Baroni Bloggin’

Just listened again to the Bill Evans trio. Good music, good jazz.

Good jazz reminds me of the Kingdom of God. Incredible freedom, creativity, hope, sense community and a hint of the intangible, a glimpse of the Invisible. 

Some think jazz is rebellion, anarchy and musical independence gone amok- and indeed some experimental music given the “jazz” label seems to be just that. However the music I am speaking about has order and structure (just like a flexible, new wineskin.)

The musicians all feel the pulse of the beat: a one two a three four.. one a two three four… not so much played but there nonetheless. The chord structure is known and adhered to, played but not in a rigid way. The soloist is free to soar with his or her individuality, given freedom within the song structure. The drummer and bassist are solid and play with a foundational unity, accompanied by the pianist’s left hand.

It is a thing of beauty to listen as the band soars then gets quiet, sometimes playing different rhythms and notes in a seemingly disconnected cacophony, but landing together on the “one” and continuing in the song as “One”.

Community is exemplified as the musicians listen to one another and the heartbeat of the song, volume and intensity rising and falling as the song leads the way. The individual maintains his or her identity, yet lays down his rights for the sake of the group, the sake of the Song.

In the Kingdom of God we have foundations and a structure (a flexible wineskin, the Word and Spirit of God), and within that ”chord structure and rhythm” we are given the freedom in Christ to be ourselves. Not to show off our individual skills, but to flow together, each contributing our unique part to better give expression to “The Song.”

The Kingdom of God is not anarchy, freedom at all costs. We are not supposed to “solo” through our lives in the name of Freedom. As the song needs chords, melody and rhythm, so we need each other. A jazz band is more than one instrument. Let’s listen to each other, follow the Pulse of the Holy Spirit, solo when our time comes and enjoy playing with each other… the wonderful jazz of the Kingdom of God!

Heard any good music lately? Played any good music lately?!

 

This entry was posted on Friday, September 1st, 2006 at 2:25 pm and is filed under Random Thoughts, Spiritual Musings, All About Music, Devotional Thoughts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.