Hi Greg (and all), I'm lucky to be taking a course with Tom Cheetham right now and our first week we read and discussed The Jazz of Physics, and Tom used it as giving scientific legitimacy to the rest of the course, so I thought I'd share some of the discussion with you folks: Sounds and the aural landscape - they create/afford knowing the world as mysterious Other of spontaneous harmony and disharmony, rather than "Newton's sleep" - sound as technological, capitalist-world as a standing resource, systematization of the world (William Blake) Here's the syllabus if anyone wants to dive deeper into the phenomenology and theory of music in a beautiful way. . https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__docs.google.com_document_d_1eaXvTzIzj6XTMg0Gn7aNamEZMss5te0sqVzbIXdX4zE_edit&d=DwIFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=VsNux4XbAnqobXjuQlS9vS8Bm9u14ON-dJC2SxO3-dY&s=Jw9TxKlZv56dtp2gJ_jRhgNHur2AgtjnN-tITnz_7ac&e= Some of the many points we've explored that may find resonance with this group: - Spinoza said "we don't even understand the body and know what the human body can do", making it much more than a meat machine bent on a limited scope of behaviors. - Darwin's sexual selection rewards taking risks, novelty, imagination, and creativity, not just brute force and the endurance of the powerful. Music is a conduit for genetics, not an epiphenomenon. - Music can be an n-dimensional space, full of ambiguity, richness, and meaning. The world isn't a place, it's a state of immersion. - Music requires attention and imagination (i.e. participation), and objects don't 'do' this (but we can!), making music "being mode" Fromm's vocabulary. - And this is my favorite. He said "Each different <artist> can re-territorialize us, so it's perspectival, and deterritorialize us, giving us access to different modes of sensation and different sensibilities ... Also, I really like Jacob Collier's talk on harmony explained to people of all ages and abilities, showing the multi-apt nature of music (and his genius at talking about music) (Musician Explains One Concept in 5 Levels of Difficulty ft. Jacob Collier & Herbie Hancock | WIRED) https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__youtu.be_eRkgK4jfi6M&d=DwIFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=VsNux4XbAnqobXjuQlS9vS8Bm9u14ON-dJC2SxO3-dY&s=OcC8yhoK5pEd98ZKQwQ1dPaBYPJcKOxqnWWm_Nzv53Y&e= If anyone ever wants to go into any of this, feel free to message me any time. I've been finding the course very rewarding and transformative. Thanks for the great post, Greg! *All the best,* *Robert L. Gray* On Thu, Mar 31, 2022 at 7:55 PM Greg Thomas <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > *CAUTION: *This email originated from outside of JMU. Do not click links > or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is > safe. > ------------------------------ > As always, Gregg: thank you for sharing my blog posts here. I deeply > appreciate it, friend. And thanks for this forum, where I met Lene! > > Lene: Yes, yes! "Music is the foundation for language and human cognition; > keeping a rhythm and literally tuning in on others shaped our brains." This > is why I strongly believe that the answers to many of our social and > cultural predicaments can be found in the immanence and transcendence of > music, if we knew how to listen, feel, and translate the meanings contained > in and through the music into our lives. This is what my partner Jewel and > I attempt to do with teams and organizations through the Jazz Leadership > Project. > > Tyler: I remember reading *Godel, Escher, Bach *in college. Profound, > mind-expanding. You may be interested in *The Jazz of Physics > <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.amazon.com_Jazz-2DPhysics-2DBetween-2DStructure-2DUniverse_dp_0465034993&d=DwMFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=Si8lnGMwmEAPqMyatCVktpkgI_jjBrWUUsA5m6f639A&s=CNOKVhm5STew0TZEkfTIpMVqiBuztFaTGRkEhcJuUEs&e=> > *by my friend Stephon Alexander, who teaches physics at Brown. He > integrates the harmony of the spheres with Einstein, Coltrane, and some of > the latest findings in his field. > > Rachel: it's true that Miles Davis' *Kind of Blue*, the best-selling jazz > album ever, isn't an able of blues songs per se--rather, each song was > based on scales and modes rather than chord harmonies--but the blues > sensibility infuses the playing of each artist on the recording. The front > line of Miles, Coltrane, and Cannonball Adderley were each masters of the > blues. > > I love that you listened to that classic album so much that you can sing > or scat right along with it: me too! That was one of my pastimes back in > high school, learning classic solos by 'Trane, Charlie Parker, Clifford > Brown, et al. by voice, though my ability to play them on my saxophone was > more limited. > > I've got a treat for you at the end of this message, Rachel, but, first, > for everyone else reading who read the "Bildung and the Blues" essay and > this thread, I'm going to share a blues song that typifies the poetic and > post-tragic dimension of the blues beyond what I wrote in the short speech. > It's a classic song from the 1920s titled "Trouble in Mind": > > Trouble in mind, I am blue > But