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Jazz and Philosophy
ByLike philosophy, jazz summons us to attend carefully to itself.
The great philosophers lived and died without swinging (as far as we know). Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, and Augustine, may have written about music, but not jazz music. That would have to wait for centuries. Jazz had a centuries long gestation.
Philosophy is the discipline of finding meaning and truth through reasoning. It aspires to find the essence in the messes of things and to thrust that essence in our face saying, "So what?"as did

Miles Davis
trumpet1926 - 1991
Like many things, we may come to jazz without articulated intellectual questions. We are not usually in the classroom, but at the club, or auditorium, or sitting in front of our sound system. We listen and are moved. Or not. That is, we feel an immediate response, whatever that may be.

Pat Metheny
guitarb.1954
Since then this philosopher has come to savor this music, a distinctively American art form (but not limited to America). But what is philosophical about jazz? Yes, some jazz men are philosophical:

John Coltrane
saxophone1926 - 1967
Like philosophy, jazz summons us to attend carefully to itself. Just as you shouldn't read philosophy in a hurry, you shouldn't listen to jazz casuallythat is, if you want to find the center and get immersed in the vibe. It draws you in and keeps you there. Is the singer a little behind the beat? Did

Charlie Haden
bass, acoustic1937 - 2014

Keith Jarrett
pianob.1945
Further, Aristotle wrote that "Philosophy begins in wonder." I wonder over and ponder the relation of the mind and the body, the relation of God to the world, the relation of unity and diversity (to be more abstract). When I introduced

Pat Martino
guitar1944 - 2021

Eric Dolphy
woodwinds1928 - 1964
Like any philosopher, I could go on, but this is an essay (a short solo), not a book. Perhaps that book needs to be written. However, I will go on listening philosophically to this philosophical music: jazz. Please join me in this performance.
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