Going Beyond the Music

Last night’s rehearsal for our June 11 concert at the Buttermilk Jamboree with Ed Englerth, Alan Dunst, and Don Cheeseman was much more than a shared creative time with three of my favorite musical droogs. Life has been pretty intense lately–financial pressures, Mom recovering from a knee replacement, Lisa struggling with what appears to be a ruptured bicep, physical concerns of my own–and I’d be lying to say that I’ve born it all with a smile on my face. I haven’t. I’ve felt weary, discouraged, and depressed. So reconnecting with the band and working on Ed’s music gave me a badly needed release. I needed to just forget about the rest of life for a while and play my horn with some friends with whom I’ve shared a love of music for many years now under the auspices of Ed’s songwriting.

Speaking of which, the guy just keeps getting better and better, and so does the band. Ed’s upcoming CD may be his best effort yet, which is saying a hunk considering the benchmark set by his last CD, Restless Ghost. I hope to finally hear the final master tonight, and then I’ll know for sure which album is my favorite. What’s certain is that we pulled out a few extra stops in the studio with this project, including the use of multiple sax tracks to create the effect of an entire sax section. Also, in an unprecedented departure from my die-hard devotion to the alto sax, I played my soprano on a couple tunes. I may have even played it in tune; I’ll find out soon enough.

But I was talking about how much I needed to tune up, blow some notes, and forget about the rest of life for while. Music is as much a part of life as anything else. In my case, it’s a very good part and a very large part, and I needed to be reminded of that. When I forget what “normal” looks like, nights like last night help me draw back to the center of who God created me to be and reclaim some parts of myself that I sometimes lose track of.

It seems that I wasn’t the only one. Don and his wife have been going through a difficult, hugely demanding time with their new baby son, who has Down Syndrome and has struggled nonstop with acute allergies. Ed has been dealing with the advancing, age-related health problems of his beloved mother- and father-in-law, who reside with him and his wife, Panda. Alan was the only guy who didn’t seem to have heavy stuff going on in his life at the moment, or if he did, chose not to share. But he’s been through his own fires. We all have, and last night at least three of us were feeling the heat.

So it seemed that the right thing to do, after we had finished practicing, was spend some time talking and praying together. It’s so easy to just pack up the instruments and head home without ever thinking to pray. But there’s power and healing in the honesty, faith, earnestness, and hope of collectively conversing with our heavenly Father. I would go so far as to say that a band of Christian musicians that bypasses the opportunity to get real with each other and with the Lord is missing what may well be the most vital part of their time together, more important even than the music (though that’s important).

Real is what the four of us got last night, and it was good. I left feeling not only connected with God and with the guys, but also reconnected with myself. Something about standing humbly and openly in the presence of Jesus has a way of doing that, of reminding me who and Whose I really am. The gloom lifts, the lies and warping influence of the world’s nonstop millrace lose their grip, and I discover once again that quiet place where I can hear God speak. It is a place of peace and a place of power. When David spoke in Psalm 23 of God as the one who restored his soul, I understand what he meant.

I think, I hope, that all of us last night discovered the potential of prayer and our need to incorporate it into our rehearsals more often. More even than the songs we play and the creative passion we share, the Spirit of Jesus Christ draws us together, and it’s the thing that can take our band to the next level–possibly the next musical level, but more certainly the next level of what God has in mind for us.

Lord, I thank you for last night’s blessing of connecting with you and with my brothers Ed, Don, and Alan through the gift of heartfelt, down-to-earth, unpretentious prayer. Please look after each of my friends. You know their needs and you know mine. Care for us and our loved ones as a shepherd cares for the sheep of his pasture, for that is who you are: The Good Shepherd. Give us to hear and treasure your voice–for in it, and it alone, is life.

May 16, 2011 by
Filed Under: Band, Christian Music, Church Worship, Music, Relationships, Saxophone Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Tonalism: Some Things Don’t Change

If Western tonalistic music was inaugurated with the publication of Jean-Philippe Rameau’s Treatise on Harmony in 1722–a commonly accepted date–then it has now been with us for nearly 300 years. It has been expressed in many different genres, from Baroque, to Classical, to jazz, Tin Pan Alley, and the blues. Yet no matter what garments it wears, no matter how it has been modified and expanded within various musical styles, the eight-tone major/minor scale system with its primarily dominant-tonic harmony has been the underpinning of virtually all popular music.

