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“ROLL OUT THOSE HAZY, CRAZY, LAZY DAYS OF SUMMER”

Thus sang Nat “King” Cole, and few songs capture the mood of the Dog Days of August.

Most of us are either still on vacation, or just starting to get back into the return of the school year, which still seems like blasphemy to begin in August.

Traditionally, August is the month where most Americans try to find a place to unplug, cool off and read a few books to get physically, mentally and spiritually rejuvenated. My family just got backfrom spending time in a cozy old cabin along the North Shore of Lake Superior. We have an annual routine where we hang by the giant lake, do a few trails, ride bikes, jump into a lake or ride a canoe and  play board games at night to the sound of the rippling waters of Lake Superior. We also make our annual treks to our favorite family run restaurants, which serve things like smoked salmon, frozen custard, Goober burgers (that’s a Juicy Lucy with grilled onions, peanut butter and mayo!), rhubarb pie (which, for an extra $2 you can have thrown into a blender with ice cream and have an unbelievable milk shake), and, last but not least, “puff tacos.” Please don’t ask!

As the Bible says, “To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven.” We need a time to work as well as a time to rest, in order to restore ourselves to do more work. Your attitude about life can be summarized in how you answer a simple question, “Do you work in order to rest, or do you rest in order to work?”

I ask this, because if your only purpose in working is to rest for 2 days, you are going to have a frustrating life, as there will never be enough rest for you, and you may spend the entire work week dreaming of your “wild weekend.”

However, if you rest in order to be more productive at work, you can see purpose in your time off. You read books, see movies, take walks, see friends etc, in order to equip yourself to be of better use in your vocation. This is why summer is so important; it gives us all a chance to get rid of our computers, iphones and other “necessities” to remind ourselves what’s really important in life, namely relationships. Both with our fellow man (or woman) and with our God.

I always come back from these trips with a deeper appreciation of my wife, my kids, and now, my grandkids, and the discussions we have about life, God, our purpose on this planet are simply the things that make life worth living.

What does this have to do with jazz? ARE YOU KIDDING?!?

First, I like to use summer as a time to simply turn off all media. Let’s just clean out the old carburetor in order to look at what I’m listening to or watching with a new perspective. Then, when I start getting back into music, I’ll get into the basics, Armstrong, Ellington, Hines, Powell, Hawkins, and most of all for myself, Lester Young. I just sit with my sax and go over  transcriptions of his wonderfully swinging solos and remember why I fell in love with jazz in the first place.

This month we feature interviews with two sax players that get back to the basics of jazz. Don Braden discusses his approach to vintage soul sounds of Stevie Wonder and Earth, Wind and Fire, while David McMurray talks about his funk days and how it influenced his first wonderfully wild debut album.

So, go back to an old book that used to be your friend, take in a vintage movie, or pop in a Jazz Messenger album. Get rid of the clutter and look at music, literature and culture with a rejuvenated spirit.

As the wisest man in the world, Solomon wrote, “God has made everything beautiful in its time…for there is a time for every purpose and every work.” Take the time this summer to discover  your purpose!

We get feedback from readers: 

Greetings George-

 There is only one kind of Jazz with its origins coming from African Americans and played and embraced by all races, creeds and cultures. This is a point I have to make routinely when traveling the world and I get questions in Ukraine like “So what do you think of Ukrainian Jazz?” This goes to the point as to why WE believe there should be a Black Art Jazz Collective and are unapologetically proud of to be so.