Jazz from the Blues Point of View
Entertainment and Education Center

        What defines inspiration? What moves the soul? What does it take to rock the very foundation of one’s musical reality? Of course these questions are extremely broad in nature. Being so, it may appear irrelevant to ask these questions. Can anyone really offer universal answers? The art of music leaves the ultimate conclusion to these quandaries up to the individual listener. Yet so many “jazz experts" attempt to critique the artists’ performances exclusively from a music theory perspective. Fundamentals and music theory indeed do play a part in a strong musical arsenal; but to only employ this weapon leaves the music shallow. To combat this shortfall in most current Jazz music, I am developing this course. “Jazz from a Blues Point of View" will enable my students to answer those three seemingly irrelevant questions. Let the journey begin.
 

        Jazz is known for the music’s incorporation of intricate improvisation. Such artists as: Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, and Gene Harris, just to name a few, employ intricate techniques to make great music. Some of the best in the business are famous for their ability to musically dance in and out of scales, creating complex melodic and harmonic patterns. These patterns I will term “Mind Flow." Yet there are other artists that, regardless of their skill, fail to move the soul with their music, or lack this “Mind Flow." So what distinguishes the two groups from one another? In my professional experience, failure and success are measured by the level of emotion in the music. Namely, what kind of reaction the listener has to music. Let me clarify one point. There is a big difference between good Jazz music and great Jazz music. Jazz lacking soul, substance, body, or emotion can still be good music, but will never be great music. The artist can posses incredible skill but never be able inspire. Great music inspires.

         I chose to approach Jazz music from a Blues perspective because of the emotion in the music. Blues is emotional music; a reaction to the hardships of life that most African Americans had to endure during and after slavery. Steeped in a tradition of difficulty and oppression, early Blues artists chose to express their woes thru music. Traditional African rhythms and melodies, combined with generations of Spirituals, eventually blended into early blues. The real emotion can be heard in the patterns of the music. It is difficult to put into words, and is better understood by actively listening to the great masters.

This brings up the first fundamental part of developing one’s “Mind Flow." To understand what the music is today, it is necessary to know where the music has come from. The great masters of old tell a pure story of the emotion from where and when the music came from. Unlike the general genre, the individual songs are not distorted by time, and have remained unchanged since they were created. The great masters of old are a great source of simple building blocks from where any new artist can find inspiration. LISTEN! Don’t just hear the music. By listening I mean feel. Feel the music on an emotional level. Listening to this music is the best way that an artist today can reach back in time and get in touch with the emotions of the people of the time.

          The second critical part of developing one’s “Mind Flow" is to practice the fundamentals of music. Like I was saying before, simply understanding the theory or fundamentals will leave your music shallow. Conversely, failing to develop one’s fundamentals will leave your music ignorant and critically simple. I will further discuss the best ways to develop strong fundamentals, or what I call the three “R"s of music fundamentals, in upcoming lessons. Needless to say, at this point, understand that it is vital to work on the building blocks of music.
 

The third and final area that I will discuss here is the need to interact with other musicians. All too often, as artists we become complacent, and comfortable. Preferring to isolate our music rather than open it up to scrutiny, and possible rejection. I cannot stress enough how important playing with other musicians is. Not only will it give you feedback on your own skill and creation technique, but will also help you learn how to play with people, and not for people. When the artist plays with other musicians, it opens a dialogue and communication on the deepest level becomes possible. These conversations, as often exhibited in the “call and answer" portions of many great jazz songs, are filled with emotion when done successfully of course. Even in solo performances, the better musician plays with the audience, and not for the audience. When the artist plays with others, either musicians or audience members, everyone is involved. This involvement is emotional, inspiring, and moves the soul.
 

My instructional course, “Jazz from the Blues Point of View," will strive to enable my students to develop their own unique and soulful “Mind Flow." It will put them in touch with Jazz and Blues music like never before. As your teacher and guide, I will focus my lessons on these three main areas: listening to the Jazz and Blues Masters of Old, developing the three “R"s of music fundamentals, and providing each student the opportunity to develop a skillful dialogue while they play with me using custom compositions. So let our journey begin. The journey into the very essence of emotional Jazz music, the journey into the soul.

Composed by Mike and Gabriel Taylor