ASPECTS OF JAZZ:

THE HEALING POWER OF CREATIVITY IN COLLABORATION

By

Sandra E. Harris, MA

November 15, 2002

Introduction

“Do you see yourself as a rebel?”“Naw. Cause the music asks for people to expand what has been done. That’s what the jazz thing is. It’s a tumultuous tearing open.” (Kurt Elling, personal communication, February 10, 2001)

A tumultuous tearing open. That is what the jazz thing is. That is what jazz has

been to me in my life. That is what music has been to me in my life. And continues to

be.

Why Music?

The composer Aaron Copland (1952) described music as a catalyst that awakens a

spirit waiting to be aroused. Yes, yes, yes. Spiritual longings that lay dormant awaiting

some sign or signal in order to awaken.

Pianist Madeline Bruser describes the powerful draw of music as follows:

One of the Chinese symbols for the word “joy” also means “music”. The pictograph shows two drums and a bell on a stand. The synonym rings true with everyone who loves music. Even if a piece is extremely sad we feel joy in the ability to experience and express such powerful emotion. We have a profound need to share these feelings with other people, and such communication gives our lives meaning. (1997, p. 13)

We feel joy because music gives us the opportunity to experience many different

emotions. They pierce our soul. But it does not stop there. Having experienced these

emotions, we need to share them with others. We need to create in collaboration with

others.

Why Jazz?

“It’s a drug, man, to go back to that.” (Randy Halberstadt, personal communication, February 2, 2001)

“The music is what sustains the player from beginning to end. That’s where you get your life from. That’s why you play jazz” – Art Farmer (Berliner, 1994, p. 485).

It is like a drug. It sustains you. Jazz intrigues because of its short life and how it is

created in the moment. It can be recorded yet it is not the same as hearing it live. And

once that live performance is over, the notes are gone.

Music is an entry into an emotional realm. Music stirs up emotions. Vancouver

jazz pianist Bob Murphy says, “I think music is emotion. I think harmony is like

emotional flavours. This happens in the emotional centre. For me to be harmonically

connected to the music, to be harmonically connected to someone else IS an emotional

connection” (personal communication, February 9, 2001). Not only does it arouse

emotion, it allows for emotional connection to the other musicians in the jazz combo.

One creates in relationship, in collaboration with others.

Why Creativity in Collaboration?

Much research has been done on creativity itself – its sources, how it is expressed,

how it can be enhanced, and how it can be measured. Not much research has been done

on creativity that occurs in collaboration with others. It is an area that is ripe for research

as the emotional content and the depth of relationships that result is vital to our

development.

2

In addition, as a clinician in the field of psychology, healing experiences outside

of the consulting room fascinate me. Many experience something therapeutic in their

day-to-day lives. I am curious about what those experiences could be. And I suspect that

creative collaboration could be one of those experiences.

Why a Multidisciplinary Approach?

Historically, psychological research in the area of creativity and the arts has been

a one way street. There has been little reciprocity of any kind. Psychologist Martin S.

Lindauer believes that “psychology takes more from the arts (e.g. its materials) than it

gives back (i.e., illuminating scholarly and artistic concerns)” (1998, p. 1). Psychology

sometimes describes creativity in pathological terms (the troubled artist) while ignoring

any contribution that the arts could make to the field of psychology.

With this in mind I chose to look outside of psychology to see what new insights

the arts has for this topic of creative collaboration. My literature review comprised

psychologists but also included leading jazz ethnomusicologists such as Howard Becker

(2000), Keith Sawyer (1992, 1997, 1998, 2000), and Ingrid Monson (1991, 1996, 1997).

And of course one could not write about jazz without including Paul Berliner who wrote

Thinking in Jazz (1994).

I also interviewed jazz musicians to gain their insights. These interviews included

Vancouver jazz pianist Bob Murphy, Seattle jazz pianist Randy Halberstadt, jazz pianist

Kenny Werner, and jazz vocalist Kurt Elling.

Aspects of Jazz

3

This article is drawn from a published thesis. With the limits of space and words,

I cannot go into either the depth or the breadth that my thesis afforded me. As a result, I

have plucked certain topics from my thesis that I felt would be relevant to the audience of

the IAJE.

