mere cat

It’s Good to Hear Live Music

I was struck by a story that bassist Gerald Veasley told in the April Jazz Times about Joe Zawinul (of Weather Report):

We always teased Joe about his constant use of the phrase ‘it’s good to be...’ That was his way of being at peace with whatever the situation was. We’d be walking down the street in the pouring rain and he’d say, ‘You know, Gerald, it’s good to walk in the rain.’ Or you’d be complaining about riding all night from Venice to Copenhagen and he’d say, ‘It’s good to be tired.’ He had this strong-willed approach to life. Bring it on and he could not just deal with it, but embrace it.

I’ve got a long way to go before I can accept things that I can’t change with such equanimity. I’m better about coping with disappointment and frustration than I used to be, but can’t say I embrace them. I still prefer sunny days to rainy ones, but this glimpse into the mindset of an “it’s good to be alive” person is inspiring.

I almost posted this yesterday, but I’m glad I didn’t, because amazingly I saw Gerald Veasley last night at the Victor Wooten concert at the Keswick. Right near the end, he was spotted and brought up on stage to sit in with the band. That would have been the icing on the cake, but there was even more icing to come. Bernie Worrell was also in the audience, and he came up to do the Parliament classic “Give Up the Funk.” Derico Watson killed on drums, by the way. So much icing I was in sugar shock.