I wonder what it is for me

I have been having a wonderful experience over the past few days, watching Ken Burns’ marvelous documentary, Jazz. And one of the most moving and articulate voices, thus far, has been the great jazz trumpeter, Wynton Marsalis. Of course, nothing that matters can ever just be about itself, so the documentary is not just about music. It’s about New Orleans and Chicago, America, Europe, Africa and the world. It’s about religion and poverty and wealth and immorality and beauty and forgiveness. It’s about human life, and the way life is. It’s about race and racism, both black and white; about those who overcame, and those who succumbed, both black and white.

Part one ends with reference to a White jazz musician from the early 20^th century who insisted, until his death in 1961, that jazz was a White creation the Blacks were fraudulently claiming as their own. "My contention is that the Negroes learned to play this rhythm and music from the Whites. The Negro did not play any kind of music equal to White men at any time." – Nick La Rocca

Wynton Marsalis responds so movingly, so thoughtfully, that I’ve tried to transpose his words with reflective pauses and hesitations intact. There is, however, no substitute for watching him. I really found it quite stunning.

“Well, race is, uh… race is like… for this country is like, uh, the thing in the story, in the mythology, that you have to do for the kingdom to be well. And it’s always something you don’t want to do. And it’s always that thing that’s so much about you confronting yourself that is tailor-made for you to fail dealing with it. And the question of your heroism, and of your courage, and of your…of your success at dealing with this trial is, can you confront it with honesty? and do you confront it? and do you have the energy to sustain an attack on it? And, since jazz music is at the centre of the American mythology, it necessarily deals with race. The more we run from it, the more we run into it. It’s an age-old story, you know. If it’s not race it’s something else. But in this particular instance, in this nation, it is race.”

I wonder what it is for Canada, for my family, my church. I wonder what it is for me.