Pattern Finding And Jazz Art

Previously I discussed our love for finding patterns. In this blog-article I'd like to continue that discussion by relating it to Jazz Art and the role that visual media can play in context with music.

Please be clear, I am most definitely not trying to indicate that our love of finding patterns has anything to do with the who, what, where, of how of jazz. Rather, I am simply pointing out that while we are listening to jazz, our brains continue with their pattern finding mania unabated.

Our love of finding patterns does not stop just because we are playing jazz. Before jazz we find patterns, after jazz we find patterns, and during jazz we find patterns. Let's face it, we find patterns all the damn time. That is what we do.

Hence, while jazz is happening so too does pattern finding.

I think it is easy to appreciate how perceptual data influences the patterns we find. For example, the visual data presented by an orderly array of trees in an orchard will give rise to very different patterns than the visual data provided by an accumulation of trees in the forest. It should be easy to appreciate how the data (in this case the trees) effects the patterns we draw.

All of this, brings us finally to the topic of this paper – Jazz Art. Jazz being the music, and art being associated visual media.

In Jazz Art, the music and visual media have a symbiotic and synergistic relationship. Both draw life from the other – the mixture of jazz and art being far greater than the sum of the parts.

As we listen to music, the process of pattern exploration continues. The music supplies audio information forming the bulk of  the raw data from which we explore patterns. But, this audio information (a.k.a. music) is not the whole of it. The set and setting also contribute.

In terms of set, how we approach the music is important. Are we harried, have we just gulped down five espressos or half a bottle of wine, did we come from a hectic drive through mid-town traffic, or a pleasant evening with friends. All of this contributes to the set.

The setting would naturally be the audience, layout, decor, and even smell of the venue. Believe it, listening to music in an adrenaline filled beer saloon is very different than a small jazz club around the corner. The setting matters.
When it comes to set and setting, they should, for the most part, be a kind of static background used to predispose one to a positive listening experience. There is one area in which this non-interference rule should be broken – that is the stage. The setting of the stage is a part of the performance. This includes everything from how the instruments and musicians are arranged on the stage, to the lighting, to the stage decoration.
It is in the stage decoration that Jazz Art takes its place. Apart from the shear utilitarian function of acting as sound baffles to help sculpt the sound, Jazz Art adds visual data supplementing the audio information.

This is most easily demonstrated through experience. For me, E.J. Gold's monumental entitled Milt Green is an excellent case study. The picture by itself is a beautiful, partially abstracted portrait of Milt Green – hence the title . However, place this portrait anywhere within easy view while listening to jazz and something wonderful happens. Not only is the nature of the artwork mutable through the effects of the music, the music is also susceptible. Or, perhaps more correctly, my experience of the music is susceptible to the juxtaposition with the artwork.

Obviously the notes do not change in the recording. The CD is the same, colors don't reach out from the painting into the gold foil of the CD changing the music as it is recorded. But, somehow, the process of being with the portrait savoring the  visual experience brings out a variety of different aspects within the music.
Jazz, is not fluctuations of density in the atmosphere. Pressure waves are merely the means by which sound is transmitted through the room. It takes a human ear to transform a room full of wiggling bits of air into jazz. The ear contributes to the experience of jazz. The ear is not just flesh and bone. The ear is also the accumulation of experience which has served to educate the listener – preparing them for the present performance. There is a reason that musicians appreciate certain audiences.

Now comes the truly magical part of a live performance. Not only is the perception of the audience altered by the presence of the art, the experience (and performance) of the musicians can be altered by the aesthetic of the stage. While it is true that art cannot reach into a CD and change the music, that is not as true with a live performance.

In a live performance there are feedback loops between the performers, the audience, the audiences' perception of the music, the audiences' perception of the art.

How and why does this operate? Fortunately, as an audience member it doesn't really matter whether or not I understand why I like jazz or how the presence of Jazz Art can contribute to my listening experience. It only matters that the musicians know how to do what they do, and that the artists know how to do what they do. In the case of the musicians and artists, it matters a great deal how well trained they are in their respective crafts, and how well they are able to bring themselves into the task.

The fusion of jazz and art is something which works. Everyone that experiences the results of this fusion is so impressed with the positive contribution of the art to the music that it is a mystery why art has not been an integral part of jazz performances.

But don't take my word for it, do the experiment. Plunk yourself down somewhere, somehow so that you can give a listen to jazz while viewing Jazz Art. You tell me whether the art contributes to your experience of the music. You tell me whether your experience of the art is modified by the music.