Kind of Blue (part 5--in conclusion)
"The parallels between the lives of African-Americans battling for their freedom as citizens and that of jazz musicians for their freedom from European harmony are too close to be mere happenstance."
Jazz icon, Miles Davis, used to play with his back to the audience. To whites it was offensive. To blacks it was empowering. If a mere negro musician would dare turn his backs on whites in a racist society, then what else was possible? Same drinking fountains, no more lynchings, same schools...voting?
"Harmonic complexity [had become] a hallmark of modern jazz." And "the use of harmonic structure had special, extramusical significance in jazz: it was the aspect of the music that was most deeply rooted in Europe...the use of chords comes out of the European harmonic system. And jazzmen were very aware of this."
Kind of Blue was a breaking away from European musical standards. After seeing a dance troup from Africa and listening with amazement to the beats of the drummers, Miles emerged. He broke from European chord progressions as the best way to play jazz and went with a modal approach, based upon scales. And in a a 2 day recoding session with some of jazz's greats, Kind Of Blue was recorded. And jazz has never been the same. "it was voted one of the ten bet albums of all time--in any genre--and it is the only jazz album ever to reach double-platinum status....it is also a watershed in the history of jazz, a signpost pointed to the tumultuous changes that would dominate this music and society itself in the decade ahead."
There was another reason why he played with his back to his primarily white audiences. In his autobiography he says that by turning and facing the band, he could listen better, read their cues and ultimately produce a better musical experience for the audience. Miles converged.
How amazing is that! Inspite of his disdain for those who wouldn't even use the same restroom with him, he also sought to give them a gift.
Jazz and the African-American experience are not just about emergence but also convergence.
What would a jazz approach to theology look like? What about the current emergent church conversation...is emerging enough?
(Quotations above are from Eric Nisenson's fine book, "The Making of Kind of Blue)
posted by jazztheo at 9/18/2005 09:03:00 AM
12 Comments:
My brother this is some powerful prophetic insight here. I come across many a decent writer in the blogosphere, but this is eloquent, divine revelation and my spirit is filled with joy at the prospects that you suggest.
You're familiar with my good friend Anthony "Postmodern Negro" Smith and he often talks about jazz as a metaphor for the African-American Christian experience as well. I'm exploring these same questions in the context of hip-hop myself.
But in answer to your question "What would a jazz approach to theology look like? What about the current emergent church conversation...is emerging enough?" here is my response:
A jazz theology must as you infer, necessarily deviate from normative Western European teachings to some degree in both style and substance. White theology which professes to be sophistocated and orderly is often considered too dispassionate for the tastes of African descendents. In order to experience God, many of us need to worship and express ourselves through explicit emotion (e.g. public weeping)and bodily action (i.e. dance). Whereas white Christian thought and practice tends to be preoccupied with individual piety and personal salvation, the best of black theology and preaching appeals to the communal dimension of salvation and is grounded in a history of struggle against. injustice.
The emerging church conversation provides spaces which were previously non-existent for thoughtful brothers and sisers of diverse backgrounds to come together in meaningful dialogue about Christ and His Kingdom. Yet my perspective on the Emerging Church and diversity is akin to a couple who sincerely desired to invite a wide variety of family, friends, and associates. For whatever reason, however, the invitations only managed to go out to the couples' closest family members and friends. Word got out to the other acquaintances that they were welcome even though they didn't receive a formal invite. When these other people arrived at the wedding and reception they were well received by the couple, but there were some in the wedding party who were indifferent and less receptive.
There is much talk about diversity in emerging circles, but still very little deliberate effort is being made to expand the conversation. The reason people like Anthony to a large extent and myself to a lesser extent are in the conversation, is because we have imposed ourselves and decided to either validate the proclaimed desire for diversity or call the bluff if you will. There is much potential for jazz theology in the e.c. and arguably some is taking place even now, yet it is my belief that those best equipped to practice this form of Christian thought and practice are those who have inherited the experience which makes jazz theology possible. As African-Americans we should take responsibility for racial reconciliation as we always have (it is our prophetic burden) while living in our own parallel reality to make sure our people have the food and nourishment they need for their unique journey. Sorry for being so long-winded.
