By Jim Strickland / Herald Forum
There is an episode of “The Office” where Angela is distraught after discovering that one of her closest co-workers is having an affair with her husband. It goes something like this:
Angela: I feel so stupid. I sit next to him every day.
Dwight: You’re not stupid. Jazz is stupid.
Angela: (sobbing) Jazz is stupid. I mean, just play the right notes!
Dwight: I know.
My wife gets a kick out of this and reminds me of it every time I turn on my favorite jazz radio station. It probably resonates with some of you as well.
What is it about jazz that makes some people think of it as “stupid”? Well, jazz is not always melodic or predictable. It is expressive, creative, improvisational, responsive; maybe not always easy to hum along with or dance to.
I’ve heard jazz musicians say that the only way to listen to jazz is live. Jazz is a conversation among musicians, their instruments, each other, and the listening audience. It never goes to the same place twice. A prerecorded version is just not a true jazz experience.
I think American culture has a lot in common with jazz, emphasizing freedom, spontaneity, creative expression, responsiveness. There is a scaffolding of tune or melody, but a lot of wiggle room around that scaffolding for improvising and innovating. That is why it is so difficult to define American culture. It is a living, breathing, changing thing that is not simply handed down intact from generation to generation. It is real people responding in real time to each other, to situations, to problems, and to opportunities with creative thinking and action.
And American culture is not just a conversation between individuals, but among other cultures, groups, faiths, and ideas as well. When this conversation happens honestly, openly, and in good faith, we all learn and are better for the experience. It is something beautiful and amazing.
So maybe jazz is not stupid after all. Maybe jazz is art in the truest sense of the word. And maybe that art is America itself.
Jim Strickland is a teacher at Marysville Getchell High School and lives in Marysville.
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