I don’t see that changing anytime soon. Not that it needs to; I just can’t fathom how it could do so in any meaningful way. Note the word meaningful. Modern composers have long experimented with alternatives to traditional harmony. It’s just that you don’t find most Americans or Europeans whistling Schoenberg or Indian ragas as they stroll down the sidewalk. And while the rise of “world music” (whatever exactly that is) has awakened at least some Western ears to other possibilities, it can’t match the extent to which Western tonalism has influenced other cultures. I mean, you tell me the difference between Mexican banda music and polka, other than the language. And more contemporarily, popular artists in Asian and Eastern cultures have been founding their careers on the major/minor scale system while preserving distinctive musical elements of their own cultures and languages. (Don’t ask me to name any of these artists; I just know what I’ve listened to on NPR!)

I found myself thinking about the persistence and ubiquity of Western tonalism as I stood in church last Sunday listening to our worship team play. It struck me how the same tonal relationships not only have been repackaged a seemingly infinite number of times over the centuries, but also how, unless our culture somehow undergoes a complete musical sea change, those same relationships and harmonic formulae will continue to come at us in literally millions of new songs over the coming decades.

That’s not a bad thing. Rather, it’s a necessary thing. We are steeped in tonalism, not just intellectually but also emotionally. Other approaches may intrigue us, particularly those of us who are jazz musicians and like to reach for different colors and fresh possibilities. But tonalism provides a gut-level sense of center that all of us innately desire, and a vocabulary by which we all can relate to the stories that melody tells.

Tonalism is in some respects similar to a spoken language. Languages evolve, but they do so slowly and they do so around the edges. The core remains, must remain as a context for any changes to be understood. That’s true of music. While we’re free to experiment, yet the more abstract our experimentation gets, the more that it obscures the core, then the less likely it will be to speak meaningfully to the world at large. I’m all for creative exploration; I’m just pointing out that the average American who cut his or her teeth on Billy Ray Cyrus or Stevie Ray Vaughan isn’t likely to stray far afield when it comes to listening habits. Most folks prefer stuff that’s accessible, visceral, and familiar.

While technology is racing along in seven league boots, other aspects of our world remain the same. Western tonalism may undergo cosmetic changes, but it still is what it is. It may get stretched, it may try on different clothes, but a flatted fifth will remain a flatted fifth by virtue of how it relates to the 12 tones of the chromatic scale.

Why did I write about this topic? Because I’m struck not only by the enduring nature of tonalism, but also by our amazing penchant for personalizing it. You’d think we’d have exhausted the possibilities long ago, but uniqueness continues to drift like snowflakes out of the tonal ether. As I stand singing in church, the tune may be the beloved old hymn “Holy, Holy, Holy,” written nearly 200 years ago, or it may be the recent creation of some contemporary Christian artist. Either way, the tonal foundation is the same. Two hundred years from now, if our Lord tarries and we humans haven’t outright wiped ourselves out, the music we sing will probably still be tonal in its foundations. As with the wheel, zippers, and apple pie, there’s just no need for some things to change.

May 3, 2011 by
Filed Under: Band, Christian Music, Jazz, Music Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Practical Tips for Playing the Sax in Church

It has been a couple years since I’ve played my saxophone in a worship team. At some point I will probably participate again, but after 30 years as a disciple of Jesus, during most of which I’ve been involved in church music ministries, I’m not in a rush. Music is a wonderful gift, but in church it can also be an overwhelming one, a powerful categorizing force that can overshadow other aspects of who a musician is as a complete person. So the hiatus has, for me, been necessary and beneficial.

That’s where I’m at, but for many of you, your concern is more pragmatic. You haven’t spent three decades playing in church. You’re just getting started, and what you’d really like to know is how to fit in as a saxophonist–or a trumpet player, or a flutist, or an ocarina player, or whatever–with the rest of your church’s worship team. How do you play your part successfully?

That’s a straightforward question, and I’m happy to respond with a few simple, to-the-point suggestions.

◊ Determine what keys your worship band most often plays in. Black gospel music is typically organ- and keyboard-driven and is likely to use flat keys such as Bb, F, and Eb major. Contemporary music in white churches almost always revolves around guitar, which puts the emphasis on sharp keys such as E, A, D, and G.

◊ As would be true in any setting, whether in church or in a club, know your transposition. If you’re a tenor sax or trumpet player, the key you play in is up a major second from the piano and guitar. If  you’re an alto sax player like me, you’ll be down a minor third. If you play the flute or trombone, you don’t need to transpose to a different key.

