Free Improvisation

Watching musician Jean Claude Jones play the double bass, you can't escape the conclusion that this 60-year-old man is physically done in. But his passion for music is so great that his multiple sclerosis fades into the background when he plays. The French musician, who lives in Jerusalem, has had to cope with the gradual deterioration of his physical constitution since the late 1980s, when he was diagnosed with this progressive disease of the central nervous system. All the examinations, medication and alternative therapies have failed to halt it. In recent years, it has become clearer that not only his life, but also his music - his creative gift - are in jeopardy. We follow the passionate musician over the course of a year, in which he performs, enjoys a rich social life and devotes a great deal of energy to a talented young protégé, who absorbs his knowledge like a sponge. But his life isn't only characterized by creativity and playing; the progression of the disease and the need to let things go play an ever greater role. The same applies to his supportive wife, forced to watch as the health of her life partner slowly deteriorates: "There are three people involved in living with someone with a chronic disease: me, him, and the MS."