MICHAEL WAS MOZART

There were a lot of people talking about Michael Jackson over the past few days. Not too many of them were musicians or artists, singers or entertainers. Some presented themselves as experts. That’s always odd since few of us can be experts about the very select view that are obviously not in anyone’s league. It reminds me of my college days when we’d read book after book written by musicologists and other experts about the merit they attributed to the likes of Mahler, Mozart or Bach. How absurd. How would they know?

No, I found all the chatter about Michael was about everything but the thing that matters. They talked about lifestyle, fashion, his father, his messed up childhood, personal habits, social credibility with the masses, his ranking against others, his self destructive ending, oddities and all of the external trappings that now absorb people who are gifted with special abilities to perform.

While surely genius performers in the past had packaging, pr and promotion as part of their entertainment business package. Today, since America is SO packaged the only qualities or traits too many of us can grasp anymore is the nature of the packaging, pr or promotional strategy. Even our politics is analyzed this way to the point where a candidate’s message is not only obscure due to it but also clearly missing and replaced by it.

In the music and entertainment world of our country, the same number of exceptions come along about as frequently as they did at the turn of the 20^th century during Tin Pan Alley Days. PR/Promotional machines cannot create any larger number of Mozarts. There are only so many.

As a lifelong musician and observer of talented performers from Ella to Basie to Lennon to Sting. And the Nicholas Brothers to Gene Kelly to Fred Astair to James Brown, I might suggest that we concentrate on the important stuff about Jackson that will sustain for more than 100 years and well beyond that. Bach still performs, Mozart still awes, Mahler still stuns, Chuck Berry still rocks, Buddy Rich still drums and James Taylor sings the same. Concentrate on Michael Jackson’s singing and dancing and crystal clear style.

All of the greats can be instantly identified as being who they are. Others cover or copy their songs or routines but when you hear them perform it can only be them because they have ALL the traits of the style that is synonymous with them.

Like all the greats, Michael Jackson paid a personal price. Mozart’s father dragged him all over Europe from age 4 to play harpsichord before kings – often times blind folded. Mozart died at 35. Michael at 50. We’re all lucky we had them both on earth for their short time because of their music and inspired performances. That’s what we should all respect and honor going forward. Nobody can match the great ones.

Michael is in a league of his own like the very, very few among us that are one and the same with their art. Just take time to watch all his videos and listen to his songs. I don’t think the bantering of the pundits or unknowing critics will even enter your mind. Will anyone ever dance and sing like Michael Jackson - of course not.

Poor kid. He had so much talent – we all gobbled him up. He paid a price and became less normal and less like us as each year went by. We shouldn’t, now, call him strange. Just focus on what he did – on the stage and in front of the camera. He was much more inspired than strange. He joins the world's best now. Just a handful.