![]() ![]() By the end of the night, my face was exhausted and things that normally come out of my horn felt like the sonic equivalent of a 70-year old Rocky Balboa lugging himself into the boxing ring. I maintain a practice schedule at home, but it doesn’t replicate being on the bandstand. I’ve never been so out of shape as a trumpet player. We all came together as friends, and for 90 minutes, played as though it was both the first and maybe the last time we’d get a chance to do it… and it was exhilarating. Saxophonist David Chael said, “Man, I had a lot of stuff to get out,” and indeed he did, playing torrent after torrent of emotional, soaring, melodic line. So when The Kansas City Jazz Orchestra had the recent opportunity to take the bandstand at the drive-in concert series at Plexpod in Midtown ( ), for a parking lot full of folks, the five bandmembers felt both the weight of the moment as well as the freedom of it. Jazz music is, to steal a Watson title, “Blues for Hope.” You leave them on the side, and you’re there to take people on a journey, make them forget their everyday life.” Jazz music heals. Bobby Watson said that, “the bandstand is your sanctuary, and you don’t take any of your troubles up there. When you combine these things on the bandstand, there is some special sort of alchemy present that transcends the current situation. The accompaniment is just as integral as the soloist. Jazz music is a true democracy, where everyone involved in the collective output has a voice that shines, but also contends with and celebrates the voices of everyone else in the group. Jazz music is the improvisational spirit made manifest. However, as the great Art Blakey said, jazz is “faith in action.” This music was CREATED to break through the struggle, to laugh in the face of adversity, to overcome what pushes you down. I’m not going to sugar-coat it: it’s bleak. The music and arts world has felt the struggle something fierce, with no gigs, no concerts, and less certainty than ever about what the future holds. It goes without saying that 2020 has been challenging, in all regards. ![]()
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