My love for Jazz has lasted for years. It's a tradition that started 48 years ago and continues as I am writing this. As I write, I hear it and feel it as a familiar medicine. I mention this, because I needed a strong remedy these recent years; and Jazz, along with other things, played that important role in my life.
Many times I've compared it to our lives, finding common points and important elements, that have helped me understand situations and the human behaviour, even in my own self. We can understand this by studying its history.
As you are probably aware, Jazz was created to bring in a atmosphere of joy in slavery. The slaves, while working in the fields, were improvising songs, talking to each other, responding and sending messages, encouraging and unifying their community. Essentially, this improvisation stems from their souls and expresses the greatness of human creation. "Life is a lot like Jazz. It's better when we improvise", says George Gershwin. As long as we live and breathe, we create. No tragedy, no negative event can stop the life that is running through our veins and continues to create through our personal trials and our varied experiences. Jazz expresses this through the notes, the melody, the saxophone, the piano... "What we play is life", says Louis Armstrong.
This of course means that we are taking a risk. In essence, our whole life springs through the risk that we very often have to take. Steve Lacy puts it this way: "Risk is at the heart of Jazz. Every note we play is a risk".
Jazz's variety via its many instruments (saxophone, piano, guitar, drums, flute, clarinet, trumpet) paints with vivid colours the human diversity, which enriches life at a great degree. This diversity is coupled with the expression of our culture. For instance, upbeat Latin Jazz manages to take the listener to new places everytime they listen to it. All this detail adds colour to our lives. It adds style. Traditional or contemporary or both depending on the mood of the moment. Doesn't this literally remind you of life?
Through the different styles our emotions emerge. Jazz Noir when we are sad, romantic Smooth Jazz, Nina Simone and the way she expresses love, the Blues as they connect melody and words and refer to human problems. Amid all this, Jazz talks about the history of man (Negro Spirituals) and our history is unique, detailed, dynamic and popular.
Its harmony and rythm operate similarly to our hearts. Its activity shows human movement. Its authenticity is magnetizing. Its synchronicity is reminiscent of our society.
Jazz doesn't put up with racism. It's playful, it speaks, sings and it expresses the revolution of a sound that shook the society of the time, as all revolutions do. It overcame enmity, racial inequality, terrorism, abuse, poverty, injustice, mockery and continued to seek liberty through its evolution. An evolution that holds to this day, managing to freely give us this incredible music that we love so much. Its international spirit (International Jazz) is celebrated through different festivals all over the world. Its gifts have been given to us in abundance, as long as we seek them. Gerry Mulligan states that jazz has given us beauty, grace and nobiliity. How incredible is he?
How connected are we, then, to this addicting music! How much it represents our life! How many lessons it continues to teach us! I believe that you are born with music. It is a talent that is given to us by nature. Scott Joplin has been playing music since 7 years old. Music has roots, it does not come out of nowhere. It expresses our innermost feelings with its passion. It fosters communication and connects us to each other. As a living organism, it adapts continually. It creates culture, jobs, wealth and economic growth. It destroys racism and seeks liberty, something that fully relates to our spirit. It moves freely, refusing to turn into stagnant waters. It's the tendency and flow of life to bring something good out of evil. If there were no plantations, we wouldn't have Jazz. If there were no slavery, we wouldn't have the blues.
In closing, I want to dedicate to you my favourite track. Time After Time by Miles Davis (Miles Davis with Kenny Garrett and Foley McCreary, 1988).
