Closer To God

Saw Itzhak Perlman on Morning Joe on MSNBC this morning. How incongruous.
If you are unaware, Itzhak is a world renowned and magnificent violinist. On a politically oriented show.
Truthfully I didn't hear the conversation so I don't know the entire context but I know IP was hawking a new album he just released.
Doesn't matter.
To me it  was all about the emotion.
As they faded to commercial they were playing a chunk of the album and Itzhak was grooving in his seat. Swaying and waving his arms.
Musicians are closer to God than the rest of us. They are plugged in to The Vibe, the life essence, the invisible, unknowable thread that connects our puny mortality with majestic eternity.
I am talking about true musicians.
There are millions of people out there who play instruments and sing. People with talent, people who deserve recognition.
The ones that move me, the ones that stop me dead in my circuitous tracks are the ones with the look.
When they play they have a look on their face that blows me away. They are one with the music, one with the instrument, they are alone in their world even as they contribute to and feed off of other musicians around them.
They are plugged in in a way that elevates them above us and brings a supernatural hint to their existence.
Classical musicians seem to project this the most. Maybe because the music is exquisite, because it is so precise. Maybe Jesus prefers Bach to Zappa.
When I watch a violinist play a beautiful passage I expect to see tears on their face. The emotion that results in the look of sheer joy, of deep and profound connection, eyes closed, must flush away all the dirt of life, all the pettiness, all the struggles.
I'm really getting carried away here.
When I say classical musicians project it the most, I am giving them the edge by only a hair.
Warren Haynes plays guitar for The Allman Brothers Band. He is amazing. I have seen that look on his face many times and I have been blown away by what he does with a guitar. When he is in the moment he leans back and closes his eyes and allows his body and spirit to interact with his instrument. He is physically emotive right down to sweat and grimaces. Have you ever noticed a guitar player mouthing or grimacing in time to specific notes that they play? Think they are not plugged in? Watch B.B. King and you'll know what I am talking about.
Derek Trucks is an enigma to me. He also plays exquisite guitar with The Allman Brothers but he is almost motionless and doesn't show a lot of emotion except closed eyes. There are exceptions to every reality.
George Harrison had it. He had a beautiful and spiritual soul and it expressed itself in delicate beauty through his fingers and his guitar. The guy that was held back by John and Paul to the extent that when The Beatles broke up he released a TRIPLE album - All Things Must Pass - that has so much beauty on it you can only handle it in measured doses.
Pay attention to Keith Richards. He is not wildly emotional and does not play a lot of lead guitar but it is obvious that music is a religion to him. It consumes him, he studies it and takes it oh so very seriously. His body language tells you everything you need to know. And the smile. When The Stones are in the groove, especially when the connection between Keith and Charlie is a highway of purity and truth, you will see Keith smile. He works real hard to get to that moment.
Ron Woods once missed a lick in a song and Keith walked across the stage and punched him in the face. How's that for commitment?
As they were fading to commercial and Itzhak was grooving in his seat, every person on that set was smiling.
That is the supreme gift of musicians. To transmit their passion, to share the beauty of being plugged in, with us mere mortals.
I get down on my knees every morning and recite a prayer of thanks to my iPod.