"I often think about Adam Lanza, and what if he had had a life where he was connected in a meaningful and healthy way to others... Perhaps that would have made a difference."
Nelba Marquez-Greene
It’s been two years since saxophonist Jimmy Greene lost his six-year-old daughter, Ana, in the tragic shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School. On his new album Beautiful Life, Greene memorializes his little girl.
Notable musicians like Pat Metheny, Javier Colon, and Kenny Barron contribute to the album, a moving tribute that also features archival audio Greene collected of a family Christmas in Puerto Rico, and even Ana herself singing the hymn "Come Thou Almighty King."
It makes sense for Greene to memorialize his daughter with music, as it was a language they shared during her life. But writing the album took time, the musician told WNPR's Where We Live. “The process was a pretty long one," he said. "For the first few weeks after Ana was killed, we had so much activity in our home... Our lives were really full just trying to stand up and regain strength to do normal everyday things, so playing music at that time wasn’t even a thought."
Listen to Jimmy and Nelba Marquez-Greene talk about the role of music in their lives, and the process of writing the album Beautiful Life:
When Jimmy Greene started playing his saxophone again, he drew from a painful place. "The life of our daughter ending in such a violent and tragic way thrust us into a different reality," he said. To make sense of it all, he turned back to writing songs. "And it helps to be a musician. To use the musical language to fill in the gaps and to express the things that words can’t.”
Nelba Marquez-Greene was supportive of her husband's music and grateful for his community of musicians. She said they were a big part of how the Greene family dealt with their tragic loss.
Stevie Wonder acknowledged them during a concert, and friend Harry Connick Jr. showed up at their home the night of the Newtown shooting. "Ana was a member of their village," she said. "And I think for many of them, supporting us through song is away that they can continue to remember her, honor her, support Isaiah, her dad, and me."
"I’m glad Jimmy had this outlet," Marquez-Greene said. "I did more of the going to Washington, being involved, going out there. And Jimmy was sitting in Ana’s room, often with the door closed, trying to put her beauty into song… this is what I now know as another way of keeping her memory alive."
Listen to Greene talk about the first song on his album, "Saludos/Come Thou Almighty King:"
Nelba Marquez-Greene said despite two years passing since she lost her daughter, her days are "either bad or worse." She finds strength through running the Ana Grace Project, which focuses on the promotion of love, community, and connection for children, especially those who are vulnerable like Newtown shooter Adam Lanza.
“One of the most unfortunate things about this tragedy is that people will often talk to us and say, 'Ugh, that monster who took your daughter's life,' or 'that woman who was the mother of the monster,' and when you talk like that, it doesn't fix anything," Marquez-Greene said. "I often think about Adam Lanza, and what if he had had a life where he was connected in a meaningful and healthy way to others... and felt loved, and respected, and honored. Perhaps that would have made a difference."
"If we’re not looking at this as an opportunity to say what went wrong and how do we fix it in a really meaningful way that doesn't turn it into an Us v. Them, then we’re not doing the right thing," Marquez-Greene said. Her husband agreed. "The potential is there for this to happen a lot more often if we don't do things to be inclusive, to be loving, to be a community that embraces everyone in it," Greene said.
Listen to Jimmy and Nelba Marquez-Greene talk about Adam Lanza, and the need to support vulnerable children:
