Lately I've been watching the Ken Burns: Jazz documentary film collection. It's incredibly fascinating! It tracks the developments of jazz music from it's beginnings in New Orleans in the early 1900's through the swing era, bebop, and beyond. I haven't finished the series yet, but I really enjoy it. Anyone who's a fan of music, American history, and good storytelling would love this series. Put it on your netflix queue, you'll love it!
Needless to say I've been thinking about music because of watching these films. Well, more than usual anyways. I'm almost always got music on the brain in one way or another. Something is almost always playing in my head, whether it's a single song, parts of a concert, particular drum beats that I would like to play, and so on. It's almost impossible for me to not tap my feet or my fingers. If I'm sitting at a table, I'll start tapping my fingers or my hands - I can't help it, it's part of me. Heck, I'm listening to a contemporary jazz band called The Yellowjackets right now as I type.
One of the major things I love about music (jazz in particular) is it's corporate nature. I love the interaction that happens between the musicians when they're performing. It's a kind of communication that doesn't require words, and relies on a different kind of body language than when you're sitting and having dinner with friends and family. It's all about watching each other, reading each other, finding that groove TOGETHER. It's also about encouraging each other, laughing, and creating excitement and passion TOGETHER. I do not believe music is meant to be an individual enterprise. I may be a good drummer, but that only really comes out when I'm playing with other people, and we're challenging each other, encouraging each other, and so on. Early in the Jazz documentary, Wynton Marsalis (famous trumpet player) talks about how he can go play at a club in a particular city, work with a few guys and start playing without much preparation or hashing over details. He says that when they're playing together, "now we can have a conversation. Now we're having a dialogue."
I think these are important lessons that we as Christians need to learn as we live out our faith as the Church. In his book Border Crossings, Rodney Clapp has a chapter in which he explains that jazz can be a source of instruction for our churches. At a jazz club, there's interaction going on between the band and the audience. The audience applauds each soloist as he/she ends her solo section, sometimes shouting out exhortations and encouragement to the player in the midst of the solo. "Go man go!" "Bring it home!" "Yeah, you got it, keep it coming baby!" What if we found ways of applying this form of encouragement in our churches? We all have spiritual gifts that God has given to us. We bring those gifts, talents, sacrifices, and what not to Him in worship when we gather together on Sundays and at various functions throughout the week. When someone from our community is "performing," in his/her natural giftedness, whatever that may be, we need to be shouting "YEAH! That's awesome! Go, go, go!" On the one hand, it's recognizing individual achievement, but on a bigger level it's us coming together as a community and recognizing the beautiful work that God is doing in one of our own. Some people obviously get more attention or notoriety when that happens, unfortunately (let's be honest, it's really rare to hear a bass trombone solo; although, I have heard it once!). But even when that happens, I think we're all able to recognize how we're contributing to the whole project of being God's people coming together in worship, and do so joyfully.
This corporate nature of worship is really why I love music, and being able to play music. I love playing in worship bands, and I love being able to interact with them while we're playing. One of my pet peeves is when I'm trying to look at the other band members, and their faces are buried in the music. Ok, on the one hand it's good that they're tracking with the music, making sure they're playing the right thing. But when I see that, I almost want to shout out, "Hey man, just feel it with me! Work with me! Let's get this in the pocket!" I love being able to watch the other musicians and smile and laugh with them while playing. The best part about it is, IT'S WORSHIP! It pleases God because we're doing it out of our love for Him, in response to the work that He has done in us, and we're bringing our best to the table. I would love for the chance to be able to play in a jazz group sometime in the future, or a rock band, or something. But I'd also be just as happy if I all ever did was play in worship bands for the rest of my life. I just hope that others are encouraged by it, that it helps inspire them to worship, not because I'm all that great of a player (although I do take my craft seriously and have found a level of confidence in it that I never had before), but because I'm just like anyone else bringing their gifts of worship to God amidst a worshipping community.
I would love any comments, questions, or to hear anyone else's ideas about this.
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