To know the man, get to know his music. (Or, to paraphrase Al Pacino in Serpico, “If you love the man’s music, you have to love the man!”)
There are thousands of songs that I could choose; songs that elevate above the others and, in some ways, speak to me, or speak for me, or speak to things that I am unable to speak convincingly about. These are some of those songs, and they are all deeply connected with what I hope are the better angels of what I’m capable of being or even imagining.
Abdullah Ibrahim: “Mandela”:
Booker Little: “Opening Statement”:
Mozart, Symphony No 36 “Linz”, 2nd Movement (conducted by Karl Bohm):
Herbie Hancock: “Tell Me A Bedtime Story”:
Charles Mingus: “Orange Was The Color of Her Dress, Then Blue Silk”:
Roky Erickson: “Unforced Peace”:
The Who: “I’m One”:
The Congos: “Open Up The Gates”:
Jimi Hendrix: “Pali Gap”:
Vernon Reid (et al): “Up From The Skies”:
Charles Lloyd and Billy Higgins: “Supreme Love Dance”:
Khan Jamal: “The Known Unknown”:
Freddie Hubbard: “Here’s That Rainy Day”:
Gabriel Faure: “Requiem, Op 48, IV (Pie Jesu), (performed by Oxford Camerata)
