Baldwin’s lessons are so relevant that his message seems to collapse time. From Go Tell It on the Mountain, to Sonny’s Blues, to Another Country, or The Price of the Ticket—from his essays to his plays—there is so much to say, so much to revere, that it feels like it would take a lifetime to articulate the complexities of that utterance. But I’ll take a smaller bit and share with you what he most wanted for us—those who would come after him—that we could at last be governed by the benevolence of love. And he shows us what is required to live from that space. I’ll give you a taste of his lulling blues, his idealism, his act of faith….
Musical Selection for this Podcast
- Some of my best friends are blues by Jimmy Smith and George Benson
- Beirut by Ibrahim Maalouf
- Sometimes I feel like a motherless child by Jane Lee and Ran Blake
- B Minor Waltz by Bill Evans
- Harlem Nocturne by Illinois Jacquet
- Ta Confiance by Kam Meslien
- Mercy Mercy me by Marvin Gaye
- Mule by Kenny Burrell
- Love Song from “Apache” by the Coleman Hawkins Quartet
- A taste of honey by Paul Desmond
- Tenderly by Sarah Vaughan
