Why I love Jazz!

These days the term “Jazz” definition has become watered down. When I…

These days the term “Jazz” definition has become watered down. When I think of Jazz I believe it was the founded through the Spirituals in early 1900’s, expanded to the popular music of it’s time, and finalized through the improvisation done by the greats such as Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, and John Coltrane. To me, improvisation is and should be the apex of this American Art form and should be preserved and concepts should be taught. Don’t get me wrong, I love all kinds of music but I do not think I found my voice on my instrument until I started studying Jazz. In its studies I found the beauty of music theory and see how it touches all forms of music. When writing or composing I find that it certainly has expanded my pallet. What I mean is, sometimes it seems that writers will try to ignore all these wonderful gifts in hopes of finding or creating “something new”. The only thing I can do is ask these questions. If you are painting a picture would you rather have just your primary colors or would rather have ALL the colors in hand? Would you prefer just a couple tools or would you like all the tools? Take this journey with me by studying jazz!