◊ Learn pentatonic scales in the most commonly used keys. Most church music is harmonically simple and largely diatonic, and you can cover many a song using a single pentatonic. It’s hard to hit a wrong note playing a pentatonic scale! Of course, you’ll want to add more colors to your palette as you gain familiarity with the music, but pentatonics make a great foundation. The melody for “Amazing Grace” is written entirely from a single pentatonic scale.

◊ Similar to the previous point, learn the major scales of the most commonly used keys. One caveat: Watch how you handle the fourth and seventh scale degrees, as they have the potential to clash with certain chords. That’s one reason why you need to…

◊ Listen! Get a feel for which notes sound good with the chords of a particular tune in different places. In particular, listen to the vocalist and don’t step on his or her toes. Fill in the cracks between lyric phrases, and lay back more when the vocalist is singing. Listen also for what other melodic instruments such as the guitar and keyboard are doing so you can coordinate with them. Overall, be sensitive to the moods of the music and where it’s going.

◊ Don’t be afraid to play! How else are you going to learn? Make your mistakes–that’s part of paying your musical dues. Trust me, most people will never notice the clinkers, and the few who do won’t care.

◊ Strive not to overplay. Unless you’ve been given a solo spot where you get to strut your stuff, keep things simple. If you find yourself playing busily like a beaver in every chorus of every song, cool your jets and give another lead instrument a chance to provide some fills. Consider playing long, held-out chord tones. And remember, often the most effective thing you can play is nothing at all. Drop out for a chorus and notice how subtracting your instrument adds to the music by modifying its texture; and also notice how reentering in the next chorus creates an energy that wouldn’t have existed if you’d been playing all the way through. Contrast is beautiful!

◊ Don’t just learn the tunes–learn your instrument! Practice scales, arpeggios, licks, and patterns. Do the hard work with a spirit of excellence when no one is listening–“heartily, as unto the Lord”–and you’ll be increasingly pleased with the results when you’re playing with the band.

◊ Develop your ears and your instincts as an improviser. You can’t count on charts to get you through. Unless your team uses professional arrangements, chances are good that the way you practice a tune during Wednesday rehearsal isn’t going to be duplicated exactly on Sunday. You’ve got to be able to flex instantly with shifts in direction and even mistakes by the team leader or vocalist. That means you’ve got to–did I already mention this?–listen!

◊ Learn the melody and the form of a song. Doing so will give you a frame of reference so that you’ll never get lost in that tune. You may get temporarily displaced, but you’ll always be able to find your way back to where the rest of the band is without having to hunt it down on a fake sheet. Best of all, knowing the tune will free you to soar within the framework of the music, allowing you to focus on creativity and musicality rather than following a chart.

◊ Be careful about playing in the same range as the vocalist. I’m not saying don’t do it; I’m saying, exercise care and good taste. In particular, try to avoid hitting unison notes with the singer except as a calculated effect. Consider playing in the octave below the vocal range.

◊ Don’t feel you’ve got to play in every song. Not all music was made for the saxophone. For instance, if the band is playing a tune that emphasizes a fast-paced, heavy metal guitar sound, then you might want to sit that one out. Or if a tune is simply too complex for your level of development, to the point where you don’t feel comfortable playing it, then step off to the side and let the rest of the band take it. Just because your instrument can be used doesn’t mean it always should be. It’s a voice; add it or subtract it in a way that best serves the music.

I could offer still more suggestions, and maybe other experienced players will lean in with advice of their own, but this is plenty ’nuff to get you going. Note that I’ve said nothing about the spiritual side of playing in a worship team. Important as that is, it’s not the focus of this post. My intention here has been to give you some nuts-and-bolts input that you can start applying right away. I hope you’ll find it both helpful and encouraging.

If you enjoyed this post, then check out my jazz page, where you’ll find more useful and insightful articles, exercises, and solo transcriptions.

December 22, 2010 by
Filed Under: Band, Christian Music, Church Worship, Jazz Improvisation and Technique, Saxophone Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

A Table of Non-Diatonic Tones and Their Common Uses

A while back I shared some ideas on how jazz improvisers can make optimal use of the added flat sixth tone of the major bebop scale. I pointed out that, besides its obvious use as a passing tone that evens out the scale and allows players to move seamlessly from root to octave (or third to third, or fifth to fifth, etc.), the flat sixth also functions readily in a number of harmonic contexts common in jazz.

