It started, as with much of my love of music,

With my Dad.

With him Swing was King

And the monarch was Benny Goodman.

This was my introduction

Of the world and wonder of Jazz.

From those early days I have listened

To many types of this music and loved them all.

The very early times of Bix and Jelly Roll

And of course ol’ Satchelmouth leading the way.

Though the thirties of the big bands

Basie, Ellington, Shaw and Miller;

Leading to the swing of the forties.

Then out of this came the sound that was bebop;

Bird and Dizzy in the lead, with this strange sound;

Alien noises to the establishment,

But became so wonderful to hear.

It changed the course of Jazz history.

The chromatic changes that weren’t thought possible,

Now becoming the sound, to which many flew.

Bebop mutated into so many varied type of Jazz.

It lead to the disaster that was ‘avant garde’.

A sound, to my mind, that just wasn’t music.

That Coltrane record I bought,

Put the needle anywhere on the disc,

The sound was just as bad.

I wonder if I could listen to it now,

With my more open minded view of music.

Cool Jazz given birth by Miles;

So harmonic, so soft, so mind-blowing.

This sound of mellow tones coming through my mind

And into my soul.

The beautiful sounds of Chet, Stan and Dave;

Pure melancholy, transporting me

To a world where all is calm and peaceful.

Trad, that sound that some decry,

But whenever it is played, all the feet tap.

Acker and Kenny leading the way

With this cheerful and foot tapping sound,

That can never fail to lift any depression

With its sound of unalloyed joy.

And then of course there was Oscar.

The man who can take me to places

That only exist in my dream of heaven.

This man who when he died

Took a piece of my life with him;

A man whose music was part of me,

And still is.

Jazz, the sounds that many can’t stand.

But to me, a world of such varying ways

Of contemplating the world of music ,

That has been with me all my life;

And is still there for me.

I have had a good life.

I have lived for a long time,

I have loved and been loved,

I have lost my way occasionally,

I have missed the right way sometimes,

I have trusted others,

I have been trusted by others,

I have made mistakes in error.

But most of all in my long life

I have learned and I am pleased,

Pleased to be where I am,

Where I am now in my life.

I have had a good life.

We open the book of life at childbirth,

That first chapter brings us into our world,

A world where our parents love us

And where they teach us the ways to go.

As each chapter unfolds we see new things

Bringing us knowledge and experience.

Some of those chapters are sad

And bring us unhappiness in our life.

We have chapters that are happy

And bring love and glory to us.

Many of them can be exciting

Bringing us wonder and glorification.

One thing we must always remember,

Is to remember to turn the page,

As if you never do we will never know,

Never know what the next chapter holds.

Yet again they did it,

They took me away,

Away into a world of music.

The smile on my face

Just grew and grew

As each new song was played,

Played and sung,

Songs I knew so well.

And suddenly the smile went

As a sad song was sang

And the emotion within me

Took me to another place,

But then I was back smiling,

Smiling and laughing

At the music and the performance.

Every emotion was brought to me,

Brought to me during that evening

During the wonder of the Songbooks,

The Great American Songbooks

Performed by this great band

Who in all their playing

Seemed to enjoy it more than me.

Such a wonderful evening

I will not forget it,

As yet again they did it,

Took me into their world,

Their world of music,

And the joy, love and emotions,

Emotions that music can bring,

Can bring into my life

And to the life of all.

And all I can now say

About this wonderful band is:

“I shall be back!”

As I stand on the lawn,

The croquet ball in front of me,

I hit it towards the hoop,

Not a good shot

But it happens sometimes.

I just stand there waiting,

Waiting for my friend

To hit his ball.

I look up and look around,

I see the beauty of Spring,

It glows all around me

In the afternoon sun.

The trees so green

As their leaves shine so wonderfully.

Flowers of white and yellow

Shine on the bushes

And there on the green fields,

The green fields that surround me

I see the glory of life

As the birds wander over the fields.

The jackdaws and woodpigeons

Intermingling in peace,

Searching for food and nesting.

A pheasant comes towards me

Its startling colours shining,

Shining in the sunshine.

I look up and an occasional cloud floats by,

Floats by gently, its white beauty so glorious.

I return my thoughts to the game

But realising that the game is not important

As the beauty and wonder of Nature

Never disappoints me.

The music sails through me

Like a Spirit from the world,

That world of Jazz,

That world where Chet was found.

A troubled man,

A man whose music speaks to me

Takes me into ‘The Cool’.

His smooth trumpet calls me,

The sounds sibilantly slides though me,

Bringing me to peace.

He did get lost,

Lost to that world of heroin,

But came back,

Came back better, stronger.

The world was at his feet

And his sounds ruled the world.

Then he played “Lets Get Lost” once more,

That final time,

That day he fell,

Fell and was taken from us,

Taken from me.

His legacy lives on,

Lives on in his music.

That music that seems to talk,

Talk to me,

Showing me he is there.

He is alive in his music,

And he is still there for me,

As he always will be.

Chet – Chet Baker, December 23, 1929 – May 13, 1988