I confess, I’m not as knowledgeable about music theory as I’d like to be. I need it broken down into something more digestible.
That’s exactly what Dan Davis, a professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, did for me. He compares jazz to cooking: each alteration of a chord is like a new spice to add to the dish.
Maybe the G the guitarist is playing seems a little boring. Maybe it’s not changing enough from phrase to phrase. The solution is brilliantly simple: change the chord a little. For a guitarist, this is as easy as moving a single finger. If the stress on the note isn’t quite right, they can move the 7th, for example, of a G major 7, to a different string.
This sounds intimidatingly complex — or at least it did to me — before having it explained. Really, it boils down to making the chords more flavorful.
That’s what jazz is all about. The Jazz Initiative CD Release concert at UNC’s Hill Hall exemplifies this. Each musician following the same recipe, adding a dash of their own flavor. A 7th here, an extra 9th or 13th here, and you have an exceptional dish — even for someone with a palette as inexperienced as my own.
Next time you hear jazz, listen to the soloist closely. It’s a chef’s opportunity to add his own flair. Whether it’s something spicy, mellow, or a little bitter-sweet, it’s sure to knock your socks off.
Even more impressive: that jazz solo you just listened to (or are about to) is improvised. That musician looked around the kitchen, found a few ingredients they liked, and threw it into the pot. No solo is the same. The dish you get the first time you hear a jazz group live most likely won’t sound the same when you hear them next. It’s an innovative art form. It grows with the artist and the listener.
So go, try a new jazz group. Try two. You’ll be surprised every time.