On Jan. 11th word filtered thru Twitter of the death by suicide of Aaron Swartz, an outcome, at least in part, of his persecution by the US DOJ on copyright violation charges. I didn't know this man personally, but it was impossible to miss how loved & respected he was; "Air" became a meditation reflecting that outpouring of love & respect & profound loss.
A note about the choice of the Keith Jarrett track that closes out the set ... Biting intelligence, free-ranging emotion, complexity and courage are the things I encounter when I hear this piece. And these things are also what his friends and acquaintances saw in Aaron. Altho' the Koln piece conveys a measure of sorrow, there is also a refusal to settle for that, there's an insistence on the spirit's ability to soar above. And that's what I wish for all who were close to & touched by Aaron.
http://blog.archive.org/2013/01/12/aaron-swartz-hero-of-the-open-world-rip/ will tell you more. Art by Rachel Leow @idlethink
