The Real Music
To be honest, I knew quite a bit about jazz before this
class. I’ve taken jazz piano lessons
since I was ten, played in several big bands and combos, as well as enjoyed
reading about the father figures of jazz while I was learning their music out
of Real Book. That being said, I entered
the class with the assumption that jazz is “easier” than Western Art
music. This assumption was created and
solidified by the opinions of my classical piano instructor at UCSB. I’ve always loved listening to and playing jazz
and never viewed jazz as a lesser art than classical music until studying with
my current teacher. I am happy to say
that this class has rebirthed my love, appreciation and respect for jazz and
those who create.
Reading the Miles Davis autobiography influenced the return
of my jazz appreciation. After reading
the chapter about Julliard, I had a new idea about what being a “good” musician
is. It’s not about training, but about
personal commitment, discipline and community.
Davis’s story about being told by a professor at Julliard that black
people played the blues because they were poor and had a hard life opened my
eyes to how skewed the classical musical world is. Even today, I see similar ignorant and
discriminatory fallacies coming from some of my music professors. The ridiculous focus placed on playing things
“right” and “elegantly” in Western Art Music seems to hinder the creative
process of music creation that is jazz.
Just as Miles found he learned more from Bird and Dizzy than in class at
Julliard, I feel that music is truly learned and internalized by practicing and
playing with other musicians in a both competitive and nurturing environment.
From New Orleans to New York, jazz emerged from people
coming together to express themselves. I
believe that the creation of community within jazz acts as a catalyst for
creation, creativity and knowledge. This
idea occurred repeatedly in the course, but occurs most obviously in the “open
university” at Lincoln Gardens and the coffee house in Leimert Park. Having a place where musicians can meet, talk
and play with one another is more of a university than a real one. This notion that a group of individuals can
collaborate and create something entirely new is one of beauties of jazz. And I feel it is a key factor that I will
take away from the course. Collaboration
and personal discipline are equal to if not better than a Julliard
education. After all, it is the
individual and the community around him who create the dialogue that is
jazz. A one-sided lecture and a textbook
will never equal the knowledge gained by experience.
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