My first steps towards understanding the healing power of jazz begin with

examining certain aspects that are particular to jazz. If jazz is healing, there must be

something particular to jazz that accounts for this. The aspects of jazz that I will discuss

in this article comprise:

Transformational Power of the AudienceCollaboration Genealogical TransmissionMusical Saves

Note that I am not claiming that other types of music cannot claim ownership of

any of these traits. I am not claiming the primacy of jazz over all other types of music. I

am merely claiming jazz as one healing path. And extrapolating that creativity in

collaboration, no matter what the form, can be a healing path for others.

Transformational Power of the Audience

Jazz is a medium that is best experienced live. By live I mean that there is a jazz

combo and there is an audience. What is the nature of a jazz audience? How can we

describe their experience? Initially one might believe that all of the action is occurring

with the musicians while the audience passively observes, that there is no interaction

between the two. This could not be further from the truth. In fact, we shall see that the

audience plays a critical role in a jazz performance.

4

What is an audience? It is someone who beholds rather than observes. James

Joyce describes “the aesthetic experience as one of the ‘simple acts of beholding’. Joyce

says that in beholding we put a frame around the object and see it first as one thing,

and…we become aware of the relationship, part to part, each part to the whole, and the

whole to each of its parts (Kenny, 1996, online). The audience beholds the live, in-the-

moment creation of music. They see the combo; they see each musician; and they see

how the group relates to each individual and how each individual relates to the group.

In addition to beholding, an audience also has a certain power. Part of that power

arises from the physical proximity of the audience and the musicians. In a small club they

are within eye contact. They see each other. They interact. This “eye contact between

performers and audience…signals the partial breakdown of ritual identity, and establishes

the players’ aesthetic kinship with the audience” (Scholl, online). The audience and the

players become partners in the music making. They form an aesthetic kinship. We, as the

audience, and the musicians are in this together.

Physical closeness results in another aspect of the power of the audience in the

jazz performance. When one has that eye contact, one can deliver messages. And these

messages are between equals – there is no hierarchy between audience and musician. In a

chapter written for psychologist Glenn D. Wilson’s book Psychology and Performing

Arts (1991), N. Arnold characterised the relationship between the audience and actor as

“a constantly shifting relationship between equals, signalled and sustained by a

continuous interchange of messages between the two parties, which readjusts the

relationship as the performance is developed in time and space” (p. 76). There is a lively

5

interplay going on between audience and players. The relationship between the two

develops and grows throughout the performance.

Jazz pianist Kenny Werner describes this mutual relationship with the audience as

“letting something form while you witness it…first of all it’s a very old concept…it is to

me the psychotherapy of pre-B.C.” (personal communication, September 10, 2000). You

are creating the music and that creation is being observed. Without an audience there is

no music, there is no creative act. Without the relationship between the audience and the

musicians, there is no transformative experience.

Much has been written about the healing power of the relationship between

therapist and client. Therapeutic techniques aside, it is the relationship that heals. This

same healing relationship is literally played out between musician and audience, a place

of change and magic. “For artists and audience alike, it can be a profound

transformational experience when the normal boundaries between them melts away, and

they seem, as Danny Zeitlin puts it, to merge with the music, in effect, to ‘become the

music’” (Berliner, 1994, p. 470).

The audience is an active participant in the music making up on the stage. The

audience who in turn is fed by the musicians feeds the jazz musicians. It is the

collaboration between the two that results in the magical experience. It is the witnessing

of the creative act of the musicians by the beholding audience that heals.

Collaboration

In addition to the collaboration between audience and musician, there is

collaboration between the musicians. Jazz is an art form created in the moment by

6

individual musicians working together. This musical collaboration is not only certain

instruments playing in certain combinations and rhythms, but between personalities and

individuals. The group members are more than just faceless and nameless beings. It is an

interpersonal process. And because it is an interpersonal process, there is the possibility

of an emotional transformation of the individuals participating in the creative

collaboration.

