A Memorial Day Worth Remembering

Andy Rooney On How Memorial Day Should Be Celebrated

The following is a weekly 60 Minutes commentary by CBS News Correspondent Andy Rooney.

"There is more bravery at war than in peace, and it seems wrong that we have so often saved this virtue to use for our least noble activity - war. The goal of war is to cause death to other people."



Tomorrow is Memorial Day, the day we have set aside to honor by remembering all the Americans who have died fighting for the thing we like the most about our America: the freedom we have to live as we please.

No official day to remember is adequate for something like that. It's too formal. It gets to be just another day on the calendar. No one would know from Memorial Day that Richie M., who was shot through the forehead coming onto Omaha Beach on June 6, 1944, wore different color socks on each foot because he thought it brought him good luck.

No one would remember on Memorial Day that Eddie G. had promised to marry Julie W. the day after he got home from the war, but didn’t marry Julie because he never came home from the war. Eddie was shot dead on an un-American desert island, Iwo Jima.

For too many Americans, Memorial Day has become just another day off. There's only so much time any of us can spend remembering those we loved who have died, but the men, boys really, who died in our wars deserve at least a few moments of reflection during which we consider what they did for us.

They died.

We use the phrase "gave their lives," but they didn’t give their lives. Their lives were taken from them.

There is more bravery at war than in peace, and it seems wrong that we have so often saved this virtue to use for our least noble activity - war. The goal of war is to cause death to other people.

Because I was in the Army during World War II, I have more to remember on Memorial Day than most of you. I had good friends who were killed.

Charley Wood wrote poetry in high school. He was killed when his Piper Cub was shot down while he was flying as a spotter for the artillery.

Bob O'Connor went down in flames in his B17.

Obie Slingerland and I were best friends and co-captains of our high school football team. Obie was killed on the deck of the Saratoga when a bomb that hadn’t dropped exploded as he landed.

I won’t think of them anymore tomorrow, Memorial Day than I think of them any other day of my life.

Remembering doesn’t do the remembered any good, of course. It's for ourselves, the living. I wish we could dedicate Memorial Day, not to the memory of those who have died at war, but to the idea of saving the lives of the young people who are going to die in the future if we don’t find some new way - some new religion maybe - that takes war out of our lives.

That would be a Memorial Day worth celebrating.

Written By Andy Rooney © MMV, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.
This segment was originally broadcast on May 29, 2005.

Smooth Jazz Chart - Weekly Top 100 - May 24, 2021 #jazz

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Smooth Jazz Chart - Weekly Top 100 - May 17, 2021 #jazz

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African-jazz saxophonist Isaiah Katumwa is ready to “Dance Again” #jazz

The joyous album featuring collaborations with contemporary jazz hitmakers Darren Rahn, Adam Hawley and Dave Koz drops July 9; the title track goes for playlist adds on Monday.

 

As COVID-19 raged last summer and tension soared in the wake of the civil unrest that erupted after the death of George Floyd that occurred miles from his home, saxophonist Isaiah Katumwa was at work on his first major US release that he envisioned lifting spirits by uniting the world in dance. The Ugandan-born artist felt that to confront global issues - a pandemic and systemic racism – it would take a global response. Katumwa assembled a collective of African, American and Latin musicians to help craft “Dance Again,” the global jazz album dropping July 9 from Beyond Music. The festive African beat title track led by Katumwa’s agile soprano sax goes for playlist adds as a single on Monday.

 

Katumwa wrote or co-wrote all ten songs on “Dance Again,” each of which is brimful of joyous light and sunny optimism. Fellow saxophonist Darren Rahn, a multiple GRAMMY nominee who has produced more than 25 No. 1 singles, produced six tracks for the set, and Billboard chart-topping guitarist Adam Hawley produced three. Rwandan producer Marc Kibamba helmed “The Sun Will Shine Again,” a jubilant African rhythmic groove illumined by a vocal chorus.   

          

 

“During the scary times of the pandemic and when people took to the streets in anger to protest, I often wondered whether we’ll ever dance again in unity. It had become a very strange thought. ‘Dance Again’ is an answer to share positivity and contribute to the healing process that we all need right now. It’s music with the purpose to help us as we recover, which I believe is one of the purposes of music,” said Katumwa.

 

The seeds for “Dance Again” were first planted a couple years ago when Katumwa wrote and recorded “Home Away” with Rahn, a sweetly melodic composition that referred to Katumwa’s quest to find an artistic balance between making commercial instrumental music in America while remaining true to his African roots. Last year, Katumwa and Rahn collaborated on the radiant “Smile On,” which was issued as a single last May. 

 

“When we dropped ‘Smile On,’ it was to add positivity, to use music to bring light to the world in our dark times. It’s a reminder that no matter what challenges life brings, we can always use our ability to smile as a resource to uplift and encourage,” said Katumwa of the single that earned most added status at Billboard for three consecutive weeks.

