There are some things in this life that stand out as gloriously, absolutely indelible and thrilling…little bits of wonder and magic that never fail to instill awe and envy and undying respect and affection.
Think of the burnt orange glow of a perfect summer’s sunset. Think of the music of a child’s unabashed laughter. Think of the way your heart beats just a little faster when think about someone you truly, passionately love. Think of the way your spirit soars when you contemplate creation…by the hand of nature in the boundless universe or by the everyday magic of life growing in a woman’s nurturing womb.
Think of the creators…the artists and poets, the thinkers and dreamers, the visionaries and the teachers. Think of the wizards finding nuance and majesty and bittersweet truth in words and images joined in unique, amazing ways…in ideas given life in myriad, marvelous new perspectives…in light and sound woven into challenging, heartbreaking, life-affirming, utterly wondrous colors, shapes and forms.
Think of the heralds and the troubadours…think of, for example, Ray Charles.
Listening this morning to a pre-release streaming audio of his last album (it’s due out next week as I write this), recorded even as his body was losing its final fight, felt like that magic I spoke of washing all over me. Even with his failing health, his majestic voice no longer as gloriously rich and soulful as it was in his youth, Ray Charles still understood how to touch…and share…that undeniable, barely definable connection with the infinite that separates the dreamers from the rest of us grateful mortal souls.
“Genius Loves Company” features Ray sharing duets with friends, peers, and admirers…Van Morrison, B.B. King, Gladys Knight, Bonnie Raitt, Willie Nelson, Elton John, Natalie Cole, Norah Jones, Diana Krall, Michael McDonald, James Taylor, and Johnny Mathis…and it’s a fitting, if bittersweet, testament to his lasting…well, how else to put it?...genius.
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