Postcard #10

People have taken time out of their day and spent their money to come sit down at a concert. And it's jazz music-it's not easy for them to get to it. I don't want them ever to feel that I'm taking their presence lightly. –Wynton Marsalis

This thought came to me when my husband, Chris, and I were having a discussion on music over lunch the other day. We were listening to some beautiful but not-so-familiar classical music on CBC Radio 2, and Chris commented on how many styles and genres of music there are, many of which we know little of. As the discussion went on, I commented on how jazz music is not so “user-friendly.” There can be many instruments semi-improvising simultaneously throughout a piece. This sound can be confusing to some. When the listener understands and appreciates some of the concepts of how the music is created and put together, it is easier to relate to and enjoy the music.
When you are playing a classical piece, you are expected to play every note the way it is written. The musician is allowed some liberty and room for interpretation, but the music is played as written; there is no altering notes or chords. When playing classical music, the musician is using their talent and skills to reproduce the music that is written by the composer. In jazz music, it is expected that the jazz musician play a rendition of the song; even the melody is interpreted and sometimes the harmony. The songs that jazz musicians play are generally well-written pieces on their own. On the great canvases that the composers such as Gershwin, Berlin and Porter created, jazz musicians are given the opportunity to create their own music. Musicians bring their own interpretation of the song with the melody and create their own voice by spontaneous improvising.
Here is a picture of a phenomenal musician both in Jazz and Classical music, Wynton Marsalis. I wonder what he thinks about this idea.
Do you know what it means to miss New Orleans?