17 Jul 2010

So What !

So What!

Often we take too many things in life for granted. We fail to realise that life is impermanent. The Jazz pantheon is full of examples of stars that burned intensely and were suddenly gone (Eric Dolphy, Fats Navarro, Charlie Parker and Clifford Brown to name a few). Like stars in the night sky, the light from which may have died thousands of light years ago, we can nevertheless still rejoice in the intensity of their brilliance. The best classic jazz is a spontaneous celebration of the intensity of the immediate experience in the here and now.

We are not talking about elevator music here. This is music that stands as testament of man's ability to reach out and feel the sublime, through intuitive interaction with sound. Like all the best things in life it needs a little perseverance. Life is hard and so many of the jazz greats had a hard life, not least those who were black and brilliant in the face of a predominantly racist world. But more than music, jazz allows its players and listeners to esape the confines of limited time and space, the restrictions of blinkered thinking and concepts. From the 1940's onward jazz escaped those confines and developed from entertainment and mere accompaniment into an artform in its own right, a platform for the musician to excel. Nothing worthwhile is easy. 

In this "information age" do we really have a choice in the media we subscribe to, or are we drowning in a sea of trivial and meaningless drivel? Do we sit back and take what we are handed on a plate or do we seek out the truth of this human existence? Are we brainless consumers, like grazing cattle, or are we constantly seeking more? Why do we always want more? Is it because we are never satisfied. Is the majority of our media interaction pointless, lifeless, palliative nonsense that washes over the core of our being? Does media that is designed to titillate and stimulate tug at your guilt relfex. Are you aware it is primarily designed to get your money. Ultimately though it will not make you satisfied or happy.

I propose a challenge. Should you accept it, it is to actively filter your media. With so much you could subscribe to ask yourself what really matters. How much of your life are you going to comply with the advertisers agenda? Stand up for your right. Subscribe to what is meaningful and relish in the experience. In my opinion Jazz is worth spending time on, becasue it gets better with listening. It matures like fine wine or cheese.

So What? Exactly.
 
Miles Davis - So What

 
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