Imperial Valley Christian Center

Went as a chaperone/van driver last night with the Central High School Jazz Band to hear the Wynton Marsalis Quintet at a beautiful venue, The California Center for the Performing Arts in Escondido California. It was a fantastic two and half hour concert. This was my first professional jazz concert and the atmosphere was refreshingly different from other concerts I've attended. Very informal, very fun. It felt more like five guys playing in your living room having a great time with each other and letting us listen in.

Here's a nice shot of Wynton with my son Jeremiah, he plays the "bari" and is the saxophone section leader.

But the best part of the evening was actually after the concert, when the kids from the Central Jazz band were invited to go back stage. I kind of assumed it would be sort of a meet, shake hands get an autograph, hopefully a picture kind of situation but it wasn't. It turned into a 45 minute teaching session with the master.

What a generous man. For a man of Wynton Marsalis' stature to spend that amount of time after a 2 1/2 hour concert talking with a bunch of high school kids is, in my experience, unheard of. I certainly can't imagine any similarly well known minister doing anything like that.

What did he talk about? Integrity. The integrity of continuing to do what you believe in even when it's not popular. Having the integrity to put in the work it takes to perform excellently. The importance of knowing the history of jazz in order to be able to play modern jazz well. How rock music has destroyed muscial ability in America. He called it amateur music. Music which requires no musical skill to play and that rap music was, generally, even worse.

Over all he struck me as a man who had a very clear sense of his purpose in life: to promote and propagate Jazz music. A purpose to which he appeared to be absolutely committed. Here's a guy who could have been out bigshot-ing but spent time talking to High School students probably none of whom will ever even aspire to becoming professional musicians. Why would anyone do this? Because he's committed to Jazz not to self aggrandizement. He's a geuine apostle of jazz.

When I say "he" I really mean the entire quintet who all spoke with the kids. The drummer, Ali Jackson told the kids, there's no money in Jazz. You do this for love of the music. Here'a a shot with the five of them. Ali Jackson the drummer on the far left. Bass player Carlos Henriquez, pianist Eric Lewis,  saxaphone player, Walter Blanding Jr. (Who spent some time talking to Jeremiah about circular breathing.), and Marsalis.

What a great night. What a great bunch of guys. What a great example of integrity and commitment. I only wish that this level of integrity and commitment were more prevalent in the ministry.

Thank you Mrs. Baker.