We may never know what goes through the mind of a composer.
But we get the joy of hearing what happens through their hands — works of weathered inner strength transposed into mood altering sound that moves, pushes and pulls us towards something greater than ourselves. Maybe we didn’t notice it or realize it in our current mindset. But the sound of the orchestra brings us to a state of awe we can’t forget.
Jazz is chivalrous. In a world where chivalry is said to be dead, acts of kindness are hard to miss. And when the trumpet plays, it’s the sweetest sound. It’s the agave of music — foreign, but welcomed. That chivalry, that courage beckons you to rejoice. And when was the last time you rejoiced? And when was the last time you expressed? The purity of jazz is not so easily forgotten. Death will never be as powerful as chivalry is, as jazz is today. And a sense of courage, if even for a moment, can breathe new life, evoke deep resilience for what is most real, yet so often set apart from the rest.
It’s in the thick of it where the best jazz lives. And perhaps there are not theaters large enough to get the whole world to experience the goodness and depth all at once. But to the creator, music with endless possibilities and interpretations may be the shining armor that gives them the courage to live for the stage. Those moments of pure dives into expression are what theaters were built to amplify. The stages yearn for the honesty and risks — the cross-rhythms, modulations, and creative passions from whose strings and brass, hearts and muscle memories send energy to the walls and back, surrounding the people in a place of rejoicing. This listening is far cry from a pirated playlist. When jazz is live, the room is alive. The people absorb the purity with bated breath.
Sometimes only a Grammy could put it into words. On May 1-2, Jazz Arts Group invites multi-Grammy Award winning composer and arranger, Maria Schneider, to join the Columbus Jazz Orchestra and Byron Striping at the Southern Theatre, and share some of that purity with us. Visit JazzArtsGroup.org for tickets.
GCAC Presents is a bi-weekly column brought to you by the Greater Columbus Arts Council – supporting art and advancing culture in Columbus – in partnership with the Columbus Arts Marketing Association, a professional development and networking association of arts marketers. Each column will be written by a different local arts organization to give you an insiders look at the arts in Columbus.