Yet, useful as the flat sixth (or sharp five) of the major bebop scale can be, it is nevertheless only one of five non-diatonic tones that occur in a major key. In addition, the tonic, supertonic, subdominant, and submediant scale degrees can all be similarly raised a half-step and used in a variety of harmonic applications.

borrowed-tone-applications-002The image to your right  is a table that shows some common uses for each non-diatonic tone in the major scale. (Click on the thumbnail to enlarge it.) The table is by no means exhaustive; it’s just meant to give you a handy reference to harmonic situations you’re likely to encounter as an improviser.

The table is based on the C major scale. In that key, the five non-diatonic tones are C#, D#, F#, G#, and A#.  From top to bottom, the staves begin with a given tone, then show how that tone fits into various chords. The chords are numbered according to their functions and also named (eg. IVmin7, Fmin7). Depending on their application, I may use the enharmonic equivalents of some tones. For instance, instead of A#, I’ve chosen to show Bb, which makes better sense in actual usage.

In stave 1, the VI7b9 and #Idim7 are interchangeable, leading almost inevitably to the IIm7 chord. In the next stave down, the #IIdim7 wants to resolve to the mediant. By adding the scale’s leading tone as the chord root, you wind up with a B7b9, which is the V7 of III. Glancing over the rest of the table, you’ll notice numerous other uses in secondary dominant harmony.

I’m not going to go into detailed explications of every chord, as–assuming that you know your basic jazz theory–the uses of the different non-diatonic tones should be self-evident. Again, the table is not definitive. It’s intended simply to give you a handy reference that can heighten your awareness and help you make more deliberate use of all twelve tones in the chromatic scale. You’re bound to think of other applications not shown in the table.

For practice purposes, you could try working with a single tone. Incorporate it into a major scale to create an eight note scale. Then work out various chordal possibilities that utilize the tone, always keeping in mind the parent major key you’re working in as a frame of reference.

If you’ve found this article useful, make sure you check out the many other articles, exercises, and solo transcriptions on my jazz page. And, as always, practice hard and with focus–and have fun!

November 12, 2010 by
Filed Under: Band, Christian Music, Jazz, Jazz Improvisation and Technique, Music, Saxophone Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Gospel Sax Samples: “Amazing Grace” and “Sanctuary”

I just added a couple of takes to my jazz page from a recent recording session with my friend Paul Lesinski. They are, in fact, the only takes, as we didn’t have much time. It’s fun to see what can come out of such a session. You get the raw edge, the creativity of just two musicians working through head arrangements of two beloved gospel tunes, seeing what can be done with them and having fun doing it. Paul made the job easy. He’s such a great player!

My favorite is “Amazing Grace.” It has a really joyous, fatissimo sound that captures the spirit of New Orleans. “Amazing Grace” was the song I played 30 years ago when I was requested, quite spontaneously and unexpectedly, to play a selection just minutes after my baptism at the black Pentecostal church I’d been attending as a brand-new Christian. I played the tune by default that day because it was the only gospel tune I knew; today I play it and love it because I’ve lived it, and God has worked it into my soul by experience.

“Sanctuary” is a very simple, beautiful old tune. I overplayed on this take–a fault of mine when I’m playing tunes with a slower harmonic motion–but the song has some  nice moments in it to compensate. I particularly like its energy toward the end.

I hope you like the samples!

November 2, 2010 by
Filed Under: Christian Music, Church Worship, Music, Recording, Saxophone Tagged With: , , , ,

Between Idolatry and Joy: Some Thoughts on Life from a Jazz Saxophonist and Storm Chaser

There is an art to pursuing the things we’re most passionate about without letting them consume us. I certainly find this to be true of my own two interests, jazz saxophone and storm chasing, but the principle applies to all of us in whatever our preoccupations may be. Without fascination, energy, focus, and joy to drive us wholeheartedly in our pursuits, there’s no point to them; yet without restraint, self-awareness, and awareness of the broader world around us, it is easy to become a mile deep in our passions and an inch deep in life at large. Between these two realities, for me and I think for many of us, there lies a dynamic tension.

As a disciple of Jesus, I have to reckon with the issue of idolatry. In Old Testament times, an idol was easy to identify. It’s hard for us today to fathom people fashioning gold calves and graven images, both human and bestial, and then worshiping the things that they themselves had crafted. Yet that’s exactly what people did back then, both in pagan nations and in apostate Israel.

