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Talking Jazz #1 - The Art of Conversation

Posted by John on January 17th, 2007,

I spent much of my life immersed in jazz. Playing it, studying it, living it. Eventually my explorations in jazz led me into deep studies of the nature of communication itself. But my jazz roots still inform everything I do today. In particular, my approach to social media is profoundly influenced by lessons I learned about public communal expression from jazz musicians. A while back I inventoried those lessons and realized just how relevant they were in a business context. So with this post I’m beginning a series of posts called Talking Jazz in order to share some of those lessons.

Luckily, in talking about jazz these days, we have an extraordinary new tool available to us: YouTube. Yes, for jazz lovers YouTube is a godsend. In fact I’ve found jazz videos on YouTube that I couldn’t find in the National Library of Congress in Washington! So as a starting point for talking about jazz and social media I encourage you to check out this extaordinary archival video featuring Billie Holiday alongside many of the greatest legends in jazz.

This video was made in 1957, just a short time before Billie Holiday died of a heroin overdose in a New York hospital while under house arrest. Among the giants performing in it are some of the greatest sax players ever, including Ben Webster (Big Ben, the first sax player to solo) and Billie’s all-time musical soulmate, the exceptionally fine and mellow Lester Young (The Prez, who blows second). Sitting in front of the drummer is a guitarist named Danny Barker, with whom I once had the good fortune to spend an afternoon drinking lemonade at his home in New Orleans. Other players include a very young and skinny Gerry Mulligan on baritone sax, Roy Eldridge (Little Jazz) on trumpet, and Vic Dickenson on trombone.

The point of recommending this video, apart from sharing its beauty, is to encourage viewers to pay close attention to how this group of individuals manages the group conversation that is this song. Unlike written music, this song is completely improvised around a very loose blues structure, and yet without any apparent effort, the players know exactly how and when to make their entirely individualistic musical statements so as to support the coherence of the group. They speak in their own voices, utterly unadulterated, and yet they also mesh seamlessly with each other to form a larger whole of singular power.

What does this have to do with Social Media? Well, imagine if corporate bloggers used the same conversational approach as these musicians. What if they were able to express themselves as individuals but in doing so kept in mind the business objectives of the organization for which they work? What if a community of speakers could manage their interactions this seamlessly and supportively? Exactly!
These jazz musicians know when to support the group by playing and by not playing. When to solo and when to lay out. When to be part of the backup chorus and when to unleash a wild riff that propels the entire group forward. Above all they know how to make room for each other without feeling threatened. They know this because they understand how to converse responsibly. They listen, assess the need for sound, and supply a solution that in turn provides yet another opening, for a conversational response.
In fact, jazz is nothing but an endless series of networked conversations creating ephemeral public communities, (sound familiar?) In future Talking Jazz posts I’ll go into more detail about the structure of those jazz discussions and communities, and how they might be profitably adapted to the networked sphere. But in the meantime, stay cool, cool cat!

One Response to “Talking Jazz #1 - The Art of Conversation”

  1. Buzz
    March 2nd, 2007 » 3:31 pm

    Speaking of Billie Holiday, There is a great group on Yahoo called Billie Holiday And The Disciples Of Swing that salutes the art of vocal jazz. During February they were celebrating Girl Singers Month and this weeks playlist includes several tracks by Billie that were recorded in 1957 at The Stratford Shakespeare Festival. You should check them out. Here is the link to the group and the current playlist:

    http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/BillieHoliday_And_The_Disciples_Of_Swing/?yguid=291582832

    01 And This Is My Beloved.mp3 Gloria Lynne at Basin Street 912 K

    01 As Long As I Live.mp3 Peggy Lee (rehearsal, 1962)

    01 Darktown Strutters Ball.mp3 Alberta Hunter, 1978

    01 I Didn’t Know What Time It Was.mp3 Sarah Vaughan, 198X

    01 Manhattan.mp3 Lee Wiley

    01 S’Wonderful.mp3 Ella Fitzgerald and Sammy Davis Jr.

    01 They Raided The Joint.mp3 Helen Humes at the Pasadena Auditorium, 1952

    02 Loud Talkin’ Woman.mp3 Helen Humes at the Pasadena Auditorium, 1952

    02 The More I See You.mp3 Keely Smith, studio session, 6/20/1985

    02 Willow Weep For Me.mp3 Billie Holiday, Toronto, 8/57

    03 Flying Home.mp3 Ella Fitzgerald, Carnegie Hall, 9/18/1949

    03 I Only Have Eyes For You.mp3 Billie Holiday, Toronto, 8/57

    03 I’ll Get Along Somehow.mp3 Nancy Wilson

    03 Mood Indigo.mp3 Lena Horne and Tony Bennett

    04 Billie’s Blues.mp3 Billie Holiday, Toronto, 8/57

    04 Lucky Day.mp3 Annie Ross,1959

    04 One Night Stand.mp3 Janis Joplin, 1970

    04 Why Don’t You Do Right.mp3 Linda Hopkins, 6/18/82

    05 After You’ve Gone.mp3 Kay Starr, 1975

    05 Azure-te.mp3 Ernestine Anderson, studio session, 1958

    05 Lover Come Back To Me.mp3 Billie Holiday, Toronto, 8/57

    05 Miss Brown to You.mp3 Carmen McRae, studio session, 6/29/1961

    06 Is You Is Or Is You Ain’t My Baby.mp3 Ann Richards, studio session, 1960

    07 I’d Rather Go Blind.mp3 Etta James live at Memory Lane, 1986

    07 Influences.mp3 Billie Holiday

    07 The Way We Were.mp3 Peggy Lee (1974 Academy Awards)

    08 My Funny Valentine.mp3 Anita O’Day at Carnegie Hall, 1986

    08 No Ways Tired.mp3 The Barret Sisters, 1983

    08 You’ve Changed.mp3 Shelby Lynne, studio session,

    09 But Not For Me.mp3 Gladys Knight

    09 Influences part 2.mp3 Billie Holiday, Toronto, 8/57

    09 Porgy.mp3 Nina Simone at Westbury Music Fair, 1968

    09 Skylark.mp3 Aretha Franklin, Detroit Music Hall 1986

    10 Mean Way Of Loving.mp3 Helen Humes at the Pasadena Auditorium, 1952

    13 He Brought Us.mp3 The Barret Sisters, 1983

    13 My Funny Valentine_The Gentleman is a Dope.mp3 Peggy Lee and Lena Horne, 1978

    15 I Wish You Love 1.mp3 Barbra Streisand, JFK Stadium 1966

    15 More.mp3 Baby Jane Dexter

    15 Only The Lonely.mp3 Aretha Franklin, studio session, 7/16/64

    17 I Cried For You.mp3 Helen Humes at the Pasadena Auditorium, 1952

    17 You Turned The Tables On Me.mp3 Anita O’Day on the BBC, 1964

    18 Medley.mp3 Anita O’Day and Chris Connor at Michaels Pub, 1989

    19 If I Were A Bell.mp3 June Christy Live At The Dunes

    20 It Don’t Mean A Thing.mp3 June Christy Live At The Dunes

    21 Jeepers Creepers.mp3 june Christy Live At The Dunes

    22 Too Marvelous.mp3 June Christy Live At The Dunes

    25 Mixed Emotions.mp3 Dinah Washington Live At Basin Street, 7/10/55

    26 Come Rain Or Shine.mp3 Dinah Washington Live At Basin Street, 7/10/55

    http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/BillieHoliday_And_The_Disciples_Of_Swing/

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