Settling The Jazz Vs. Classical Debate

 I just finished reading a book called “Not Quite the Classics” by Colin Mochrie, a comedian with a wonderfully warped sense of humour. (You may know Colin from the TV show “Whose Line Is It Anyway” and elsewhere.) In the book’s preface, Mochrie goes on about his choice to do improvisational comedy -- partly as a disclaimer for being unfamiliar with the writing of actual stories and also to emphasize that he simply prefers improvisation to other types of comedy.

Saturday Night Live is TV’s longest running sketch comedy show. Many of the artists that have passed through SNL have been improvisational comics, but at SNL the writers write the story and the players deliver it. There’s not a lot of room for improvisation.

So, improv or prepared ... is one style of comedy better than the other? Of course not. Both have their standards and traditions. And both have legions of fans. And so it is with music. There  are those who specialize in improvisation and those who specialize in delivering a standard piece. Jazz in particular emphasizes improvisation to the point that some jazz artists only improvise, eschewing prepared music altogether.

In the opposite corner is classical music, where all of the notes are written down and woe be to anyone who deviates from the written page during a performance. The assumption here is that the composition is the star of the show and the performers are there to support it. Some even consider improvisation to be heresy*. In contrast, the jazz player is the star and the music, written down or not, simply provides a framework and opportunity for creativity.

Most popular music falls somewhere in between: some preparation plus some room for creativity. Whatever the case, the path to success requires a lot of work, practice and study. The best part is you get to choose which aspects you work at.

Not Quite the Classics, by Colin Mochrie
Viking Canada (2013)
ISBN-10: 1626814554
ISBN-13: 978-1626814554

* It’s easy to forget that all music begins life as improvisation.

All In A Day's Work

When I was a just starting out, I lived in the big city where I could see great players every night of the week. I idolized nearly every local player of that time. They were all excellent, but one in particular stood out, and he became a bit of a mentor to me. He was an established world-class musician when he arrived in town, and he was able to quickly fill his schedule with studio work. I could see him play most nights at one of the jazz clubs (which were more plentiful back then). He and many others would then dig into some jazz after a day filled with jingles and TV themes.

There were also after-hours clubs, some of which opened the stage to all comers. So guess who shows up at one of those after-hours clubs. I'd seen him play just a few hours earlier at my favourite jazz club, and here he was again, playing, after a day of recording and a 4-hour jazz gig (good thing he was still young).

I began having lessons in a private rehearsal studio. It was pretty funky: a set of drums, a couple of cymbals, a few music stands, and 5 layers of carpet on the floor. It turned out that this studio was maintained by my then hero and friends. They would get together and play whenever possible. Why? To keep in shape, to work on new stuff, and to play 'their' music.

OK, full day of studio work, jazz club gig in the evening, sit-in at the after-hours club ... and it's still not enough! Well, some of us really are that obsessed with playing, but 8 or 10 or 12 hours a day? Sure, because sometimes it's the only way to get in the game and to stay in the game.

Even though my hero was highly skilled and well connected, he knew he had to get out there and play if he wanted to keep his edge, both technically and career-wise. Plus he just plain loved to play. Commercial studio gigs can be great work, but your other skills -- your jazz chops, your double pedal speed -- may suffer. So the jazz gigs and casual sessions make it possible to stay in shape.

You get better at what you do, and if you hope to be a player, then you've got to play and play and play ... and then play some more.