The funny thing is, we’re no different. We still bow down to the works of our hands, to things that are capable of becoming our gods if we let them. Things that blind us to truths bigger than ourselves and hinder our capacity to love God and others.

The problem with our modern idols, however, is that they’re not readily identifiable as such in the same manner as, say, a brazen bull or a figurine of Marduk. Anything in our lives can become an idol–our careers, our pursuits, significant relationships, the desire for love, our injuries and disappointments, our causes, our appetites, our emotions, our cars and other possessions, even our ministries and charitable occupations. Idolatry today is not usually something that is innate to the things in our lives, but is a matter of our attitude toward them and God. In ways subtle and not so subtle, it’s easy for us to invest ourselves in what we have and what we do in such a way that we allow it to define life and purpose for us. That’s a problem, because any of it can be taken away from us at any time, and sooner or later all of it is going to go. Then where do we find meaning; then where do we find life?

Moreover, we can become irresponsible and selfish in reaching for what we’ve defined as life, setting our pursuits above people we love and who love us. When we’re frustrated in those pursuits, we can become downright nasty, even destructive, toward persons who seem to inconvenience us, challenge us, or obstruct us. We’ll sacrifice others to our idols and justify ourselves in doing so rather than deal with our own hearts.

All this in the quest for life on our own terms.

Well do the words of Isaiah the prophet speak to us today: “[The idolater] feeds on ashes; a deluded heart misleads him. He cannot save himself or say, ‘Is not this thing in my right hand a lie?'”

Is there a flip side to this coin?

Of course there is. If God never intended for us to enshrine the things that we enjoy and love to do, neither does he want us to smother those things in sackcloth. In the Bible’s book of Genesis, in the Creation story, God from the beginning gave Adam and Eve something meaningful to do. They were gardeners, caring for the trees and flowers in Eden. Ironically, after they sinned, the man and woman’s immediate response was to hide from God behind the very things he had assigned them to cultivate and protect.

The problem lay not in the shrubs and trees and vines, but in Adam and Eve. The greenery in the garden was the same as the day when God first looked on it and called it good; it was the human heart that had changed. Ever since, in various ways, we’ve had a tendency to conceal ourselves from God and from each other behind the things we do.

Yet those same pursuits also have the potential to express the robust life of Jesus living in us untamed and unfettered. There’s nothing at all winsome about Christians who are so paranoid about idolatry that everything they do is constrained by a gray, lackluster religiosity. Many well-meaning believers confuse holiness with a boxed-in, sanctimonious, hermetically sealed existence that is about as invigorating as paper pulp. It hardly mirrors God’s exuberance in the act of creation, when with a decisive word he spun the visions of his heart into being–planets, suns, galaxies, luminous gas clouds, multiplied quintillions of celestial objects, all whirling across the velvet-black vastness; ocean tides pulsing and surf crashing against craggy shorelines; wildflowers waving in vivid, multi-hued pointillism in meadows and forests, knit together, unseen, by untold millions of miles of subterranean roots and rootlets.

Talk about a hobby! It was no dour, stuff-shirted God who created this fabulous world around us, this universe that awes and fascinates and humbles us; no, it was an eternal being who throughout the ages remains forever young–smarter than the most brilliant scientist, wiser than the wisest sage, yet passionately, perpetually, and unapologetically a child at heart.

God created us to live our lives as wholeheartedly, creatively, lovingly, generously, fearlessly, and beautifully as he lives his, in ways unique to each of us. Failure to do so is in itself a form of idolatry, a lack of trust that the One who hardwired us with our personal interests also supplies the grace and wisdom to express his life and fulfill his intentions through those interests.

The overarching principle is love–love of God and love of others. Love is ultimately what separates between idolatry–which is about pursuing our own independent way on our own terms–and the abundant, God-dependent life that Jesus offers. Christianity is not about good morals and rock-hard dogma; it is about nothing less than the life of Jesus himself living inside us, energizing us, guiding us in the pathway of his character. That is no weak, wan way of living. To be sure, it is a way that is often marked by self-sacrifice, pain, loneliness, misunderstanding, prayer, struggle, and self-control. But it is also a way infused with immense purpose, remarkable potential, endless fascination, and a joy that can be found in nothing else this life can offer.

