Sunday Music Muse Day - Jeff Campbell, Charles Lloyd

 This Sunday Music Muse Day find us waking up to an overcast sky, and blustery windy.  Later in the day we were hit with a heavy driving downpour and a brief thunderstorm.  In some ways, a depressing weather day.  The titles of my two music selections, offer positive affirmations, supported my their music, as only music can. First up, Jeff Campbell Trio, A Declaration of Optimism.   I first heard the talented bassist with the local group, Trio East, with drummer Rich Thompson, and Clay Jenkins on trumpet, fellow jazz educators at the Eastman Music of Music, in Rochester, NY. The title tune, A Declaration of Optimism, hit the right tone for me today in the chaos of current events.  I included the first page of Jeff's liner notes, and his "About the Music" comment on the tune, from this 2009 release.    It's worth reading.  This CD will definitely find a welcomed spot in my collection.

Next up, is Charles Lloyd, The Sky Will Still Be There Tomorrow. Again, the title implies a confirmation that things will get better.  The of this 2-CD set supports this. Lloyds liner notes are very insightful.  The desire to make this CD came from the "imposed seclusion of COVID and the intense rise of violence over the Spring & Summer of 2020." He told his wife, he wanted "to make an offering of tenderness".  That's heavy.  I've included his full liner notes.  These CDs are just the tonic I need to get through these days. 

I plan to take inspiration from the music of these musicians and make "a declaration of optimism", that I'll try to remember "the sky will still be there tomorrow". It's how we act under that sky, cloudy, stormy, or clear blue, is what makes the difference. Peace.