Healed by Jazz

Well, here I am in New York for my ever hoped for and anticipated interview with Starbucks. I’ve been excited and anxious to get in there and see where my path would lead me. I’ve spent a few days here in the city with Andrew just hanging out and eating cheap pizza. Yesterday while chatting with Julie I was informed that my favorite jazz musician of this day and musically declined age, Jamie Cullum, was playing a free show in Central Park that night. I would have to swing by a theater downtown on my way to the interview and pick up tickets. The line was about 150 people when I got there; almost all of whom were “twentysomething.” Luckily the line moved super fast and I was handed my two free tickets within minutes. I hailed a cab and cruised into the shadow of the Empire State building for my interview with next door. The interview went well but I’m still unsure of my chances for employment. Therefore, I elect to stray from the subject of interviews and jobs. We got to the park at about 7:15 while the first guy was playing. He’s a guitarist who happens to be blind. My favorite skill of his was his ability to perfectly simulate the sound of a trumpet with his mouth and play solos during his songs. The next act was okay. A white girl who used her Beastie Boy-esque lyric pattern and her piano to perform a quasi-comedy act set to music. I was less than enthralled, to put it nicely. Finally, Jamie Cullum took to stage at about 9:00 with his drummer and bassist. You can’t put into words what jazz is and how it feels but I will say that the stress from my interviews was lifted and replaced with total elation by the music last night. Jamie was so energetic yet enormously talented. They played all the good songs off of their album but my favorite was a Billie Holiday cover called Comes Love. It was about a twelve minute rendition chock full of some incredible solos from each part of the trio. The audience was overcome with that numb feeling of calm and contentment that only Jazz music can bring. I can’t do anymore to describe the music because words and music are two separate ideas that I don’t think can accurately describe each other. How fortunate I was to see Jamie Cullum in Central Park for free on a night like that. Beautiful weather, beautiful venue, in a beautiful city filled with beautiful music. I love jazz and I love New York. Hopefully they will both continue to contribute to my life experience in the near future.