I would like to dedicate Mental Health Month this year 2023 in honor of my brother Charles Young Jr. To the man and his music. He passed away on his birthday, May 13, 2016. Chuckie as I called him lived with Schizophrenia and Bipolar disorders his entire adult life. During the course of his life, and like so many of us, he experienced a life of traumas and mysteries, living the best life he could. Chuckie was loved unconditionally by those whose lives he enriched with the soulful jazz he played every so beautifully and effortlessly from his mighty sword, his saxophone.

My brother was a uniquely gifted saxophone player with a very intelligent and complicated mind. His dedication and love of music allowed him to endure his illnesses until the very end. Mental illnesses in addition to being a psychological hardship, interfere with your ability to see things clearly and, or to accept the help you need. In his case, his inability to accept and recieve the guidance he needed for his physical and mental well-being, resulted in his early death at the young age of 64.

Finding something that you can be passionate about can help you through the hard times. Although Chuckie is physically gone, his spirit lives on and will always be a part of my heart and in the hearts of so many who knew and loved him.

Dear brother, I love and miss you. I think of you often, especially when I hear the soulful, jazzy sounds of the saxophone. Much Love Always!

Much love!

“I do not own the rights to this music”