“Life is a lot like Jazz… it’s best when you improvise.” George Gershwin
There comes a moment when you begin to grasp how to live your life. Maybe it is not so prevalent all the time, but you have got a glimpse.
You know.
You are present in the moment, totally aware of it and absorbed by it. You are in the unity of what is and what is going to be. This is the feeling of flow. There is the expression. And there is the sensation of an inner sound.
Your own voice.
Your own rhythm.
Your own music.
It dwells in you waiting to let it be free.
***
As a small girl I fell in love with rock music. It was easy, indeed. And the times of change made it all possible.
On the other hand, it took me years to appreciate jazz. This love was slowly born out of curiosity and built through experience.
The experience was not always easy. I remember a time when I sneaked out from a jazz performance on a big Jazz Festival, because the music was totally and utterly disturbing. It was horrible, to say at least. I couldn’t stomach it, so I had to escape.
The music was totally awkward, impossible to listen to, blowing not only my mind but shattering my body, too. The main guy, the conductor, seemed in trance. He led the musicians to create sounds that were not only disharmonious to my ears, but making my body shake with disgust. Yet, to my shock, many people in the audience seemed to enjoy it. It was a perplexing experience.
But there were many good ones, such as listening to JazzyFatnastees.
***
It takes time to appreciate jazz, while rock music seems easily lovable.
The foundation of rock is security. There is the beat, the cyclical rhythm and the assurance. You know what is going to happen next. This feature has an attractive pull to the masses because rock offers stability. One can easily identify with the music to express the bottling emotions.
Rock music offers grounding. To hear it, listen to the piece below:
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vbg7YoXiKn0[/youtube]
The foundation of jazz is uncertainty. This uncertainty permeates the music in all levels and forms.It creates tension. There is the surprise, the unknown behind the horizon and the unexpected. This feature is attractive only to the ones who are eager to wonder and wander. One can identify with the music when one is ready for an opening.
Jazz music offers exploration. To hear it, listen to the piece below:
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2VCwBzGdPM[/youtube]
Many can play and sing rock music but only some can play jazz.
Jazz is good when a musician who plays it, does with courage. He must flow with the music, so that at some point music is not being created any longer, but it is creating itself. Music is an elemental force, which searches expression. Jazz rides on exploration into the unknown.
***
Follow your own rhythm. Listen to your own music. Sing it.
If you can’t find it, start listening to jazz. It will lead you into exploration and encourage you to take a path of genuine curiosity. Listen to the piece of Możdzer, Danielson and Fresco:
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kC5XhqUgY38[/youtube]
If you listen to jazz long enough, you will get comfortable in dealing with uncertainty. Even more, you will become curious and interested in all aspects of life. Once you welcome the unsettling, the unknown and the unpredicted, you will begin to appreciate the life for its richness of experience.
If you listen to jazz long enough, you will begin to realize that everything is interconnected. Any false tune, any off-sound or any lie will distort the whole piece. If you deceive in one area of life, it is going to permeate all your being. Your song is distorted.
If you listen to jazz long enough, you will be invited to play with uncertainty, summon your courage and become creative. You will learn to express your authentic self. You will learn to joyfully improvise.
Immerse in life. Feel it. Love it. Indulge in it.
Jazz in you searches an expression in the world.
“Jazz is one of the best things that you can find in your life, it can always be your friend.” George Gershwin
