Speech for Sunday Jazz Mass

Good morning. Most of you don’t know me or my wife Janet – we’re newcomers and I suppose this is a major introduction indeed. I have to tell you one of the reasons we joined “Rec” was because of the opportunities parishioners have to speak during the liturgy at this church. In fact, we joined after the first Sunday in Epiphany, when Robert conducted an interactive sermon, where we had the opportunity to hear many members of the parish share with the congregation. I must say some of the things we heard that morning were astoundingly deep and heart-felt. That gave us a sense of the pulse of Reconciliation, and I distinctly remember Janet telling me she truly felt God’s presence in this place and we shortly thereafter had our letter of member ship transferred from All Saint’s in Corpus Christi. 
 
When I was asked to put together this year’s Jazz Mass, I was informed that traditionally one of the musicians put together a presentation.   I found this to be a daunting task, and as I attempted to fathom what I would talk about from this lectern, my mind kept repeating the phrase, “Jesus as jazz musician.”   “Jesus as jazz musician.” Quite a stretch, don’t you think? Well, perhaps not, for I see many parallels between the truly unique art form known as jazz and our truly unique faith known as Christianity.   I don’t toss around the term unique lightly, but when jazz came to pass, it was indeed an art form not seen before in America or anywhere else. Jazz was the result of combining different cultural elements found in turn of the Twentieth century New Orleans.   Jazz was combination ragtime syncopation, the call and response tradition of the Black church, field hollers of field workers, the work song and the folk spiritual. One of the crucial tenets of jazz was and is the solo. Traditionally, as you have heard today, jazz musicians will play the melody of a tune and then solo over the chord changes, thereby creating a work of art that is totally new, even with an old melody. Yesterday during practice, six musicians, who had not played together before, got together in this place and had a musical conversation, using our talent, tradition and technique. This is what made jazz revolutionary; the soloing and creating totally new works of music every time a tune was played. Now improvisation is hardly a twentieth Century concept. Improvisation has been around since Mankind first discovered music. In fact, improvisation was a crucial skill in the Baroque period, the time period of Johann Sebastian Bach. If you look over near the piano, you’ll notice the rhythm section; piano bass and drums. The rhythm section of the Baroque period was known as the Basso Continuo, which consisted of harpsichord, often a cello and a bassoon. This element was responsible for keeping the driving rhythmic pulse, on which Baroque music depended. The harpsichord player read what we call figured bass, which was numeric symbols instructing the musician which chords were to be played. So improvisation was not new to jazz, but what was new was the “blue notes,” especially the minor third and seventh. These notes had a primordial connection with people. In fact, the interval of a minor third is familiar to every culture, and is known as Earth Song. Jingle writers have been capitalizing on the minor third for years. In fact, I’ll bet your doorbell may even be a minor third. So jazz was a special music, which connected with people, but not right away. In its beginning, jazz was not music to be played in polite company. The word jazz or j-a-z-z is widely considered to be a variation on the word j-a-s-s, which was an early 1900’s  slang term for the word s-e-x. So, jazz at the time of its birth, existed in the fringes of society. Many jazz musicians were employed in brothels in the New Orleans Red Light District, called Storyville.   Storyville was shut down by the Federal Government in 1917, and then jazz musicians began spreading out all over the country in search of work. Traditional accounts credited the closing of Storyville with the expanding of Jazz to Chicago and Kansas City, although some historians dispute that account today. What is indisputable is that jazz eventually caught on with society as a whole. During the Segregation period, which applied to nightclubs north and south of the Mason Dixon line, black and white musicians would sneak into each other’s clubs after hours for 3:00 AM jam sessions, such was the allure of this music. In modern times, jazz is mainstreamed. College degrees are offered in Jazz performance, and occasionally you may even hear jazz played in a church service!
 
So how is Jesus or Christianity jazzy? Jazz began on the fringes of society and then became main stream. Christianly began on the fringes of society as an obscure Jewish sect. Let us remember how the early Christians practiced their faith under threat of persecution until the conversion of Constantine in the year 312 and the Edict of Milan in 313. Jazz gave us the radical concept of swing, Jesus came along as a Jew in a faith dominated by the external and taught us the radical notion that what matters is truly internal. That which is outside cannot defile, but rather what is inside. Unlike any other faith of which I am aware, Christianity is unique that in our quest for holiness, God meets us halfway. Jesus came to where we are, so we might be where he is. Then of course, there is the Eucharist, our constant reminder that Jesus conquered death and that for us, death is not the end of our lives, but merely a transition. The truth and beauty of Christianity is, as we know, now main stream. Jazz and music in general heals us and gives what our spirits need. We all have music that we use for lifting our spirits, reminiscing, or even driving on long trips. Jesus heals us, takes us as we are, and gives what our spirits need.  
 
Lastly, I think the Episcopal Church is jazzy.   Jazz sits upon the three legged stool of tradition, reason, and harmony. If you look at our music, you will see a line of notes and chord symbols, but the music we draw out comes from inside us. The Anglican Church sits upon the three legged stool of scripture, tradition and reason. We have the Bible, the Book of Common Prayer, cannons and many other facets of Anglicanism, but our faith comes from us and is uniquely ours. I hope you will be blessed by our jazz mass and the experience of today’s liturgy, which is uniquely yours, will be one that you cherish always. Amen.</span>