The Rev. Michael L. Cobbler, discussed Martin Luther King Jr.’s love for jazz and his message of peace and unity through music at the Fourth annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration Dinner and Concert at the Valley Dale Grand Historic Ballroom Sunday. Keisha Grant, anchor on NewsCenter ABC 6/Fox 28 and Amy Donovan of Smooth Jazz 103.5/104.3 were emcees for the event.Cobbler, keynote speaker for the evening, said all people should take an example from the way they treat one another when they make music, jazz in particular. Jazz requires close cooperation between musicians, and that cooperation should be applied to daily living, said Cobbler, a Lutheran pastor.He quoted portions of King’s book, “Where Do We Go from Here? Chaos or Community.” Cobbler used examples where King stressed the importance of paying attention to one another, not just ourselves.”Men have lived by the principle that self-preservation is the first law of life, but this is a false assumption,” King wrote. “I would say that other preservation is the first law of life.”The interdependence we have on each other is something that should not be ignored, Cobbler said.Continuing to quote King, Cobbler said, “We are in the fortunate position of having our deepest sense of morality coalesce with our self interests.” As a global community, the message went, we cannot be self-sufficient. Everyone needs to realize the important part that we play in each other’s lives.Cobbler also discussed King’s concept of a “World House,” a metaphor for the global community. He said work still needs to be done in the “World House” taking precedence over more petty affairs. “I’m not interested in who’s going into the White House,” Cobbler said, “but who’s going to look after the World House.”Cobbler said King called for us to “take a cue from jazz, to build our lives in harmony, to listen to one another.” Building on that point, Cobbler said, “Our well being is constituted in the well-being of the other.” The celebration dinner is a new tradition, but one that is hoped may continue to grow and flourish. It was hosted by Scantland Broadcasting’s WJZA/WJZK Smooth Jazz 103.5/104.3 and was sponsored by Ameritech, SBC global network and ABC 6/Fox 28 NewsCenter. Proceeds from the event fund a full scholarship to Ohio State’s Jazz Studies program for an outstanding jazz musician.Performers included Gene Walker’s Generation Band, McClain “Chip” Davis Jr., Tiquila McCaulley and Chandraylan Brown of the Booker Family Praise Dance Troupe, Anointed Voices and the OSU Jazz Ensemble. The Jazz Ensemble features Jerome Jennings and Andrew Rice, the recipients of the 2000 Scantland Broadcasting Scholarship .Also speaking was OSU Jazz Ensemble Director Ted McDaniel. He mainly discussed King’s love for music and the life lessons that one can learn through it. McDaniel said simply, “Dr. King loved Jazz.”He also quoted King, using an excerpt from his address at the opening of the Berlin Jazz Festival in 1964. “For in particular, the struggle of the Negro in America is something akin to the universal struggle of modern man,” King said. Delivering the invocation was Barbara Nicholson, executive director of the King Arts Complex.Cobbler, McDaniel and Nicholson all agree that there is much that needs to be done, and that examples can be taken not only from King himself but from jazz and music in general. Music is an example of unity and co-operation among people of all race, creed and color, they said. The global community can learn from musicians and should take music as a guideline for how we treat our fellow human beings.