece of ad. [4Lrs c cannot be miled Lo symbo s onpapef the same way a photograph of a hlnan being s nol lh-.real human be ng lv lusic s a ml l l d mens ona pla n ot ex st-ence No one owns mLS . no one nvented mlsic t ex stedbefore the human spec cs was created and may have p ayeda parl n the creation of man and wonrank nd. Music ives ina world separaLe iiom the mLrs cian a word ol which we haveon y toLrched the surface. Everyone wi deUne m!s c their ownwayi everyone r,'r I hear mus c the r o,,!f way. Music s man lest

n m lons of ways, and neu/ ways are be ng d scovefed everyday St l , muslc s onc thirg ard ofe thlng only Musrc s loveai ts h ghesi form, music s peacc. When we stef to mus c,re want peace we deni harmony l f we don 1 the mus c is notlvork ng. Becausc the world s n conslant turmo I as i t has beensifce the begrnn ng. t s the obl lat on of the mlrs cian tocolnleract this turmo lke trees and b rds anchor the wondso t ba ances aqain,

E!-.ry good v bration rs mLrs c There s a nronk who prays cachday lor hoLrrs on end One day hc s pray ng and he heafs aknock on h s door The inonk opens the door. There s a manouts/cle wear nq a nice green hat.'He io , says the monkThe rnan answers He lo are you the monk who prays at dayong seven days a week?'The

'nonk rep ies: 'Yes, come in. Wou d yoLr ke some tea?'

The man wth ihe oreen hat: ' woLi d I kc to ask yoir a quest iof "The monk: 'Fee {ree.Thc man: Wel . it's ike th s. You pray a day cvery day. I assurneyou are pray ng for world peace and harmony.'The mo' ik ' l pray for peace, harmony and understandrg'

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day? There s more \,rar fam nej murder and conrLrs on rfan wehave cver had n h story'The monk: Can yoLr magine the cond 1on of the world f werenot pfaying?'i s mlsic that keeps thc word from imp od r l r

A tme of crss s the perfect opportun ty lor .ompass on toarise. Cr s s ex sts cvery moment of every day that we lve.

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Just Breathelöp,o ö p.d/ . .o ' - lpqLore l1"or" . . .

brerlhe. i s a magn f cent gesture that is often underp ayed.

MilestonesOne Sunday aiternoon I was p aying a concert wth ilre saxophonist .lemee N4oondoc. I was plodd ng along in a f eld of redenerly that was bordered wth beautfu b ue lyr icsm. AdhurW ll ams played the trlrmpet, and Rashid Bakr was the drLrmmer.

| , i^d a-a. ,9. loo -dfo "-op- ' 'o i " . 'dense f e d of sound. Out of nowhere was ncl ned lo stop th ssearch and et go of lhe past and rle ln present t me I earr'redthe concept that f inding oneis own sound s I ke f nd ng one'snose. lf you look lor it, you w I never f nd t. lf you re ax, yo! wsoon d scover that you don't have to ook {or it. Al that s needed is to fealze your mls cal nd v dua ty rs always pfesent.We a I have our own mus cal DNA The b g qLrest on s wheiheror not we can accept i t n our lves at that niomen|

I tho!ght about the peop e who changed the shape ol mLrs c.They where the ones who broke exist ng rLrles expanded th-.mto f t the r necds as gu ded by the r aesthet c. The rnus c cont inled and I tasted my f rst bass so o that a owed m-. to enter fto

The next miestone was once aga n stepping back l rom thecngagement of mus c n order to eam thai t can also be.orrect to gu de the mus c 1{) compose mls . for others. top ay what can be wr tten for the se f Wr ting lor the p ayersaccofd;ng to who they are a most as rf there is a balancebetween the !nkno!.rn and the known. We deve op the knownon y to be ab e to accept the unknown (FLow), have t, a low r1,welcome t lo come throLrgh us.

