MUSIC: CALMING PEOPLE THROUGH DURESS?

One evening, late in April a friend and I went out to listen to three unusual musicians. The weather that night was a part of the storm system that had created havoc around the world. The rain never seemed to end creating flooding in rivers and streams.

Even so, the small out of the way place we were in was crowded with people.

The three musicians and their instruments  were an unusual combination. There was an Irish piper
playing unilleann pipes, a guitarist and one playing bass.  All three were well known and played jazz country-western and blue grass favorites.

Before the evening was over, four other musicians who had been in the audience were acknowledged and joined in for a real jam session.

As I sat there that night, and the rain and flooding continued I remembered that so much of history records that music has often been a way of providing hope even in the most turbulent time as it did that night.