July 2003 CJA Network Featured Article

Jazz Pianist

Bradley Sowash

As a touring "sacred" jazz pianist (I prefer the word

"inspirational"), I spend a lot of time with colleagues and

parishioners nationwide who connect with the gospel

through this joyous music. People love the sound of jazz

hymns and spirituals and I am continually impressed by the

relevance of jazz for contemporary worship. Why does it

work so well? The answer lies in the parallels between jazz

traditions and the life of the church. Consider how readily

jazz models the Christian lifestyle:

• 

• Jazz is multi-cultural and inclusive - Jazz was born

in America when the harmonic and melodically based

music of European colonists eventually blended with

African rhythms preserved in the hearts and minds of

slaves. As the music matured, black and white musicians

continued to learn from each other. In time, famous

bandleaders including Benny Goodman, Duke Ellington

and others led integrated bands. Later, Latin cultures

introduced a third influence initially championed by Dizzy

Gillespie. With roots stemming from several cultures, jazz

continues to be influenced, performed and enjoyed by

people of diverse backgrounds to this day. Jesus was

radically inclusive. His habit of inviting people of all sorts

and conditions to join him in fellowship is an open-armed

model of welcome churches seek to emulate.

• 

• Jazz is indigenous but universal – Religious

practices tend to reflect the culture that produces them.

Yet mainstream American worship styles often feature

musical selections which are European imports. Jazz is

indigenous to America. Therefore, it is altogether right

and appropriate to worship within our own cultural

context. Jazz is also now enjoyed worldwide. Musicians

from around the world play jazz together whether or not

they share a spoken language. God is at once both

personally indigenous (the God within us) and universal

(the God "out there" somewhere). Similarly, when we

gather together to worship locally, we simultaneously

participate in a worldwide Christian body.

• 

• Jazz is spontaneous - The essence of jazz is

improvisation. Drawing on their training, preferences and

inspirations, jazz musicians spontaneously create

variations on a given theme. To listen to live jazz is to

witness raw musical ideas being given substance often

within the framework of a well-known melody. Many

musicians describe a sense of the ideas flowing through

them rather than from them. This inherent creativity in

jazz relies on a connection to the Spirit. Jazz violinist

Stephane Grappelli hinted at this when he said, "Great

improvisors are like priests. They are thinking only of

their god." Jazz imitates God's creation - ever evolving.

• 

• Jazz involves cooperation – Live jazz in any setting

is performed and received by a cooperative community.

Each musician is called upon to both support his/her

colleagues and work as an individual soloist as roles are

shared. Listeners inspire the music through their reactions

to complete the circle. While the quest for meaning is

ultimately a private endeavor, church life exemplifies

cooperation and community building in which participants

learn and grow collectively as well as individually.

• 

• Jazz has a range - Sometimes meditative, sometimes

celebratory, jazz touches us by speaking directly to a

spectrum of emotions. Without this ability to reflect the

full range of human experience, it never would have

lasted. Louis Armstrong was right when he said, "What we

play is life." The church year reflects this range of

experience from the wonder of Christmas through the

reflective Lent season to the joy of Easter and from

baptisms to weddings to funerals.

Once the worship enhancing powers of jazz are understood,

it is hard to understand why any church would not want to,

at least occasionally, incorporate this rich and uniquely

American musical style into its programming. Churches who

have already taken this step report the following:

• 

• Jazz makes for excellent evangelism – With

outreach as a priority, many churches have discovered

that the uniqueness of a jazz worship service holds appeal

and potential healing for people whose past experiences

have led them to consider organized religion uninviting,

dogmatic, irrelevant or even repressive.

• 

• Jazz offers a tradition-based alternative – Most

mainstream churches are interested in balancing heritage

and contemporary relevance. When experimenting with

new forms of music or worship practices, inevitable

complaints follow regarding the abandonment of church

traditions. With roots reaching back to African-American

spirituals and European folk songs on up through Duke

Ellington’s famous sacred concerts and New York City’s

jazz vespers scene of the 1960’s, jazz renditions of the

remarkable American hymnody we inherited link the past

to the present.

• 

• Jazz has cross-generational relevance –

Contemporary services utilizing popular music have

proven successful in attracting younger families to

churches. And why not? Even Martin Luther understood

the importance of including compelling music in worship

when he wrote, "Why should the devil have all the good

music." However, a pitfall of offering too narrowly defined

contemporary music for worship has the unintended effect

of dividing the church into age demographics since older

members are likely to prefer traditional fare. The toetapping

wide appeal of jazz, on the other hand, draws

people of all ages and backgrounds thereby creating a

diversified community of worship and a sense of

belonging for the individual parishioner.

Author Bishop John Shelby Spong points out, "The church

will die of boredom long before it dies from controversy." By

preparing a feast that for the mind and senses that includes

prayer, spoken word and the appeal of culturally relevant

music, a church that is willing to embrace jazz sends a

message that it is visionary. It says "we are willing to

experiment with the recipe for bringing about a greater

contemplation of God.". And in the words of Biblical scholar

Marcus Borg, "Churches that are full of God are likely to find

their pews full of people."

© 2003 Bradley Sowash

© 2001 Bradley Sowash 
www.bradleysowash.com