|
Like many Americans, I spent September 11th on an airplane, flying into Washington, DC. The iconic anniversary was not in my thoughts. My faith in human renewal had a major tune-up the night before, seeing Joseph Jarman perform with the Art Ensemble of Chicago. The saxophonist had come down with food poisoning two days prior to the AEC’s headlining concert at the Guelph Jazz Festival (to be reported in the next PoD), and was missing the gig, period. Since Jarman has been ill for two years, and the AEC performs infrequently, it looked like I missed an increasingly rare opportunity to see Jarman perform with the group. Since the MC had repeatedly misspoke earlier in the evening, calling guitarist Jeff Parker (substituting for Jarman in a quartet rounded out by Hamid Drake, Douglas Ewart and Wadada Leo Smith) “Jeff Blake,” I assumed it was another flub when he announced Jarman with the other members of the AEC. Yet, amazingly, Jarman strode onto the stage, played with conviction, sang his Buddhist songs, danced a little, and even laid down for a few moments to play, feet bicycle-pedaling in the air. Talk about a Power Stronger Than Itself.
I’m sure a lot of folks have had a similar reaction to Sonny Rollins’ Without A Song -- The 9/11 Concert (Milestone). The saxophonist lived six blocks away from the Twin Towers, and was evacuated the day after they fell. Coincidentally, CNN was rolling tape and their reporter on the scene asked Rollins why he had a saxophone. It is an astounding document. Rollins puts on a brave face, and answers forthrightly; but he’s obviously shaken. Yet, four days later, Rollins went onstage in Boston to play a concert he almost cancelled, a date his now late wife Lucille convinced him to keep. When he launches into “Without A Song,” a nod to his boyhood idol, Paul Robeson, the old guy with the sax on CNN becomes The Saxophone Colossus. You can count on one hand the number of Rollins albums recorded during the past 40 years where his playing is this purposeful and compelling.
In a larger context, Rollins’ performance exemplified how Americans got up off the mat, bore witness, and recommitted to life, family and community, which made us respected and admired throughout the civilized world in the aftermath of 9/11. Sadly, this good will in-stantly vanished with Bush’s war on Iraq, creating a crucible for Americans of conscience. Two other recently released CDs represent the pre-Katrina antiwar outrage just as well as Rollins’ reflects post-9/11 dignity. Interest-ingly, a multinational conglomerate issued one album and an artist-run label based deep in the heart of Texas produced the other. Heard in tandem with the Rollins CD, they make a solid case that jazz remains a vital American medium for the advocacy of peace and social justice.
|
|