Although it is collaboration between individuals, it cannot be reduced or broken

down to individual contributions. The individual aspects cannot stand alone nor would

they have been created on their own. Something new emerges from the collaboration that

is beyond the individual contributions. It is greater than the sum of its parts.

Ethnomusicologist Keith Sawyer speaks of the performance emerging from the

collaboration.

In an ensemble improvisation, we can’t identify the creativity of the performance of any single performer; the performance is collaboratively created. Although each member of the group contributes creative material, a musician’s contributions only make sense in the way they are heard, absorbed, and elaborated on by other musicians. The performance that results emerges from the interactions of the group. (2000, p. 182)

It is not merely an additive process or “take one rhythm section plus two horn players”.

Something new develops. Something greater than the sum of its parts is created. An

alchemical or transformational process occurs resulting in Sawyer’s emerging

performance.

This alchemical process transforms the individual musicians as well. Creativity

researcher Vera John-Steiner describes how musicians are changed when they transcend

7

their individuality through collaboration. “Collaboration offers partners an opportunity to

transcend their individuality and to overcome the limitations of habit, and of biological

and temporal constraints…Collaborators redefine their own personal boundaries as they

strive towards mutuality and deep understanding” (2000, p. 57). The individuals who

come together are changed. The ones who come apart after the creative collaboration are

different than the ones who came together.

John-Steiner describes further that “developing children, as well as developing

adults, expand their affective resources by appropriating the consequences of shared

experience” (2000, p. 128). We develop our affective resources through collaborative

experience. Not only do we expand our musical abilities; we expand our emotional

resources as well.

Genealogical Transmission

The collaborative experience of jazz musicians is not only one of individuals

working together today. It is also an historic collaboration between the musicians and

their respected predecessors. A critical component of a jazz musician’s training is the

ability to reference past performers and performances. This reference can be in a style of

another performer, in a rhythm, in a particular tune that is played in a particular place in

another tune. Through this referencing there is a genealogical transmission of past jazz

masters.

Kurt Elling speaks of this when describing his ‘apprenticeship’ with Von

Freeman:

8

Well, Von Freeman was always great. And he’s a…I don’t know if you know Von’s work, he’s a tenor player from Chicago and he’s got a session and he’s an original link. He played with Bird. You know, he played with Prez. All the cats who would come to town. He played with Dexter Gordon a bunch of times. I mean like he’s an original link in the chain. And it’s very encouraging to have the elder…because you know you wanna have the progress of life. (personal communication, February 10, 2001)

Kurt’s experience with Von encouraged him to be the musician that he is today. So the

tip of the hat to the elders and the referential licks and harmonies are not an attempt to

copy. They simultaneously show the historical context of the music being created while

also showing the individuality inherent in the musician. There is no vacuum in creative

pursuits. Nothing and everything is new under the sun.

Child psychologist and psychoanalyst D. W. Winnicott noted that “in any cultural

field, it is not possible to be original except in the basis of tradition” (1971, p.99). He

made this comment in the context of his premise that creativity, which he described as

play, is needed by all of us in order to develop emotionally as well as maintain our sense

of self and mental health.

We do not live and act in isolation from our forebears, whether they are in

community or by bloodlines. The genealogical transmission of jazz reminds one of the

genealogical transmission of all aspects of our psyche. As jazz exists within a context

rather than a vacuum, so we all exist within our own historical context. Our forebears

influence who we are. As jazz references the old while creating something new, we also

honor our ancestors while expressing our individuality in our day-to-day lives.

9

Musical Saves

How paradoxical that jazz demands that you demonstrate a high level of technical

mastery earned over years of work while also taking musical risks in the moment. You

can have all the technical mastery in the world but if you are not playing with some level

of vulnerability, it will not be grooving. Creativity researcher Patricia Nardone notes that

“musical passivity, indecisiveness, and performing ‘safely’ will not assist in executing

spontaneous musical expression” (1997, p. 119). Playing it safe means no juice or drama

or music. It means the right notes but no soul. Classical pianist Madeline Bruser describes

this need of vulnerability as literally meaning “‘able to be wounded’, which includes

letting yourself be pierced emotionally by things” (1997, p. 9).

