Music Saves Lives Every Day

You ask a Buddhist what the truth about life is, the first thing he'll tell you is this; "Existence is suffering". I'm not a Buddhist but I tell you they're right. Everybody suffers sometimes, I don't care who they are. Successful, rich, famous, loved, all the friends in the world, every reason to be satisfied, it doesn't matter. Sometimes you could look somebody right in the eye and never even know how absolutely down and out they were. It's because there is no such thing as a perfect person, and we all get the pain once in a while, in one form or another, big and small, short-term and long-term.

So then why don't we all just hold hands and jump into the grand canyon together or something? Because I believe that just as existence is suffering, existence is joy. Life is beautiful, and it's these parts of life that make up for the hard times. It's how we take care of ourselves and each other. Everyone realizes this in different ways, and in my personal life music is what does it for me in a big way.

I am an only child, and though blessed with many wonderful friends I often find myself feeling all by myself and without anyone I trust enough to freely speak person-to-person on a deep level with. My personality is such that I tell myself I don't need anybody and deal with most personal problems independently. But the truth of the matter is that I do get by with a little help from my friends; and one of those friends is CHARLES MINGUS.



CHARLES MINGUS (pictured above and below) had a tough time on this Earth. Though a revered jazz musician, he was poor his whole life, and was prone to long bouts of depression. Late in his life he was evicted from his NYC apartment because he couldn't pay his rent, before Lou Gehrig's disease prevented him from playing music and eventually led to his death in 1979 at the age of 56. MINGUS was known as "the Angry Man of Jazz" because of his extreme temper both on stage and off. He would get frustrated about one thing or another and start throwing insults, chairs and fists at audiences and band members. One time he punched professional trombone player JIMMY KNEPPER in the mouth, not only knocking his tooth out but permanently affecting his range on the instrument.

MINGUS' music is incredibly emotional. Listeners can feel his pain, his hopes and dreams, and his happy moments. All emotions have the potential to inspire profound and beautiful works of art. When you listen to the music I do (jazz, blues especially), this is something you come to appreciate in a very strong way.

I can't relate to CHARLES MINGUS in any specific way. I'll probably count myself among those lucky to never experience poverty or be evicted from my home, but when you listen to his music you gain a sort of shared appreciation for the emotion that went into creating it. In this way, MINGUS understands how I feel when no one else can, even though he's been dead for more than 30 years and never met me. A comforting thought. It's not a cure for feeling down but it helps, for damn sure it helps.

It's in this way that music saves lives every day. It's one of the things that helps me, but for you it may well be something else entirely. Underwater basket weaving or something. I sure hope you find it and embrace it if you haven't already.