August 6

http://kennywernerlive.com/effortless-mastery-reminders/madame-chaloff-and-the-secret-of-music-your-effortless-mastery-reminders-015

Kenny Werner says so much in 7 minutes! Love what he says about the "creativity of the last note."

I've been thinking so much lately about some of things I heard in the video this morning. Maybe I'm not crazy..hahaha. This idea of free jazz..free improvisation...what is it? Werner says that when we are playing tunes with chord changes, we're not free until we "master" the chords/scales. I believe that. It's not about the chords or the scales, it's playing the tune a million times and mastering those aspects of the tune until we become free. We are not free to really improvise until we pass through that stage. I've had so much trouble the past few years to get my groups to even memorize the music before gigs. It's such a common problem, I've recently started to think maybe I'm foolish. Learning to play the tune seems like a logical first step (with music or learning by ear). Next I want to memorize the tune/chords/scales. Listen to different versions. Play the tune in different keys. Memorize and sing solos of others that have recorded the tune just to understand how they perceived the structure and learn vocabulary. Maybe even learn the tune on the piano, slowly playing the chords, singing the chords, singing bass notes, singing the melody. These are all small steps towards gaining freedom "inside" of a tune.

August 5

"If you don't know history, it's like you were born yesterday."

Howard Zinn

August 4

Lightning in a Bottle: Creating, Presenting, and Preserving Jazz

A great performance by Odean Pope and his Trio followed by an hour of discussion about the creative process and improvisation. Odean makes some special comments about inspiration and the role that plays in his improvisations and compositions.

Philoctetes

"The Philoctetes Center for the Multidisciplinary Study of the Imagination was established to promote an integrated, interdisciplinary approach to the understanding of creativity and the imaginative process."

Philoctetes - Home

At 1:34:00, Shoenberg and Pope talking about the composition process.
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Listening to Pope's band, I'm reminded of my experiences teaching at summer jazz camps and/or beginning improvisation classes. Over the years, I noticed time and time again young students of improvisation become paralyzed and unable to play because of their fear of chord changes. Some of the most successful ensembles I've had were started by playing "free." I might have the bass player play a pedal note or ask the drummer to start playing some kind of a groove. It's always amazing to see/hear how creative these young people are. I want them to get a taste of creating, to get the experience (without limitations) of improvising. It's possible later to slowly introduce songs that incorporate chord changes/scales and more complex harmonic language.

That being said, I often play with musicians who've been playing for years and dislike or feel uncomfortable with "free" improvised music or "free jazz." I think that is part of the reason that young players are afraid to enter the world of improvisation. The "educational system" in the world of improvisation seems to throw a lot of rules and complex ideas at young people that don't have a clue. The result: fear.

Recently, taught an ensemble of young players. They are a few years into the "indoctrination process of chords/scales and learning the bebop language. I happened to have a book of some of M.C. Escher's works in my horn case. We spent a few minutes looking at some of Escher's work and I asked them to improvise one of his designs. They seemed a little apprehensive. So, I asked them to imagine that we are in the studio and doing a soundtrack for a documentary on Escher's life and work. We have been handed a copy of this design and the producers want us to come up with some music to put behind this scene....NOW. It was amazing how creative this ensemble became. I was in shock. In that class we played some standard jazz and funk tunes but, when they created this free improvisation of a design by Escher, it was by far the most beautiful and sensitive playing they had done in weeks!

August 3

Went to Miyakojima in Okinawa last year. Maybe it's just about time to go there again. Miyakojima is a tropical paradise, actually closer to Taiwan than the main southern Japanese islands. I didn't see any evidence of over-development there. Lots of wide-open spaces, sugar cane farms, beautiful white sand beaches and quiet. I'll have to say, in the past few years, except for my occasional trips to West Virginia or west of Tokyo to the Japanese alps, I felt the most inspired to create while on Miyakojima. I just love nature. That's it. Period. Very difficult for me to feel inspired living in the city. I guess I can create anywhere and under a lot of different conditions. But, if I had my preference......

August 2

The Power of Nightmares
(parts 1-3)

Another documentary presenting more ideas on the process in which "the system" has guided our thinking and perceptions of society and the world around us. With this constant attack on our senses and thinking, I wonder how the growth of creativity is stunted and/or limited?




http://www.archive.org/details/ThePowerOfNightmares

August 1

"Trumpet player Clark Terry summarizes the creative process as "imitate, assimilate, innovate". Listening to other musicians can give you ideas you may wish to develop further, and being able to successfully duplicate what they are doing is one step toward being able to express yourself. Next, you must understand why the things you are playing sound the way they do, so that when you want to create a particular sound, you will know how to achieve it. The theory presented in the following sections can help you structure your thoughts, and can also help you identify the sounds you hear. However, analytic processes are an aid to the creative process, not a replacement for it. Two analogies, one with language and one with mathematics, should help make this clear.Trumpet player Clark Terry summarizes the creative process as "imitate, assimilate, innovate". Listening to other musicians can give you ideas you may wish to develop further, and being able to successfully duplicate what they are doing is one step toward being able to express yourself. Next, you must understand why the things you are playing sound the way they do, so that when you want to create a particular sound, you will know how to achieve it. The theory presented in the following sections can help you structure your thoughts, and can also help you identify the sounds you hear. However, analytic processes are an aid to the creative process, not a replacement for it. Two analogies, one with language and one with mathematics, should help make this clear."

Jazz Fundamentals - Marc Sabatella
http://www.outsideshore.com/primer/primer/ms-primer-3.html

July 31

After listening to the first tune, you'll here some interesting comments from Hargrove about creativity and where the music comes from.

Roy Hargrove on Music