The Existential Intimacies of Jazz

Jazz, at its best, inducts its own into aesthetic alliances, some long-lasting, others fleeting, but all meaningful. Musician and listener can find fellowship musically. Meaning is experienced when we find something of value, something worthwhile. When two or more agree on meaning—especially in music—the fellow-feeling may run deep and true. The late Pat Martino, jazz guitarist extraordinaire, along with a good friend helped this happen to me in the summer of 2012 in Chicago at The Jazz Showcase. This event is sweetly and securely lodged in my memory and often brings tears to my eyes. Perhaps my short story of his encounter will ring true and trigger a certain grace of understanding and experience.

Jazz is, at its best, relational. It moves from person to person, from instrument to ear, and not from product to consumer. Jazz, as one of life’s many gifts, can open doors to a treasury of free and freeing fellowship where art and heart meet and kiss. And I thank my God for it.

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