Pete,
What if your not White? Go back to the post on conformity...
African-American's must reject White-European structures and so must Whites. That's why jazz is for you as well. Jazz is a uniquely American art form. An alternative American theology.
You are only white because I had, a group of people had to be black, categorized...it is a result of modernity. African-American's had their cultures taken away...you had to hand them over in order to conform.
In order to converge you must first emerge.
Rod,
Your affirmations touch my soul!
I have been skimming through Anthony's blog as well and am appreciating his and your mind. I look forward to continued dialogue around jazz and hip-hop. There is a contribution to be made from both paradigms to the larger conversation...
I am wondering if the emergent church movement is willing to let go of modernity when it comes to race and it's implcations. It seems to me that the EC movement is still rather entrenched in conforming to "whiteness" even as it goes global.
I admire you for your inserting yoru self into the conversation as you have described. I was once asked to be one of 5 keynote speakers at an EC conference only to discover that the only reason I was invited was as an afterthought...to get a black face on stage in front of the white audience.
You have many more thoughts here that I want to chew on a bit...never apologize for being long winded when your content is this worthwhile.
to be continued...
What are you Pete? Everyone has a nationality and an ethnicity.
Nationality, "I pledge allegiance..."
Ethnicity, "my people are..."
Your people didn't wear kufi's...who were they, what is there contribution?
You had to give up these answers to become white.
Your Cool Daddy,
What do you think of Jack Teagarden?
-lightskinned negro
Pete,
You might have to rethink that whole "hyphen-less" thing.
Life on the hyphen is not comfortable nor tensionless but it is ripe for Theomoments and the playground of jazz.
lightskinned,
I'll deal with you later!
Pete,
First of all let me say that regardless of how you identify yourself or even understand that identity, you have soul my brother. You see soul in an African and African-American context isn't just about having a sense of rhythm or a passionate presentation, it's about a deep connection to the pain and pleasure of life and a desire to connect with the sorrow and joy of others. It's about me feeling what you're going through and you feeling what I'm going through (the Blues ethos). That is the testimony and the power of the black experience. Foreign cultural and spiritual practices are threatening that rich history, but by going back we can move forward ("Sankofa").
Whiteness and blackness are social constructs as you realize. These abstract colors have been given life by concrete realities of racism in the forms of slavery, segregation, and continued discrimination. It's sad that when European descended brothers and sisters such as yourself become victims of your own culture's desire to whitewash or baptize everyone else in whitness. Your identity becomes so normative to the point that it is internalized as generic. This is why so many young whites are fascinated with hip-hop, no matter how pathological much of it is. I would argue that some of their fascination is driven just as much by their unconscious racism as it is there attempt to escape their own whiteness, however (White boys want to be black, so they must act like pimps, because being black is to be a pimp).
What is your particular ethnic history? Is it Irish, English, German or what? What is the unique struggle of your people, because every people has one. Even the Brits were colonized by the Romans at some point. When you felt like a minority because you tried to step into foreign territory did you think about how that is the everyday existence for people like me and Theo? Embrace your pain in order to emerge and connect with ours and then together let us converge in He who makes true fellowship possible, Jesus Christ. You've got soul, the only question is, will you use it?
Your Cool Daddy,
Jack Teagarden famously sang "I Gotta Right to Sing the Blues."
Did he?
-lightskinned
Your Cool Daddy,
Nice link from North Dakota.
It seems to me that if Big T's "gotta right to sing the blues," then so does North Dakota.
But does he?
-lightskinned
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lightskinned...,
Convergence, jazz is all about convergence.
I really enjoyed reading the post and comments. Thanks!
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