Is Jazz the Meaning of Life?

Terry Eagleton is one of my favourite literary critics. Formerly a Marxist, he has always stood against the tide of the obsession with theory. These days, so I understand, he is trading as a Catholic. His review of Dawkins' book was absolutely outstanding.

He talks about human freedom in terms of a jazz ensemble - a nice metaphor. You improvise, but you play in terms of the group. But then:

Is jazz, then, the meaning of life? Not exactly. The goal would be to construct this kind of community on a wider scale, which is a problem of politics. It is, to be sure, a utopian aspiration, but it is none the worse for that. [Old Marxists never die!] The point of such aspirations is to indicate a direction, however lamentably we are bound to fall short of the goal. What we need is a form of life which is completely pointless, just as the jazz perfomrance is pointless. Rather than serve some utilitarian purpose or earnest metaphysical end, it is a delight in itslef. It needs no justification beyond its own existence. In this sense, the meaning of life is interestingly close to meaninglessness. Religious believers who find this version of the meaning of life a little too laid-back for comfort should remind themselves that God, too, is his own end, ground, origin, reason and self-delight, and that only by living this way can human beings be said to share in his life. p. 174