The confounding paradox of jazz is that no one, especially not jazz players, can coherently describe what constitutes jazz. It is better defined by the feelings it exudes: feelings of thrill, confusion, or sadness. Yet these emotions are best expressed by jazz players themselves. There is no shortage of these talented artists at Pinewood.
Senior Leo Shang initially found little enthusiasm in music. Beginning on the piano, Shang quickly developed a disinterest for the classical music he was taught.
“Classical is just kind of boring to me,” Shang said. “It’s always trying to fit some sort of a consistent template.”
Abandoning the piano, Shang found greater creative freedom in the staple genre of his newly-adopted saxophone.
“It’s a lot more fun, and I can express myself,” Shang said. “Jazz is more fluid.”
After many years of refined practice, Shang provides insight into what sets the creativity behind jazz apart in his mind.
“You have to have a personality to play jazz,” Shang said. “There’s not really any boring jazz.”
Meanwhile, sophomore Ellis Matula followed a similar progression for jazz music. Like Shang, Matula grew disenchanted with the classical music that introduced him to musicianship.
“I always hated classical music because it was too strict,” Matula said.
Enter rock and roll.
“I got bored of that because I had issues with it just being a bit too rigid,” Matula said.
After six years of practice on the bass — not to mention the guitar, drums, and a little virtuoso ukulele work — Matula subconsciously developed the skills and ear required for jazz.
“You kind of start out with the simple stuff, and once you figure that out, you can expand an opportunity, and that’s when you can discover jazz,” Matula said.
Matula believes that jazz’s special quality lies in its freedom to traverse untrammeled over uncharted musical territory.
“It’s just a different language,” Matula said. “The reason why it’s difficult is because the things that we’re already accustomed to are those kinds of things that we listen to on the radio or the top Billboard hits.”
Finally, junior Jerry Yan describes his journey to jazz and musical fulfillment as a pianist — despite initial hiccups.
“I had bad memories of being forced to practice as a kid,” Yan said.
However, Yan soon discovered jazz through his teacher.
“Jazz is so special because each person’s playing is unique to them,” Yan said. “You have so much freedom for expressing yourself in your chords, voicings, rhythms, solos, and more.”
Jazz is unlike any other genre. It cannot be boxed into any sonic palette, characteristic instrumentation, or tonal feel; instead, jazz is any and all music that puts the core of its creator on vivid display, exhilarates the listener past their beliefs, and shatters our conceptions of what music can be.