In conclusion

Bringing all of the above to bear in a practical way for those of us who chase storms and/or play music: Whatever you do, do it with all your heart. God is not glorified by a timorous approach to the things you enjoy, nor does he want you to walk on eggshells for fear of offending him. Just keep in mind that there is more to life than your pursuits. Enjoy those pursuits, treasure them, but don’t grasp them so tightly that you can’t let go, and don’t let them give you tunnel vision so that you fail to see and participate in the broadness of life around you. Other people’s worlds are as rich and important as yours; to the best of your ability, enter into them, celebrate them, and let them expand you. Harness your interests in a way that makes your life bigger, not smaller–an expression of generosity, not selfishness, and of a Christlike perspective that values God and others most of all.

Behind the sound of a saxophone playing now tenderly, now exuberantly, always striving for creativity and beauty…behind the sublimity, the fascination, and the awe of a tornado churning across the open prairie…you can, if you choose, hear the song and see the face of God. If you submit your heart to him, he will in turn release his own magnificent heart in and through the things you love to do.

This, in part, is what life, true life, is about: allowing the things that are central to us to become the servants and the expressions of Someone far bigger than ourselves, and of a kingdom greater than our own.

October 30, 2010 by
Filed Under: Christian Music, Christian Spirituality & Inspiration, Church Worship, Jazz, Life, Music, Saxophone, Storm Chasing Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Praise Team or Praise Family? Some Thoughts for Worship Ministry Leaders

The single, most far-reaching improvement you can make in your praise team involves the “C” word, “connecting.”

Worship ministry leaders, let me speak frankly. I’ve been a disciple of Jesus for 30 years now, and most of that time I’ve served in praise bands of various kinds. So when I write, it’s from an insider’s perspective, and a fairly seasoned one. It’s from that point of view that I’m telling you, something vital is missing from many–I daresay most–evangelical praise teams today.

Actually, two things are missing. Let me pose a question: How much of your weekly rehearsal times do you set aside for your team to connect with each other and to pray together?

In my experience, the answer for a lot of teams, truthfully, is, not much. Sure, the team members exchange greetings and a bit of conversation prior to practice, and the leader begins the rehearsal with a quick prayer asking God to bless the team’s efforts and vowing to give him all the glory. But when it comes to really connecting with one another and with God, deliberately and intimately, rehearsal times are typically two hours wide and half an inch deep.

I understand that there’s music to be learned and practical affairs to be discussed. But ladies and gentlemen, this is probably the only day of the week other than  Sunday when you’re all together. If you don’t devote a substantial part of it to growing not just as musicians, but as a little family who cares for each other and seeks God together, then what is it, really, that makes you a ministry? For that matter, what is it, other than the music you’re playing and the venue where you’re playing it, that sets you apart from any secular band? Because ministry lies in the moment and in your ability to relate to each other as complete people, not just as components of a band who fill neat little roles with set expectations–who play your parts and then go your separate, disconnected, and quite possibly painful and lonely ways.

Ministry starts in your midst as you prioritize what God values most, and that’s not music. It’s your brothers and sisters. It’s family. Jesus revealed God as our Father, not our band director.

I submit that making time for each other and for God is every bit as important as practicing tunes, and more. Except for the occasional new tune, you already know the material–you’ve been playing it for a long time. Chances are you know the music a lot better than you know each other. So, worship director, if you want to take your team to the next level of ministry, here’s where your greatest, most potentially life-changing opportunity lies. Not in your programming. Not in sound checks. Not in massaging a new, creative twist into a particular song. The single, most far-reaching improvement you can make in your praise team involves the “C” word, “connecting.” I’m not saying the other things aren’t important. I’m just saying that there’s something else that’s more important, and if you don’t get that in place, then none of the rest matters. Not really.

I think we evangelicals need to change our ministry model from that of a praise team to a praise family. And I think we need to invest the idea of rehearsal time with greater depth and breadth, as a time not only to tighten down the tunes and their order in next Sunday’s service, but also and more importantly, to grow closer together and to God in ways that give substance to the teachings and heart of Jesus. He didn’t say that the world would know we’re his disciples by the music we play, but by the love we have for one another. Moreover, the request that Jesus’ disciples asked of him was, “Lord, teach us to pray,” not, “Teach us to play.”