When you make yourself vulnerable, you take chances. And when you take

chances, you make mistakes. According to jazz pianist Kenny Barron, “part of the act of

performing jazz is taking chances, and sometimes the chances you take don’t work. But

the craft is taking an idea that doesn’t work and turning it into something that does work”

(Berliner, 1994, p. 210). Mistakes become musical saves.

I love the term musical saves. How powerful a view of what is more commonly

seen as mistakes and errors. Musical saves are commonplace in jazz. There is not one

musician alive who would expect to play without encountering a mistake. Brad Mehldau

sees mistakes as opportunities. “You have the ability to edit yourself right then, change

something or turn what might have been a mistake into something that works in a

different context” (Morrow, 2001, R3).

10

That is the gift of a musical save, the chance to take a mistake and turn it into

something new. We can use this view when playing jazz and also apply it to our lives.

Rather than living constricted and small lives, fearing and avoiding mistakes, we can live

large and expansive lives. And when we encounter mistakes, see them as opportunities.

What is that old saying? Mistakes are the dues that one pays for living a full, authentic

life. You cannot have authenticity without mistakes along the way.

What is important is how one navigates after a mistake, how creatively one takes

the mistake and turns it into something beautiful. It is not the mistake that is the focus

but rather what occurs after it happens. How healing for those who learned that to be

accepted meant to be perfect.

Along with a unique voice and authentic performance, musical saves result in an

emotional bond between the musicians. Jazz ethnomusicologist Ingrid Monson describes

how these bonds develop through “musical risk, vulnerability and trust during the course

of performance (1996, p. 9). It is not only a cognitive sense of trust or reliance but rather

an emotional relationship. And within this emotional relationship mistakes are accepted

and expected and responded to without shame. We accept our mistakes and learn to

accept those of others. Out of that results a collaborative solution, or group musical save,

to an individual’s mistakes.

Conclusion

I began this article by wondering about what it is about jazz, about creative

collaboration that is healing. I discussed certain aspects of jazz in order to determine what

one can draw from those experiences and apply to our lives. From the Transformational

11

Power of the Audience we learn that the relationship between the audience and the

musician is intimate and interactive. We discovered that part of its healing powers are the

acts of both beholding and being beheld. Creative Collaboration between musicians

allows us to expand our emotional resources when we transcend our individuality when

working in a group. Something greater than the sum of its parts emerges. The

Genealogical Transmission of jazz reminds one of the genealogical transmission of all

aspects of our psyche. Both the good and the bad are transmitted and both can be

transformed by creative collaboration. And finally, there is not a musician alive who does

not make mistakes playing jazz. What is paramount is how one recovers from it rather

than the mistake itself. Rather than an error, it is a Musical Save, an opportunity to create

something new.

With my research I have discovered and described some reasons why creative

collaboration attracts us. And speculated about the benefits of an experience that is both

enriching artistically as well as healing. Creative collaboration is something that calls to

us innately, whether in the context of a jazz combo, or another form. Not only are we

drawn to creative pursuits for their aesthetic value but are also drawn to them for their

emotional and relational healing powers. It hits us at a soulful level. And it is something

we need to return to again and again throughout our lives.

12

REFERENCES

Arnold, N. (1991). The manipulation of the audience by the director and actor. In G.D. Wilson (Ed.), Psychology and performing arts (pp. 75-81). Amsterdam: Swets and Zeitlander.

Berliner, P. (1994). Thinking in jazz: The infinite art of improvisation. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.

Bruser, M. (1997). The art of practicing: A guide to making music from the heart. New York: Bell Tower.

Copland, A. (1952). Music and imagination. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

John-Steiner, V. (2000). Creative collaboration. New York: Oxford University Press.

Kenny, C. B. (1996). The dilemma of uniqueness: An essay on consciousness and qualities. [Online] available: http://www.hisf.no/njmt/kenny. First published in Nordic Journal of Music Therapy, 5(2), 87-96.

