Radio 3

Driving back from the beach today I stumbled across the Jazz Library on Radio 3 and immediately found myself enthusiastically patting the steering wheel in time with the honey like melodies of Stan Getz and Miles Davies. Having spent some beautiful, sun-soaked time in the afternoon with two close friends discussing our plans for the near and distant future, listening to Getz break away from his accompanying team of musicians made me compare our life calenders to the structure of jazz. Through all jazz there is a pre-printed structure for those who are playing to keep to. But it is those exhilarating four bars (please forgive my potentially incorrect musical info) in which the artists push past their music stands and throw caution to the wind, improvising...no....feeling and expressing through that small but precious period of freedom. Similarly, to date, the moments which in my life that have been the highest have been those that aren't written in the preconceived idea of what you are supposed to be doing in order to have a 'successful' life. You are only as successful if you are tapping in time to the rhythm of your own footsteps and following where they want to take you. Otherwise you can easily end up somewhere you don't want to be, not knowing how you got there or where the exit is.