Jazz

The Big Band sounds were played in my childhood home every Saturday night. The names of Louis Armstrong, Tommy Dorsey, Duke Ellington, Glenn Miller, Count Basie, and Benny Goodman were commonplace to me as early as eight years of age. When other kids were humming Beatles’ tunes the strains of “Stompin’ at the Savoy,” “Mack the Knife” or my all-time favorite “In the Mood” ran through my head.

Listening to Charlie “The Bird” Parker or Dizzy Gillespie “riff” on a melody still sends chills up my spine. I was amazed to discover that the most accomplished jazz musicians were committed to mastering musical scales. Relentless pursuit of these ordered harmonious notes allowed the performer to “jam.” Comedy clubs may have adopted the word “improv,” but the term was born in the groove of American Jazz.

So, it was with great interest that I watched “Soul,” a new, animated Pixar production featuring jazz music. Joe Gardner’s pianist character displays what it is like for a musician to be “in the zone,” creating tunes based on years of practice. Watching the “Soul” extras, it hit me: every person committed to the practice of their vocation knows what it is like to riff, improv, and feel the music of our creations.

Teachers like me know what it means to riff on the melody of our composition. I have felt it many times over four decades of teaching. A student’s question would launch me into a freefall of storytelling. A misunderstanding would send me to the white board to draw a diagram. A teenage wisecrack would find me strumming the cords of sarcasm. A tearful reminiscence would pause at the graveside of sadness and end with a Nawlins (a.k.a. New Orleans) street band celebration.

What do I mean? I mean I felt jazz in my soul based on the content and experience of my teaching. I believe, as does every great musical artist, that memorable performances are built on the ingrained, embodied knowledge of my craft. All the study in Hebrew and Greek gave anchors to my classroom explanations. Years of theological work linked belief with reality. Reading great books illuminated illustrations during any classroom hour. But it was the repetition of teaching, interacting with the real-life issues of my students, that allowed me to riff on the theme of the moment.

Experience in teaching, woven with commitment to my discipline, with my students, is my jazz. In my memory, I can see myself at the board communicating ideas, the gleam in my eye when I’m asked a question, the smile on my face when a student “gets it,” the pulpiteering moment of exhortation, the sizzle of excitement showing a film clip to make a point, the reflective pose of quiet remembrance to capture a sentiment. To me, it is the riff on the great Melody given to world. It is the improv of Notes given since creation. The soul of my teaching is motivated by the great Composer. My educational craft is inspired in my spirit, by The Spirit. The Big Band sound is but an introduction to Heaven’s song.