Many people misunderstand the blues. "Why would anybody want music that's all about being sad?" is an outsider's view. Johnny Griffin once told me "the blues is about feeling good, IN SPITE OF..." Karma is also widely misunderstood in the west. Karma is closer to physics as it predicts results that can be observed. The power of the changes is turning destructive harming energy into protective healing energy. Intention determines the trajectory of the results as reliably as gravity. Musically, the blues provides a remedy. The blues is much more than a set of notes, or tunes or styles. The power of the blues to overcome sustained efforts of oppression, and to unite people into shared social action in support of freedom may indeed provide the energy we need in this moment. That’s the spirit of the music that is woven into the words and images that form Playing the Changes. Not only is the blues at the heart of jazz, it’s also at the heart of learning, liberation and freedom, because it gives you the power to Play the Changes, rather than having the changes play you.