Lindauer, M. (1998). Interdisciplinarity, the psychology of art, and creativity: an introduction. Creativity Research Journal, 11(1), 1-10.

Monson, I. (1991). Musical interaction in modern jazz. Dissertation, New York University, New York City.

Monson, I. (1996). Saying something: Jazz improvisation and interaction. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Monson, I. (1997). What’s sound got to do with it?: Jazz, post-structuralism, and the construction of cultural meaning. In R.K. Sawyer (Ed.), Creativity in performance (pp. 95-112). Greenwich, CT: Ablex.

13

Morrow, M. (2001, November 26). Enter Prince Hamlet. The Globe and Mail, p. R3.

Nardone, P.l. (1997). The experience of improvisation in music: A phenomenological analysis. Dissertation, Saybrook Graduate School, San Francisco, CA.

Sawyer, R. K. (1992). Improvisation creativity: An analysis of a jazz performance. Çreativity Research Journal, 5, 253-263.

Sawyer, R.K. (1997). Creativity in performance. Greenwich, CT: Ablex.

Sawyer, R.K. (1998). The interdisciplinary study of creativity in performance. Creativity Research Journal, 11(1), 11-19.

Sawyer, R.K. (2000). Improvisation culture: Collaborative emergence and creativity in improvisation. Mind, Culture and Activity 7(3), 180-185.\

Scholl, S.L. String quartet performance as ritual. [Online] available: http://www.uoregon.edu/~ucurrent/2-ritual. Jacksonville University.

Winnicott, D.W. (1971). Playing and reality. London, U.K.: Routledge.

14

NUMINOUS DISCOGRAPHY

The term numinous is a synonym for spiritual or soulful. What follows are some recordings that have been a numinous experience for the author.

Alexander, M. (1977). Nite Mist Blues. The Monty Alexander trio live! At the Montreux festival, W. Germany: MPS Records.

Bennett, T. & Evans, B. (1975). The Tony Bennett and Bill Evans album. Los Angeles: Fantasy.

Brown, R. and King, N. (1998). The Perfect Blues. Some of my best friends are the singers. New York: Telarc.

Cables, G. Trio. (1998). There Is No Greater Love; Hi Fly; In Your Own Sweet Way. Bluesology. Klaupenborg, Denmark: Steeplechase Productions.

Elling, K. (2001). You Don’t Know What Love Is. Flirting with twilight. New York: Blue Note.

Elling, K. (1999). Nightdreamer; Chicago Blues. Kurt Elling live at the Green Mill. New York: Bluenote.

Hawes, H. (1958). There Will Never Be Another You. Four. Los Angeles: Fantasy.

Hersch, F. (1998). I Mean You. Fred Hersch plays Monk. New York: Nonesuch Records.

Hersch, F. & Frissell, B. (1998). There Is No Greater Love. Songs we know. New York: Nonesuch Records.

Ibrahim, A. (1997). Chisa. Cape Town flowers. New York: Enja Records.

Keezer, G. (1997). Stompin’ at the Savoy. Turn up the quiet. New York: Sony.

15

Kilgore, R. (1994). Princess. I saw stars. Florida: Arbors Records.

King, N. & Christofferson, S. (2000). Picnic/Moonglow. Dreamlands: the CBC Sessions. Oshkosh, WI: Stellar Productions.

Mehldau, B. (1995). My Romance. Introducing Brad Mehldau. New York: Warner Brothers.

Mehldau, B. (1997). Blame It On My Youth. Art of the trio, volume 1. New York: Warner Brothers.

Mehldau, B. (1998). Song Song. Art of the trio, volume 3. New York: Warner Brothers.

Mehldau, B. (1999). Sehnsucht. Art of the trio, volume 4. New York: Warner Brothers.

Murphy, M. (1998). Misty/Midnight Sun; Ask Me Now. Jazz standards. New York: 32 Jazz.

Torme, M. & Shearing, G. (1988). The Folks Who Live On The Hill. A vintage year. Saratoga, CA: Concord Jazz.

Tuck & Patti. (1988). I’ve Got Just About Everything; My Romance. Tears of joy. Stanford, CA: Windham Hill Records.

16