Music lsl,/lus c s lhe abysmal ra nbow that brldges end ess galar es.h s the waterfa I fow ng throlgh the desert the mother theoffspr ng the o nti'rent the foot and hand ol the wlnd Al of

tö r41 olo.6d.L, pd-"dp".-

l !4usic s every wondrols canyon n a m racles dream. \ luslc sevolLrton the seed of charge. Music ex sted and ex sls with orwrthout h!man be ngs.

No race nvefted mrrsc

Music s a fofm of efergy ike the sun. N.4uslc s ihe vo cethrough wh ch sp r ts speak, !s ng a language that is beyondwords a mLrs c thal s beyond notes. Music nforms Lrs wiih a

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swan kfitt ng andscapes ot hope. N.lusic s the cry of fe anddeath at b rih end conception, the heartbeat, the pulse, thehea er and the healed, the co or podrali the rnagica stone,and the mag cal m sts lv ng s de by side.

N4Lrs c is the chlrp ng oJ b rds. i l s the grass beneath thecracked shels N,/lus c is dance and the dancer. t s poeiry andlhe poet. N4us c rs a ch ldren. Mus c is hot cornbread M!s c lsthe k fdness one f nds in a crayon draw fg. Mus c s woodtouch ng word. magine a doorbe made of lght lmag ne thehoLrse that we would enter il we rang that bel

N/ luslc s ihe rhythm ol butterf ies. Muslc s hlngry stomachsbeifg f i led. l4usic s]ust ice Music sbuewater,bluewhaes,

Mus c passes throLrgh sonre, wh le others relect the imegeThe greaicst music teacher s an oak tree. MLrs c cannot beiaught. M!s c s alve. [,/]Lrslc s a pasture of ye low grass s x : l i

Mus c tols from the cadh and ands on the sky of another unvefsc. Music s a drone over the Ganges. \ lus c is a snowlakelo" l ,go r 'o- . \4 lp1 . a '

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cap taism or impera smlilLrs c s thc answer and the quesl on. Part c es ol nrus ccannot be measured by sc entfc instruments. NlLrslc v bratesNot al mus c v brates at the same rate

N/lLrsic s rad art. The b ess ng, the understand ng the llnda-merta cyc revea fg the surerdcr nto the rea m of brghtness

f,4usc sthe ast ing response thee xr l , , /1Lrs c s nothng, musics everythlng There is more music n a babys sm le thaf n athoLrsafd symphony orchesiras. N4usc ves n the FuteMounta ns that are made of melted d amonds We dr nk them.Our eyes sparkle ike the peta s ol a black rosc. Mus c to plantbeans, lo p aft corn l '4usrc s the burn ng throne, the prod gadaughter, and the ra n c oud over the profoLrnd branches.

N4usic somet mes man fests iselassound.

lvllrs c s on y w sh is thc wel be ng of al hLrman beings. [4!s cexsis 10 feed the sp nt. lvlus c s no war, fot ever for any reason.

NlLrs c ;s the feri izer aid lhe seed. Every second we ve mus cs dy ng for Lrs Music w I save ihe day. Music rnlst save the dayMLrs c s the nrolher lo the motherless father to the fathenessMusic s home to the homeless. Dance mlrs c wedd ng musicf Lrneral mus c march mus c, wa iz music, wood tf us c, sleemLrsic, vo ce mLrsrc, trcc mus c, ocean fnusic, so music bak ngbread mLrs c, pastoral mls c, un on mLrs c, trance mLrs c relgo I I p-d r" ,Z on rnLrs c, Sh nto rnLrs c Buddha mus c s am c mLrs c. HlndLrmls c, W nt i mus c mus c for Damba ah Erzu e, Ogun GhedeAzacca music for Ouelza coat, for the Adena Hopewe l , musicfor the Red Pa rt peope, mlrs c to make the moon laLrgh andcause the suf to nrrn b]!e Mus c s the n.ubaton of loy.A symbo of mus c sKokope|. thehumpbackiutepayer. . .Through mLrs c l fe satered.Thsenergy i vs bie, mghtresemb e bards of ght stretched across I e ds ol gLow ng ashgo ng past layers of nf n ie hab tat on. The cry ot pra se, thememory, the eftrafce ot the f re, stLrpas chanUng Thc eftectpu s on gravry.