As I mention at the start of the show for this month, I had a number of mixed emotions going into this final show of 2021. I considered doing something similar to last year’s show, when the toll of Covid deaths with Musicians was truly staggering. We had a number of losses this year, particularly near the end of the year, but I didn’t want to close the year with that same kind of sentiment. I’d also thought about doing a show around “Desperation,” but that will come at a later date. Instead, I decided to focus on “Peaceful,” being a bit aspirational, given the continuing state of affairs, but also reflective of the mood I most like to embody at the close of a year.
Also, as I additionally mentioned in the show, whenever I want to enter a more peaceful mood, my go to artists/songs almost always tend to be not only from Jazz as a genre, but specifically that sub-genre we describe as “Spiritual Jazz.” There is a single way of defining “Spiritual Jazz,” in some ways it’s a catch all term for songs that not only are directly concerned with spiritual matters, but music that evokes a specific feeling. One of my many rituals whenever I’m either feeling lost, or on the flipside, when I’m feeling grateful after the close of a trying period of time, is to play Pharoah Sanders’ “The Healing Song.” Pharoah has a number of songs that could have found their way into a show themed around “Peaceful,” but “The Healing Song,” has a unique quality to it, most especially in the chorus of voices that sing throughout it. Few other sounds, combined with that magnificent, soaring, tone from Sanders’ saxophone, fill me with such a overarching sense of hope and peace than the ones heard in this song, and so that became the obvious starting point for this month’s Moods. From there, I attempted to add in as many other songs as I could fit into the two sets/one hour format we currently have that fit a similar mood.
For me, peacefulness isn’t just about serene or calming music, there are more than a few moments in these songs that are filled with a bit of fire, but it’s about the overall feeling that comes through listening to these pieces in their totality, as individual songs and as a show. I hope these sounds put you in a peaceful mood as we close the door on this tumultuous year, and look forward to new beginnings in 2022…Peace and Bright Moments to you all.
Moods In Free Time: 024 – Peaceful
Playlist – Moods In Free Time 024: Peaceful
{opening theme} The Visitors – The Juggler – In My Youth (Muse)
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Pharoah Sanders – The Healing Song – Live At The East (Impulse)
Don Cherry & The Organic Music Society – Hope – Organic Music (Caprice)
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Ensemble Al-Salaam – Peace – The Sorjourner (Strata East)
Andrew Hill – Illusion – One For One (Blue Note)
Charlie Haden & Alice Coltrane – For Turiya – Closeness (Horizon)
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{closing theme} Tony Williams – Wild Life – Believe It (Columbia)