One of the strongest songs I have in my contemporary jazz library is “Grace” from Nelson Rangell’s 1995 recording Destiny. Here’s what Nelson had to say about it in his liner notes from that release:
Grace has a few definitions. Among them is this one I’ve been thinking about: the giving of free and unmerited favor and love … that sure is nice to receive, and a pretty great thing to be able to give. When we extend grace to another, it can only help to make our collective road ahead easier in these complicated times -for truly wc arc all in this together, dependent on one another. Remember to try to “see” the ones beside you, and think of those far away in distant places.
Nelson revisited Grace in one of his latest albums. “Some Next Grace,” from his pop-jazz sax release Red, is a follow-up of sorts. I asked Nelson about grace. He replied:
I think we are in short supply right now…..”Some Next Grace” is a type of follow up and continuation on the theme of Grace. I think that we should try to reflect upon the profound idea and truth that we are often the recipients of Grace that we are hardly aware of, sometimes even totally unaware of. “Some Next Grace”, maybe seemingly almost mundane that actually changed our life early one morning or at 4:12 in the afternoon on a Thursday when by a second we didn’t step in front of a car or make a fateful move or decision for some unknown reason that changed everything, or never knew how close we came to a terrible accident or avoided getting terribly sick — never even having a clue. I hope I will be able to just feel more and proceed with more easy gratitude for each day, for the things I know and the things at work that I don’t. : – )