So, here’s my proposal: What would happen if your team devoted the first half-hour to 45 minutes of your rehearsal time to enhancing your relationships and your prayer life? Before you ever flip on a switch, tweak a dial, or pick up an instrument, you sit down and share your lives with each other with an honesty, care, acceptance, and mutual appreciation that goes beyond just scratching the surface. And you pray–not just the team leader, but all of you, one by one, organically–from your hearts with a hunger for God that far exceeds, “Lord, we come to you and give you praise and ask that you bless our practice time, and we give you all the honor and glory, amen.”

I challenge you to try it once and see if something good doesn’t happen. Then do it again, and again, every time you come together as a praise team. Persistence will bear fruit, and I believe that the fruit will in time ripen into something far better, more powerful, more Christlike, and more genuinely ministry, than you can imagine.

Show me a praise team that has something like what I’ve just described in place and I’ll come running to join it. I’ve played a lot of music over the years with a lot of very talented musicians, both Christian and secular, so I couldn’t care less how hot a band sounds.  Music isn’t a draw for me; spiritual and relational depth are. If you can offer me that, then I’ll gladly offer you my saxophone in return–along with all the rest of who I am as a person and brother in Christ–if you’ve got room for me in your praise family.

September 5, 2010 by
Filed Under: Band, Christian Music, Christian Spirituality & Inspiration, Church Worship, Life, Music, Saxophone, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

What Is Jazz?

The headline for this post is a bit deceptive. I’m really not interested in offering one more definition of jazz, or of discussing elements such as swing, syncopation, improvisation, blue notes, and so on. All of that has been abundantly covered in a bazillion books on jazz history, jazz theory, and jazz musicians.

A better title, though a more confusing one at first glance, might be, “What ISN’T Jazz?” It’s a question I’ve contemplated off and on. In that respect, I guess I’m no different from a multitude of other jazz musicians who have pondered the same issue over the years and ventured their opinions. Often you don’t hear the question expressed as a question, but as a conviction delivered with some heat: “That isn’t jazz!”

Let me say up front that I consider the topic of what is and isn’t jazz to be pretty academic. I’m more fascinated by the fact that some people get so passionate about defending a sacred ideal, some essence of jazzness, than I am by the subject itself.

Yet I have to confess that I find the same attitude rearing up in me on occasion–times when it bothers me to hear the word “jazz” used to describe something I wouldn’t consider to be even close to jazz. Improvised music, quite possibly; jazz, no.

So what am I, an elitist? If I am, I’m certainly not hardcore about it. Frankly, the intensity and hair-splitting that I’ve witnessed over the jazz/not-jazz issue has struck me as ridiculous, not to mention pointless, since it’s one of those debates that will never be settled.

That being said, I think the word “jazz” does get used too freely at times.

Case in point: I’ve played in lots of church worship teams over the years. Most of them have involved a lot of white folks playing guitars. Nothing wrong with that, but I cringe whenever I hear someone say, “Let’s jazz it up.” It’s kind of like hearing a mariachi accordionist say, “Let’s rock and roll!” What does it mean to “jazz it up”? I’m not sure, but I can testify that the results I’ve witnessed have never resembled jazz. Musicians who rarely if ever listen to jazz, let alone practice it, aren’t going to just suddenly produce it like Bullwinkle pulling a rabbit out of the hat.

So here I am, caught between two extremes. On the one hand, I can be a jazz racist, aggressively and vehemently defending the purity of the form (according to my ideal of it) and getting my undies all in a bunch over musical miscegenation. On the other hand, I can adopt so inclusive a perspective that the word “jazz” can mean just about anything under the sun, and consequently mean nothing at all.

It seems like there ought to be a less polarized option. Maybe there is. If so, finding it is probably best begun by defusing some of the negativity inherent to this topic. Coming from a jazz purist, the words, “That’s not jazz!” come across as an indictment. Upon hearing Weather Report in concert, Ben Webster is reported to have flown into one of his famous rages, walked onstage, and overturned Joe Zawinul’s electric piano. Such behavior is an extreme, but it captures the attitude of those who are so entrenched in an ideal that they judge and attack whatever doesn’t match up.

It doesn’t have to be that way. It shouldn’t be that way. How can any two people have a decent, productive discussion with that kind of Hatfield-McCoy mentality?

So let me be plain: When I say that something isn’t jazz, I’m not saying it’s bad music. Neither am I saying it’s good music. I’m not making value judgments at all. I’m just saying that I don’t consider the music I’m hearing to fit under the jazz umbrella. That’s all. Why try to make something be what it isn’t? Why not just let it be what it is and recognize that, if it’s done well, it has its own legitimacy?

