jazz

june 26, 2024

jazz can sound kinda chaotic like every musician in the band is thinking something slightly different. the solos they take are really exciting for me and in those moments the idea that jazz is an american invention is evoked in me. to witness the individual bandmate lurch up and get his turn and really give it to the audience and create something, and he might not start out knowing exactly what he's gonna do and where he's gonna go but if he finds it and stays there and brings the listeners along with him it can be an energy like a flood in the body.

i saw a jazz show last night with my parents. the unc music faculty banded together and jammed in Hill Hall. five or so teachers. the piano man would really be gettin his kicks and he'd pass it over to the drummer and they'd both be diggin it and then the two wind instruments would jump in and blast on top some. the conversation that the instruments had with each other, the nods that the musicians urged each other on with, the rise and fall and swing, the speeding up and slowing down, the body language and excitement of the band, their mouth scrunching and chin thrusting. and the moments when the audience is collectively enthralled and they clap or laugh or hold their breath or release it. you don't know about that from listening to a recording. the recording doesn't translate accurately to real life. if you just had the recording, you might not even realize that music can look like that when it is shared to a room with people.