 

Coronavirus restrictions forced Katumwa and his collaborators to write and record remotely. But that didn’t dampen his excitement about recording with sax superstar Dave Koz.

 

“The format and nature of the recording process was very interesting, working remotely throughout the entire process. The highlight for me through the many special moments of working with Darren and Adam in the process was my longtime idol, Dave Koz, agreeing to be featured on the album. His alto sax work on the Afropop fusion track ‘Nsiima’ was magical. Nsiima means grateful and for me, that sums up my musical journey thus far along with being grateful for the opportunity to record with my idol. Looking at the bigger picture, I’m grateful to be making it through the pandemic alive,” said Katumwa.

 

Katumwa released numerous gospel-flavored recordings in Africa in the early 2000s. His 2006 release, “Sinza,” was his first as a mixologist serving a blend of African and contemporary jazz. The saxman’s 2016 disc, “This Is Me,” received international airplay and included a mix by Rahn on the cut “Pamojja,” which was the first time they teamed up. “Dance Again” is Katumwa’s first collection recorded specifically with the US market in mind.      

 

“Dance Again” contains the following songs:

 

“Dance Again”

“Smile On”

“Nsiima” featuring Dave Koz

“Swahili Breeze”

“Home Away”

“My Joy”

“Nkwagala”

“What Is Love”

“The Sun Will Rise Again”

“My Prayer”

 

 

For more information, please visit https://isaiahkatumwa.com. 

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Smooth Jazz Chart - Weekly Top 100 - May 10, 2021 #jazz

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Contemporary jazz saxophonist Matt Willard discovers a tropical sound in an unlikely locale: Nashville #jazz

Contemporary jazz saxophonist Matt Willard discovers a tropical sound in an unlikely locale: Nashville

 

His debut single, “Por la Orrilla del Mar,” offers an enticing taste of what’s to come.

 

While Nashville is primarily known as a launch pad for country music careers, Music City also has a burgeoning jazz scene. Trekking south from his Virginia home, saxophonist Matt Willard entered a Nashville recording studio with some of the city’s finest contemporary jazz musicians to record his debut single, “Por la Orrilla del Mar.” Willard wrote the single that just dropped on the Creative Soul Jazz imprint and produced it with the label’s Eric Copeland and Sunset Blvd. Studio’s Steve Dady. The exotic track showcasing the tenor saxman’s impassioned play is the first in a series of singles and accompanying videos that will precede Willard’s first album that is expected to drop by the end of the year.

 

A staccato Latin rhythm constructed by drummer Steve Brewster and bassist Jacob Lowery is the pedestal for the lush melodies of “Por la Orrilla del Mar.” Guitarist Dave Cleveland adds to the harmony while keyboardist Jason Webb shines when trading solos with Willard, who’s deft saxplay runs the gamut of emotion: from intense, raw and emotional to restrained, poised and harnessed. A horn section underscores and illumines Willard’s saxophone excursions.

 

Willard struggled to come up with a title for the single that has Caribbean nuances and conjures up soothing beach scenes. He felt it needed a Spanish title, but since he doesn’t speak the language, he turned to family members for help.

 

“After spending many hours trying to come up with the perfect song title, the idea to ask my uncle popped into my head. He speaks fluent Spanish along with many other languages. I sent him the track, and he and my aunt picked up on the Latin feel to the song, and ultimately, they came up with ‘Por la Orrilla Del Mar.’ It means ‘by the sea shore.’”    

 

Willard’s soulful and inspired sound meshes perfectly with the ethos of Copeland’s label. Creative Soul Jazz is a purveyor of improvisational jazz that they describe as “different and has spiritual roots.”

 

“As a label and production company, our mission is to use our God-given talents to show the beauty, the intensity, the passion and the spiritual effect of jazz. Our souls are rooted firmly in the freedom and pure art form of jazz,” said Copeland.    

                            

Willard began playing baritone sax in sixth grade and switched to tenor after graduating high school. Having played in jazz ensembles as well as his school’s marching band, he landed professional gigs playing at restaurants, special events and weddings. Willard tested the waters by issuing several recording projects locally, but teaming up with Dady, Copeland and Creative Soul Jazz is about taking his craft to the national level. “Por la Orrilla del Mar” offers a promising glimpse of what’s to come from this artist.   

 

Willard said, “I had a blast recording in Nashville and cannot wait to see everyone’s reaction to the music as we release it. I hope that these songs touch as many lives as possible like they did mine when writing them. I am truly blessed to have a great team working with me to write and produce this record. Collaborating with Nashville session players is an amazing experience. The entire production team has knocked it out of the park. The album is going to be great!”

 

For more information, please visit www.mattwillardsax.com. 

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