LET’S CELEBRATE THE ALTO SAX
WITH INTERVIEWS WITH TWO OF THE MOST SOULFUL,
VINCENT HERRING AND
DANIEL BENNETT,
WHO BOTH HAVE NEW ALBUMS OUT,
IN THIS MONTH’S
“INTERVIEW”
SECTION
*******
BIG BANDS ARE BACK!
CHECK OUT THIS DOUBLE DISC BY
LEADER, COMPOSER AND VIBES MAN
RAY BROWN:
*************
GREAT DEEP TONED SINGERS ARE HARD TO COME BY,
SO THIS ALBUM BY
ERIC HOLLAWAY SHOULD GET YOUR ATTENTION:
**********
HERE ARE SOME EXCITING MODERN SOUNDS ALONG WITH
SENSUOUS VOCALS. CHECK OUT THIS ALBUM BY
BERNELL JONES II:
**********
JAZZY FUNK AND BLUEGRASS HOLD HANDS
ON THIS EXCITING AND FRESH RELEASE BY
PASCAL BOKAR:
www.pascalbokar.com
CHECK OUT THIS FRESH AND MODERN OPERA BY
MATT MALSKY:
*********
SUPERSTARS MELISSA ALDANA, MIGUEL ZENON;
TIM RIES AND
TERELL STAFFORD JOIN IN WITH THE
*********
*******
PLUTARCH AND PERSECTIVE
The past year or so, I seem to be getting more and more albums from jazz artists that are addressing social issues and grievances. There seems to be something in the air, notably anger, as if people see a world filled with injustices and evil, and somehow want to address it, even though they feel powerless to do so.
This is where perspective comes into play…
During the draconian COVID lockdown, I read the 3000+ page classic by Gibbon The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, which basically chronicled the demise of the Roman empire from 95BC to 1453 AD. During that time, Rome fell in 476 to the Barbarians, and in 1453 Constantinople succumbed to the Turks. Kingdoms came and kingdoms went.
Presently, I’m reading Plutarch’s Lives, which gives a history of Western Civilization via the Greek and Roman empires, starting with Romulus and Remis, and endling with Galba and Artaxerxes. They came and they went. Most, like Pericles, were incredibly brave, and others, such as Alcibiades, were impressive scoundrels. Through it all, Western Civilization advanced, and here we are.
My dad was in WWII, and back in the 1990s went to Normandy Beach. I asked him how it was, and all he said was “All this, just so Clinton could be president”. They come and they go.
The point is, yes, there are difficulties in life and in our country, as well as the world. Yet, THERE ALWAYS ARE! As theologian Doug Wilson points out “the 250 years of American history are three pages in the Bible’s Book of Chronicles”. That should keep our problems in perspective.
Winston Churchill saved Western Civilization against Hitler, and yet got “the royal boot” right after the War. Yet, he said something that is important for all of us to remember,
“Defeat is never fatal; victory is never final
It’s courage that counts”
The Bible puts our problems in perspective as well. In a day we think of conspiracies behind everything in society, it’s comforting to know that there have ALWAYS been these ideas.
One of the Psalms says
“Why do the nations conspire and the people plot in vain?…
The Lord laughs at them”
That’s the point. We always live in the best of times and worst of times. Civilizations about to collapse and also create a renaissance. The question is always, what are you going to do that adds to God’s creation? Work on being on the right side, both on this side of history, and in eternity.
Our country has been a great experiment of liberty. As Benjamin Franklin famously answered w hen walking out of Independence Hall after creating the Constitution “what have we got”, he stated “A republic, if we can keep it”
In my monthly editorial, I listed reasons why America is still the worlds’ greatest hope. We are great because we are good, as de Tocqueville stated. Let’s work on being good, so we can reclaim our greatness.
WE GET EMAILS…