As so many of us are obviously aware, our democracy may be slowly but surely slipping away from us. Consequently, there were the recent mass demonstrations on the streets throughout the country in reaction to this, which although are certainly to be applauded offer no real strategic initiative for exactly how we can stop our democracy from being dismantled further before we have reached the point where nothing can be done. What might be needed, however, while strategic implications are being hopefully considered, is some way, other than that which is political, of defining what freedom and democracy really mean to us.

To this end, let me suggest jazz music, the one art form which was born in this country, and which is truly representative of what the ideals of freedom and democracy really mean. For one thing, jazz because it essentially involves endless improvisation in the moment by those who play it likewise represents real freedom of expression simply because it is never formulaic and predictable. It is also music which represents true democracy simply because to successfully play it you have to be able to carefully listen to and then proceed with what you hear in the improvisations of your fellow players, with everyone being an equal participant. In other words, jazz represents an egalitarian community in the truest sense of the word.

Finally, there is one more reason why jazz might be so important in our lives today as many of us find ourselves dealing with certain emotions which we never expected to experience as we watch our democracy being dismantled. To this end, music, particularly, jazz music, is able to express certain aspects of human experience that can’t be expressed through words or thoughts, or really by any other means. So if we can find some comfort in listening to the stark ballads of Miles Davis which define our difficulties in dealing with the human condition, or John Coltrane’s search for a spiritual core amidst one’s travails, those things alone might indeed be a saving grace which allows us to express any number of things which may now be bottled up inside us.