Being adult human beings is not as easy as they told us it would be. “Oh, you’ll understand when you get older.” “You’ll be able to do that when you’re a grownup.” Surprise! So, sometimes we are so busy trying to figure out what hit us that we forget that being alive is a privilege.
There are millions of reasons to be grateful — shall we start with waking up?
Here is the musical embodiment of that sentiment:
This delicious little episode — gratitude, swung — took place at the Cleveland Classic Jazz Party on September 13, 2015. The spiritual teachers on the stand are Duke Heitger, trumpet; Scott Robinson, tenor saxophone; Rossano Sportiello, piano; Nicki Parrott, string bass; Ricky Malichi, drums. I am so glad they exist, and that they are imbued with such art, grace, and love — conveyed in every second of this performance. The song, as Duke tells us, is THANKS A MILLION, so the people we also give thanks to are Jon-Erik Kellso, Louis Armstrong, and even Dick Powell.
And surely I am grateful to Nancy Hancock Griffith and Kathy Hancock for courageously and fervently making sure that there is another Cleveland Classic Jazz Party in September 2016.
But mostly I am glad to have ears to hear with, friends to share pleasures with, and music to savor.
May your happiness increase!
JAZZ LIVES 