Distinguishing between jazz and non-jazz involves at least a certain amount of subjectivity. That’s certainly true of me as I share a few of my own thoughts on the topic. With that acknowledgment, I’d like to address what I think are a few misconceptions about jazz:

* IMPROVISATION. Some people use the word “jazz” to describe extemporaneous playing. But while improvisation is a crucial hallmark of jazz, it’s not an exclusive one. Rock musicians improvise. Bluegrass musicians improvise. Classical musicians improvise. Beethoven wove melodies and harmonies out of thin air long before Louis Armstrong and Sidney Bechet ever played a blue note.

* THE BLUES SCALE. Playing the blues scale is not the same thing as playing jazz. Playing the blues scale is playing the blues scale. The blues scale and blue notes are components of a good jazz vocabulary, but they’re only a part of it, and, as with improvisation, they’re not exclusive to jazz. Rock guitarists use the blues scale extensively.

* HARMONY. The chords associated with jazz are usually quite colorful due to the use of upper tones and creative voicings. Ninths, elevenths, and thirteenths are normative, along with various chord alterations. In jazz, a V7 chord is rarely just a V7 chord; keyboard players and guitarists add upper extensions as a matter of course. While simple triads are used from time to time, jazz is not a triadic idiom. It is vertically complex, giving rise to sophisticated voice leadings.

That’s one big reason why non-jazz musicians who decide they’re going to “jazz up” a piece of music usually wind up sounding hokey rather than hip. Conceptually, they don’t have the harmonic (and rhythmic) know-how to pull it off. If that’s you, don’t let me discourage you from making the attempt. Rather let me encourage you, while you’re in the process, to learn a bit about jazz harmony and voice leading. There’s plenty of knowledge that’s available on the topic both in print and online. This Wikipedia article is a good place to start.

* HORNS. Adding a sax or trumpet to a tune, or even using that tune to showcase a horn player, does not automatically result in jazz.

* TUNES. Jazz is not a matter of the song that’s played but of how it’s interpreted. Playing “In the Mood” or “Take the A Train” doesn’t mean that a band is playing jazz. It means they’re playing melodies and chord changes that were written in the Big Band Era, but stylistically, the way a tune is handled might be closer to a polka than to jazz.

I could easily add to the above list, but what I’ve written is enough to get the idea across. Again, though, the topic of what is and isn’t jazz is prone to subjectivity. It’s safe to say that at some point, a piece of music–or rather, how that piece gets interpreted–crosses a jazz/non-jazz line. But different people, including and especially jazz musicians, will have different ideas about where that line lies.

That’s one reason why I don’t work myself into a lather over whether, for example, the stuff that Kenny G. puts out is jazz. Does it really matter? Kenny’s music may not be my personal cup of tea, but I have a hunch that if you hired the guy for a standards gig, he’d make it through the evening just fine. As it stands, what he does for a living beats delivering pizzas.

As for the debate over what is and isn’t jazz, a more fruitful question to ask is, do you like what you hear? Do you like what you’re playing? Then enjoy it and don’t worry too much about defining it. It may or may not be jazz, but good music is good music no matter what you call it.

July 10, 2010 by
Filed Under: Band, Christian Music, Jazz, Jazz Improvisation and Technique Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

Band Link Up: A New Virtual Community for Musicians

Attention, jazz musicians and other purveyors of melody! Want to get in on the groundswell of an online community devoted to musicians? Then click on Band Link Up, look it over, take a minute to register, and then start posting and helping this unique labor of love to grow into a thriving virtual hangout for musicians, vocalists, singer/songwriters, and other artistes of every stripe.

I first got wind of it while installing a new operating system on my laptop. The tech who was assisting me, aka Jeff, and I got to chatting while waiting for a lengthy download to complete, and once we got onto the subject of music, things naturally progressed from there. Turns out that Jeff’s fiancee plays violin and loves to connect with other musicians. So as a gift to her, Jeff decided to put together an entire site dedicated to the purpose of helping musicians talk shop, trade ideas, share sound tracks and videos, and so forth.

I’ve already registered, and I’m encouraging all my musical friends and everyone who is actively involved in performance, recording, composing, or music education to do the same. Band Link Up shows great potential as a service to musicians. Please get on board and help make it happen.

February 2, 2010 by
Filed Under: Band, Christian Music, Church Worship, Entertainment, Jazz, Music, Saxophone Tagged With: , , , , , ,
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