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Monday, April 11, 2005
Grateful Praise
I was at Yoshi's last Saturday night. The band was Andy Bey's quartet.
Bonnie Raitt was in the audience. More importantly, although Andy didn't know it, so was I.
He and I went to high school together in Newark, NJ. Please don't ask what class -- but he did say he's now 42. Heh heh, he said, just a joke. (You get to be our age, anything under 60 is hilarious.)
Anyway, Andy's quite the piano player. And his voice... So smooth, with a fantastic range from high tenor notes way on down to a rumbling basso. He and the band have a kind of love affair going on, and the audience oohs and aahs like witnesses at the hippest of weddings.
When we were high schoolers Andy was featured on a Manhattan TV show called "Startime Kids." He and his sisters also appeared regularly at the Apollo Theater in Harlem. At the ripe age of 19 he settled a while in Paris to perform with jazz locals and touring American musicians. And now, here he was in my own back yard.
On Sunday morning Andy became my sermon. I couldn't think of a better way to prolong my pleasure with his music, nor a more fitting application of my preaching point.
The Psalm was #148, a call for every person and critter in all creation to sing together in praise of our Creator. The companion text was Paul's letter to the Colossians 3:12-17, his call to live like Jesus with each other. Surprisingly, he says one great way to do that is by singing together.
Reading those Bible texts again, all I could think of was Andy Bey. (Whose name suggests "Muslim." But that's how my mind works.)
The connection was Andy's transparent joy in using his musical gifts. I mean, the man was doing incredible things with 88 keys and those Cadillac vocal chords! And loving every one of the ninety minutes he was doing it.
I have no idea about Andy Bey's spiritual life. But what happened between us there was definitely a religious experience.
While Andy gave and gave us his musical bliss, his three mates and about 289 of us in the audience just gave it right back to him with about 29% interest. Every critter in that room was performing a part in a cosmic hymn of praise -- gratitude for good gifts being put to use with the most amazing grace.
posted by Jack Buckley at
12:50 PM
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