In the Service of Our Obsessions
By Tom Wark
It might be the case that I just dont appreciate beer. Perhaps the nuances and complexities of even the better brews are lost on me. But thats ok because in my case I have wine to provide my body and soul with that unique cerebral and sensual experience that alone or, even better, in combination with something just as special, can float my boat.
Bourbon, as well as good, old scotch, can deliver that same intensity of debate between the body and mind that keeps you coming back for more, year after years. But wine, when its complexity and nuance and delights over take you, tends to take you for a lifetime.
And this is why both wine and jazz come together on the same complimentary plane.
This past weekend I drank lovely sauvignon blanc and pinot noir while watching McCoy Tyner pound out a set so vibrant, virtuous and uncontained as to boggle the mind. It was the type of experience for jazz lovers that is akin to tasting the hint of perfection some wines deliver: it was so revelatory that it assures you will keep searching for a similar experience.
Watching and listening to Tyner play with melody in the most complex and enthusiastic ways, following him around a tune as he brushed near it, backed away, then got back on the horse to ride it wildly, helped me understand how a simple drink of crushed grapes is also capable, when it is either the best or the perfect fit for a moment, of pointing to that nexus when mind and body entwine.
I do not know how many other arts or items can provide this kind of important experience. However, I know that whatever they are, they probably have a natural affinity for one another. This why there are wine and jazz festivals. This is why the heady aromas of a sublime garden can be best taken in with Puccini played in the distance. It is why the raw and sweet science of boxing is best taken with a Cuban cigar. And it is why the sacred marital vows are the perfect partner for an invigorating and yeasty wine with bubbles.
If you ever step back and wonder why your obsession with wine is so strong and why others dont understand the pull of that obsession, it might merely be that theyve found some other combination of the cerebral and sensual to float their boat and make life more meaningful. We probably shouldnt insist they appreciate the kind of complexity and nuance that is our own ship of wine and jazz until we take a ride in their own. However, while we cant insist our friends and family take to wine as we do, we can take the opportunity to sit them down with a glass of well-aged German Riesling or a tipple of dYquem and turn on some McCoy Tyner or Coltrane or Bill Evans or Art Tatum.
Its the least we can do in the service of our obsessions.
