What Jazz Is

Where I come from, jazz is somewhat similar to…say…the rings of Saturn. Everyone knows about them but few acknowledge their presence. Out of that, there are very few who understand their composition or reason for being. So, it’s not uncommon for me to have a weird look passed my way when I tell someone what my favorite genre is. This often requires some sort of Q & A session in which the “A”s normally fall on inattentive ears and go over the person’s head.

Hundreds of these encounters over the thirteen years I have been a jazz head have all played out the same but one question asked by a young, trouble-making, good ol’ boy really stuck with me. It was one of those really simple questions that hit you like a swift kick in the balls. One that really makes you think.

… The guy just looked at me and said “Jazz? What do you get out of that?”

I came back with my usual spiel, he nodded and the subject changed. We both went on with our day and I seldom saw him after that. That question, however, is still with me. The answer is easy. Jazz makes me feel. It’s the composition of the answer that gets tricky. Why do I relate to jazz? What about it makes me feel?

Those two questions are really just one. If I ask what about it makes me feel (any emotion) the answer is- the way I relate to it (as is the case for any art that touches someone in an emotional way). Therefore, the real question is…Wait for it…Why do I relate to jazz. Which translates into – What do I think about – consciously or subconsciously – when I hear a jazz tune? What is it about Paul Desmond’s re-entry after the drum solo in Take Five that makes me giddy? Or, Miles’ All Blues that makes me feel like I can take on the world? How come when I hear pretty much anything by Mulgrew Miller, I’m just proud to be a musician?

Well, I don’t have a clue! I know that much of it is dictated by memories and past experiences but for whatever reason, my brain links jazz to pretty much everything – Even if there is no reason to do so. When I hear good jazz, I, quite literally, get excited. My heartbeat picks up and I feel like I can conquer the entire universe. It inspires me to play, live, laugh, and enjoy life. It’s times with friends, times with my son, times with my wife and times when I am alone. It’s the sad, the happy, the mundane, and the exciting all wrapped in a beautifully syncopated rhythm that forces my foot to tap. Life. That, my friend, is what jazz is.