Hi Folks,

While playing disc golf today with Zach I was talking a little bit about my Music Director philosophy. Most churches have a choir, bell choir, organist maybe a worship band and a brass ensemble. We don’t really have any of that, yet I feel like our music program is really special. It’s built on a circle of old and new connections. We hire great musicians and they become friends that are part of our circle. For instance Bushwood played last Sunday for the first time at a worship service and did a wonderful job! Now they're part of the circle and will play every year on the first Sunday in October. The week before that Terry Moran, who has been part of the circle for many years, played along with Fred, Elliott and myself. That wasn’t anything new except we added violinist Jordi Kleiner who had never played Terry’s music before, and what a great addition he was. We have musicians like Billy Strings, Don Julin, Brian Bowers and Pierce Pettis who we catch when they pass through the area on tour. That is often made possible with gracious hosts and house concerts. Our musicians take great care to pick music that speaks to the heart and I feel like that’s what it’s all about. 
On a golf note, Zach seems to be unbeatable at disc golf the last couple weeks. I had a brief glimmer of hope being up by two strokes after the first five holes but I quickly self destructed on hole six and Zach never looked back. I’ve included a link to a short video clip along with the winning shot from our last game.
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Please support live music this weekend:
Friday: Elliott Delman at the Lake Bluff Farmers Market
Sunday: Elliott Delman, Tom Bowling (the professor) and Jim Seidel will provide music for the 10 am service.
At 12 pm The Love with Derrick Suede Stout will be playing the MainStage at the Great Highwood Pumpkin Festival.

Mark Your Calendars:
October 19: Elliott and Tom Bowling with  Compass Rose at Maya del Sol, Oak Park 7:30 PM 
November 27: The Hellhounds at The Humble Pub in Highwood for Black Wednesday.  Music starts at 8 pm.
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Also my friend Linda Taylor has just released a single called Sweep Me. This song elucidates the rampant abuse and neglect in nursing homes. The song takes a first person point of view—where a resident sings to the janitor (who is not listening to her; he/she is focused on sweeping) about all the bad things that take place in the nursing home, and that she just wants to be swept up like the debris.

Linda is the vocalist and lyricist. James Stonehouse composed the music.
Sweep Me is the third song in her series to spotlight the atrocities taking place in nursing homes. Here is a link to the song on Youtube.  You can also find it on iTunes, Spotify and Amazon music.

See you soon!
​Ken

Always inspiring: the opening address to the 1964 Berlin Jazz Festival by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

God has wrought many things out of oppression. He has endowed his creatures with the capacity to create—and from this capacity has flowed the sweet songs of sorrow and joy that have allowed man to cope with his environment and many different situations.
Jazz speaks for life. The Blues tell the story of life's difficulties, and if you think for a moment, you will realize that they take the hardest realities of life and put them into music, only to come out with some new hope or sense of triumph. This is triumphant music.

Modern jazz has continued in this tradition, singing the songs of a more complicated urban existence. When life itself offers no order and meaning, the musician creates an order and meaning from the sounds of the earth which flow through his instrument.
It is no wonder that so much of the search for identity among American Negroes was championed by jazz musicians. Long before the modern essayists and scholars wrote of racial identity as a problem for a multiracial world, musicians were returning to their roots to affirm that which was stirring within their souls.

Much of the power of our Freedom Movement in the United States has come from this music. It has strengthened us with its sweet rhythms when courage began to fail. It has calmed us with its rich harmonies when spirits were down.

And now, jazz is exported to the world. For in the particular struggle of the Negro in America there is something akin to the universal struggle of modern man. Everybody has the blues. Everybody longs for meaning. Everybody needs to love and be loved. Everybody needs to clap hands and be happy. Everybody longs for faith. In music, especially this broad category called Jazz, there is a stepping stone towards all of these.

-Ken
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Hi folks.
Recently, after hearing Eva B Ross and company rehearsing, Christine, who is involved in the music business for a living and has been worshiping with us asked me, “Where do you find all these wonderful musicians”? I’ve often thought about that and I would like to highlight a couple reasons. Number one is Fred Koch! He is kind of like the Tree that all the branches have grown from. I met Fred when my kids were toddlers attending
“Lil’ Cow Band” concerts and since then he has introduced me to a countless number of amazing musicians. Those musicians introduced me to more amazing musicians, and so on. If you see Fred, please say thank you for what he has done. I couldn’t be more grateful for his unselfish support through the years. Number two is all of you! When any musician plays for people that, as Eva put it, is “a good listening crowd” and ever so appreciative, that not only affects the performance, but naturally makes them want to come back. So thank you all for the love and support you’ve shown the musicians who have come to share their talents! The beauty is that the branches of the tree are still growing and you all nurture that.  
Fred Koch

Announcements

MUSICIANS: I regularly check out Facebook and your home pages to see where you all are playing, but often I miss or don’t get the information in time for the newsletter. If you’d like me to advertise your gigs, please let me know when and where you're playing.