Cheerfulness Embodied

Two days ago, I read the news that jazz musician Al Jarreau had passed away at the age of 76. I was saddened to hear the news of his passing, and am still feeling the impact of it. Prior to studying Buddhism and becoming very busy in life, I think a lot of my spare time was parsed between reading and music. Al Jarreau was certainly one of the 'big three' who inspired me the most in terms of music--the other two being George Benson and Steely Dan. All three have a contemporary jazz feel to them, but I believe that of the three, Al's music cheered me the most. It's no wonder that Al Jarreau's online press release described healing others as being his number one priority (music being the second).
   I am not too sure which of Al's songs touched me the most, but it was his album L for Lover which was most inspiring and impactful for me. I remember hearing the title track from that album in the car on the way to shopping, and it has that very bright, suburban feel to it. I quickly noted his name from the radio announcer and at some point or another, headed for the library, where I managed to find the cassette of the album. I can say that the albums' sound is definitely 1986: sophisticated but most importantly, very uplifting. Some of those songs, including "Golden Girl", talk about having hope in the midst of dark despair, and you can certainly feel Al's religious leanings and traditions in some of the songs. When I was feeling sad or disheartened,  I would listen to a few tracks from Al's 1984 live album, such as "I Will be There for You", "Roof Garden" and "Let's Pretend". Somehow, this very gifted musician was able to address both romance and despair, while using his whole body and voice as a living instrument, both literally and metaphorically. He seemed very deeply attuned to people's heartaches, and set out to write songs which essentially console people and give them hope for love.
    I think I can go on about Al Jarreau, but I believe you would do best to google his name and watch some of his youtube videos to see for yourself. But the point I wanted to make is how powerful and healing music can be. It's amazing how music itself can reach so many people. However, in another sense, the best way we know how to reach others is to know deeply how we feel about things, and touch the loneliness that is part of human existence.  Music seems to be a simple enough medium to transcend words.