We require nothing less than a new cultural context for music-making in general - and jazz in particular. So let me suggest one: why not take art down from its pedestal and ask it to meet real human needs - indeed, the full gamut of human needs from escapism to spiritual transformation, from personal joy to communal solidarity, from the thrill of victory to the agony of defeat, etc. I would suggest that a jazz world that valued these human ideals, instead of quasi-scientific concepts, would look much different - and much better - from the one we see today. (The Future of Jazz p. 170)
And two things strike me about Gioia's insight:
+ First, he articulates a deep purpose for art - one that cuts deeper than the modern and romantic ideals that have shaped Western art for the past three hundred years - and locates value beyond abstractions. Bruce Ellis Benson has noted that the current ideology of art not only transforms the artist into a demi-god - the genius of Kant's world - who is uniquely able to see beyond the limits of mundane existence into something more lofty, but also disconnects the artist from human community.
The genius myth has promoted the idea of the artist as some sort of 'lone creator' who neither needs nor wants the influence of or interaction with others: in this the artist is off alone in a garret. Augosto Boal speaks of the 'solitary author locked in his study, to whom divine inspiration dictated a finished text...' some, like composer George Bizet, have gone so far as to say that 'Beethoven is not a human, he is a god...' or one of the chosen people. (Liturgy as a Way of Life, pp. 57-58)
But such abstract nonsense is not only idolatrous and isolating for the artist, it removes the social context for creating art so that works of art become objects created essentially for the artist alone. Bach, who understood himself as more of a craftsman rather than an aloof aesthete, created (and improvised) beautiful music for the glory of God in the context of worship. Messiaen did much the same. And Coltrane's later works - and the extended avant-garde improvisations of his last years - were all shared in the hope that he might give to others the sacred sound that saved his life from addiction and alienation.
+ Second, Gioia wants an art that is transformative rather than fetishized. Go in to any high culture concert hall or museum and you will find an environment that has become more reverent than most sanctuaries or synagogues. Why? Johann Gottfried Herder in 1800 hit the nail right on the head: "art was no longer an aid to religion, it was religion's replacement."
Last week columnist David Brooks wrote about Charles Taylor's masterwork: The Secular Society. He makes two observations that relate to Gioia's call for art that meets human needs.
+ First, freed from the negative constraints of religion, contemporary people are free to become fully engaged with life. Acts of compassion and justice, as well as creativity, are born of conscious commitment rather than fear and dogma. To be sure, there are down sides to this as experienced in unbridled greed or even existential doubt. But mostly the movement towards secularism has been liberating as it invites each person to be fully engaged with life.
+ And second, most people realize that even without participation in a formal religion, they cannot exist with meaning and zest without some connection to the transcendent.
People are now able to pursue fullness in an amazing diversity of different ways. But Taylor observes a general pattern. They tend not to want to live in a world closed off from the transcendent, reliant exclusively on the material world. We are not, Taylor suggests, sliding toward pure materialism. We are, instead, moving toward what he calls a galloping spiritual pluralism. People in search of fullness are able to harvest the intellectual, cultural and spiritual gains of the past 500 years. Poetry and music can alert people to the realms beyond the ordinary.
Orthodox believers now live with a different tension: how to combine the masterpieces of humanism with the central mysteries of their own faiths. This pluralism can produce fragmentations and shallow options, and Taylor can eviscerate them, but, over all, this secular age beats the conformity and stultification of the age of fundamentalism, and it allows for magnificent spiritual achievement. (see http://www.nytimes.com/ 2013/07/09/opinion/brooks-the-secular-society.html?ref=davidbrooks&_r=0)
And here is where I see the "calling" of the artist becoming sacred in the most "secular" way: we can create artistic experiences that both nourish and celebrate the common good while also inviting individuals to probe more deeply into the questions that often ache just below the surface. We can create safe places to reconnect with transcendent beyond any and all expectations. We can share works of creativity that bring the depths of our emotions to the surface and even point towards some of the ways people wiser than ourselves have explored spiritual rest.
To me this would be "soul music" at its best - grounded in community, beauty and truth - and shared in the quest for common ground and/or spiritual integrity. This type of artistic searching is neither isolated nor aloof - and while it may still be out of the box for some - heretics often become the saints of the next generation. Context, community and the common good along side truth and beauty are the key ingredients necesarry but all too often missing from contemporary art - jazz included.
NOTE: After taking the puppy for a walk, a nagging thought kept returning that I want to address for people of faith as well as artists without any interest in religion. I am NOT proposing a type of evangelism disguised by music or any of the arts. Rather, I am suggesting that artists and people of faith explore how creativity can lead to common ground. Specifically, our longing for the transcendent can create new partnerships.
About a month ago, for example, we hosted a secular jazz pianist in cooperation with Berkshire Jazz (check them out @ http://berkshiresjazz.org/) Chris played a stunning concert that lifted spirits with nuance, verve and humor. Period. It was a thoroughly satisfying evening of jazz and classical piano that also raised funds for our local hunger ministry.
My interest in hosting this event was simple: 1) I wanted to parner as an ally with an artist who cared about strengthening the common good; 2) I wanted to utilize the space our building provides as a community resource on behalf of beauty, truth and love. It is a magnificent music hall that is also rich with history. It should be used by allies who are creative and care about the well being of our town.
After the gig, a number of people spoke about what a great place our Sanctuary was for doing music - one even proposed a partnership with regular events for young musicians. We'll be talking as the summer ripens. There is too little safe common space in contemporary America. There is more mistrust than creative cooperation. And this church could play a small role in changing the status quo.
credits:
1) vvn.net
2) www.artglass-pottery.com
3) Ken Joslin @ artbyken.blogspot.com
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