CHAPTER 1

What About Jazz?

RICHARD BIRK

Every man prays in his own language. There is no language God does notunderstand.

Duke Ellington

Leave it to Duke to cut right to the heart of the matter and eloquently andsuccinctly state the essence of this article! Anyway, here it goes....

Jazz is the musical language with which I have chosen to praise God. So what isjazz? Louis Armstrong once answered, "Man, if you have to ask what it (jazz) is,you'll never know." The Encarta Dictionary, however, is a little more helpful:

Jazz (noun): popular music that originated among black people in New Orleans inthe late 19th century and is characterized by syncopated rhythms andimprovisation. It has since developed various styles.

The things that leap out at me in this definition (so brief, yet implying somuch more—kind of like Christ and some of his teachings) are:

1. Jazz is American.

2. Jazz is about rhythm.

3. Jazz is about improvisation.

4. Jazz is a huge umbrella that covers a number of different sustyles.

In reverse order, jazz is tremendously diverse and encompasses dixieland, bigband, bebop, cool, free, fusion, and smooth to name just a few substyles. Thisdiversity always reminds me of the fable of the blind men and the elephant. Thefirst man touches the elephant's side and says the elephant is like a wall. Thesecond man encounters the elephant's leg and says the elephant is like a tree.The third man feels the elephant's trunk and says the elephant is like a snake,while the fourth man concludes the elephant is like a fan after touching theelephant's ear. While they're all partially correct, none can "see" the bigpicture. I think this analogy can be applied not only to how we view jazz buteven in fact how we view various religions and denominations. Maybe were all"correct" from our narrow point of view, but we must realize that the face ofGod is so much bigger than what we can see individually, socially, orculturally.

Improvisation is a key element of jazz, and Mark Gridley in his book JazzStyles: History and Analysis says "to improvise is to compose and perform at thesame time." Since the psalms exhort us to "Sing to the Lord a new song," thenimprovisation is one avenue to achieve this scriptural mandate. Improvisation isalso the ultimate "living in the moment" experience for musicians. Divineinspiration during an improvised solo is a powerful and moving experience forboth the listener and the performer.

One of the earliest and most recognizable characteristics of jazz is its swingrhythm. Deriving from the syncopation of ragtime, swing has evolved to becomeone of the signature features of jazz. Since its inception, jazz has continuedto develop rhythmically and now includes Latin rhythms, rock rhythms, and worldrhythms to name just a few. Rhythm is a unifying force not just in music, but inour daily lives. It can bridge social and cultural gaps, helping us to dance asbrothers and sisters in Christ.

Jazz is a distinctly American music (which Congress in 1987 designated as a"rare and valuable national American treasure") that grew out of African andEuropean traditions. It could only have happened in this great melting pot wheredifferent cultural identities were blended together to create a new art formthat has influenced and transformed music throughout the world.

Historical Overview

The roots of jazz are ragtime and blues. Ragtime music was written for solopiano originally and contained infectious syncopated rhythms while usingtraditional European harmonies and form. Blues grew out of the slaves'experience and was their deeply expressive vocal music that contained moans,shouts, and growls. These musical traditions merged in New Orleans in the early1900s when instrumentalists would recreate the vocal effects of the blues whiletaking liberties with ("jazzing up") traditional ragtime melodies.

Born in 1901, trumpeter/singer Louis Armstrong grew up in New Orleans and wasthe first great (and some say greatest) jazz musician. Louis influenced thewhole course of jazz with his brilliant, virtuosic improvisations and hisrefined sense of swing. The advent of recordings near the same time as Louis'rise allowed his spontaneous performances to be captured and preserved formusicians far and wide to hear. As Louis moved first to Chicago and later NewYork, his music and influence spread even farther.

Jazz evolved from dixieland in its infancy to big band/swing in the 1930s, bopin the '40s, cool in the '50s, free/avant garde in the '60s, fusion in the '70s,and smooth in the '80s. Along the way, countless jazz pianists like Fats Waller,Art Tatum, and Thelonious Monk got some of their initial musical experience aschurch musicians. Several significant jazz compositions such as "The Preacher"by Horace Silver and "Come Sunday" by Duke Ellington incorporate church musicelements (gospel in particular).

This link between church and jazz has been solidified through the years throughsuch things as Duke Ellington's Sacred Concerts, Dave Brubeck's Mass: To Hope! ACelebration, and Louis Armstrong's album Louis and the Good Book. Father JohnGarcia Gensel established a Ministry to the Jazz Community at New York's St.Peter's Church in 1965. This ministry was a direct outreach to jazz musiciansand also included a weekly jazz vespers where jazz musicians could share theirart in the context of a worship service.

My Personal Journey

I am the son of a Lutheran pastor and have been a professional jazz musician andtaught jazz at the community college level for over twenty years. I was raisedin the church with the rich Lutheran musical heritage of Bach and hiscounterparts. Additionally, my father was a campus minister so I was alsoexposed to the "contemporary" church music of the '60s and '70s. As a jazzmusician and educator, I have lived and breathed the music of the jazz giantslike Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Count...