It seems that Lois Gilbert of Jazzcorner has arranged for many of our jazz venues to simultaneously dim the lights on Sunday for a moment both in memory of John Hicks and in prayer for Hilton Ruiz. Stanley Crouch has written about it in his New York Daily News column — he may be irascible, and I am not always in agreement with him, but I recommend you read “Dimming the lights for a jazz beacon“ (May 31, 2006). Here’s an excerpt:
In a historical moment as narcissistic as ours, it may be hard to appreciate someone who was loved for his ability to support others. In our empty celebrity culture it is now almost unthinkable that someone would be admired for expressing the essence of his personality through his empathy for fellow performers.
That is the deepest human meaning of jazz: it is about the individual rising from a collective. When you hear a jazz band take off, that is what you are hearing: empathy as self-expression.