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.

Humans love to find patterns – we are pattern finding machines. Don’t believe me, sit in front of a vintage television tuned off-station. Watch the television snow – the visual chaos of buzzing color dots. After a surprisingly short time, you will begin to see images emerge from the visual static. Some of these images will be so detailed and so specific that you will become convinced that somehow a nearby channel has shifted frequency and the television is now displaying a partial transmission. Even with no antenna,  no cable, no signal input of any sort, you will not be able to shake the notion that the television is somehow picking up images from some source – they can become that sharp in detail.

You are correct to assume that there is a source of origin for these images. However, do not look to the television or satellite as the source of these images. There is a source. That source is you. Somehow, somewhere lurking amongst the lumps of neural circuitry that passes for your brain is a little something or other responsible for these images emerging.

If you feel inclined to be impressed by your ability to create a detailed image of a cowboy riding a bucking bronco from the stuff of television snow – go ahead, be impressed.  But don’t be surprised. After all, are you not able to create amazingly detailed, fully tactile hallucinations at night? The same salt-water bioware  that creates these dreams could easily make a horse and cowboy from television static.

Not only is the human brain eminently capable of finding these patterns, it wants to. 
Humans love to find patterns – patterns in sights, patterns in sounds, patterns in actions, patterns in intentions, patterns in behavior, patterns in movement. patterns in just about everything. In fact, every form of data perceptible by the human is subjected to this pattern finding mania.

How did we come to do this? The answer to this is an interesting study in evolution, and the anthropology of humans.

How do we do this? The answer to this is a thoroughly engrossing adventure in biology, chemistry, neurology, and every other aspect of  human biophysics.

What comes of this pattern finding? The answer to this could lead us into the deeper recesses of human psychology.

Where we do this? The answer to this can provide a handle on the engineering of entertainment and the human environment.

The above questions while full of potential, are beyond the scope of this short discussion – remember it’s supposed to be about Jazz Art. For the moment, the fact that this mania for pattern finding exists is enough.

Take it as given that we love to find patterns.

You’ll notice that I’ve said: “we love to find patterns.” A simpler formulation of this might be “we find patterns.” But that would overlook the essential element – we love to find patterns. Not only are we good at finding patterns, we take pleasure in doing it.

The text below is extracted from a book I’m currently working on.

Perhaps you have heard the quote “An unexamined life is not worth living.” While you may attribute this to Johnny Depp or yet another Hollywood celeb, the quote actually comes to us from a friend of Bill & Ted – Socrates.

It was during the punishment phase of his trial, that Socrates uttered these words: An unexamined life is not worth living. He was convicted of being an interloping old fart – and generally a nuisance to the state. You see, Socrates had this habit of poking and prying and generally seeking after truth. The state took a dim view of this behavior.

When asked during the penalty phase whether he should be killed, exiled, or imprisoned Socrates suggested he should be given a reward for his selfless contributions to Athenian society. For some reason this suggestion did not sit well with the judges. Ultimately, Socrates chose death as a final punctuation mark for his stated view that participation in conversation whose goal is the search for wisdom is essential for the nurturing and growth of a soul as well as for the health and welfare of the state. And this is how a hemlock frappuccino became the exclamation point of Socrates life.

While we certainly aren’t suggesting a hemlock frappuccino, we definitely advocate participation in conversation whose goal is the search for wisdom and nurturing the growth of a soul – i.e. living an examined life. There are many ways to go about this. Socratic Debate is one method, journaling is another, and the RPS (Roll Playing Safari) Game is yet another.