I won't be blue always > For the sun will shine <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.definitions.net_definition_shine&d=DwMFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=Si8lnGMwmEAPqMyatCVktpkgI_jjBrWUUsA5m6f639A&s=cx3ZK3OwTrcO3622PunAoRvoSlgEcq8PPXdK7bf2g-s&e=> in my back door again > > Trouble in mind, that's true > I have almost <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.definitions.net_definition_almost&d=DwMFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=Si8lnGMwmEAPqMyatCVktpkgI_jjBrWUUsA5m6f639A&s=Evx5Zqo_BXTUsVBSWmk5vLFYYDVHT0QEpQ7KhtLyWv8&e=> lost my mind > Life ain't worthwhile <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.definitions.net_definition_worthwhile&d=DwMFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=Si8lnGMwmEAPqMyatCVktpkgI_jjBrWUUsA5m6f639A&s=eNX_LuiYLwqb4lAkM2pUMyJWLdI6RjRPlUZBAlhgM-s&e=> livin'; feel like I could <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.definitions.net_definition_could&d=DwMFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=Si8lnGMwmEAPqMyatCVktpkgI_jjBrWUUsA5m6f639A&s=XvlHtoweGgg_UPYDpmJwXQ8mPJzDmSYtwoDEgguCoqw&e=> die > > I'm gonna <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.definitions.net_definition_gonna&d=DwMFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=Si8lnGMwmEAPqMyatCVktpkgI_jjBrWUUsA5m6f639A&s=JxIOfnGIgOjBXFqnOQ8PQNrglwoD5c5Ykc8VZFQtINU&e=> lay my head > On some lonesome <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.definitions.net_definition_lonesome&d=DwMFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=Si8lnGMwmEAPqMyatCVktpkgI_jjBrWUUsA5m6f639A&s=DpvmEjit1YUT6iwCCJSWThYQTDWQB5etX0MJlBH2m6U&e=> railroad iron > Let the 2:19 train <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.definitions.net_definition_train&d=DwMFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=Si8lnGMwmEAPqMyatCVktpkgI_jjBrWUUsA5m6f639A&s=PMTBTCs78PHN-hIN7hhIpHEeqY4nsbKYkbuZ4k9EDbk&e=> ease my trouble <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.definitions.net_definition_trouble&d=DwMFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=Si8lnGMwmEAPqMyatCVktpkgI_jjBrWUUsA5m6f639A&s=hDmxTxnYGpTE_qIZoQNUzbxWa3DSabvoxfkiHp90IAk&e=> of mine > > Trouble in mind, I am here > My poor heart <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.definitions.net_definition_heart&d=DwMFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=Si8lnGMwmEAPqMyatCVktpkgI_jjBrWUUsA5m6f639A&s=6sR_2NJ1AvphNLEECYfLfhaNDfTD0STtwfl-uRlzXwI&e=> is bein' slow > Now I have no trouble <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.definitions.net_definition_trouble&d=DwMFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=Si8lnGMwmEAPqMyatCVktpkgI_jjBrWUUsA5m6f639A&s=hDmxTxnYGpTE_qIZoQNUzbxWa3DSabvoxfkiHp90IAk&e=> in my life before > > Trouble in mind, oh, yes, I am blue > But I won't be blue always > Yes, the sun will shine <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.definitions.net_definition_shine&d=DwMFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=Si8lnGMwmEAPqMyatCVktpkgI_jjBrWUUsA5m6f639A&s=cx3ZK3OwTrcO3622PunAoRvoSlgEcq8PPXdK7bf2g-s&e=> in my back door someday > > Notice how the tragic dimension of life is ever present, on the verge of > suicide and even insanity, yet still holding out a ray of hope amid a black > hole of despair. That ray of hope is the adjacent possible equivalent to > Zak Stein's post-tragic station of life. > > This is another reason I call this a wisdom tradition, the *blues idiom* > wisdom tradition. > > Here you go, Rachel: since you've marinated yourself in *Kind of Blue*, > here's a gift of vocalese, when lyrics are put to classic jazz solos, a > form of poetic and lyrical innovation atop the musical > improvisation/innovation akin to the free verse poetry pioneered by Walt > Whitman. The late Jon Hendricks was the grandmaster of vocalese in jazz. > > Listen to the original version of "Freddie Freeloader, > <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__youtu.be_ZZcuSBouhVA&d=DwMFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=Si8lnGMwmEAPqMyatCVktpkgI_jjBrWUUsA5m6f639A&s=ykQdWRsSYzNuwlv0R29DejxIGs7PX7bdYbz5y7W9eKM&e=>" > as found on *Kind of Blue. *Then listen to the vocalese version > <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__youtu.be_q3-2DwvcStsoo&d=DwMFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=Si8lnGMwmEAPqMyatCVktpkgI_jjBrWUUsA5m6f639A&s=lHH52f7oVtwk0ncNXB1BWaLi3Hbb6X6ic5TQF4lEAbM&e=> > with lyrics by Jon Hendricks. Mr. Hendricks explained to me that he > conceived the storyline of "Freddie the Freeloader" based on the story of > "Freddie," who was a bartender who'd give free drinks to the musicians. He > wrote each insrumentalist's part as a character study of that particular > musician's personality, from Bill Evans to Cannonball. > > Bobby McFerrin sings the lyrics written to pianist Bill Evans' solo; Al > Jarreau sings lyrics to Miles Davis trumpet solo; Hendricks sings the fiery > solo by John Coltrane; and George Benson swings and sings words to > Cannonball Adderley's alto sax solo. > > When I interviewed Hendricks years back, here's what he shared with me: > > *As a jazz musician, I would like to be remembered as a poet. That’s the > highest level, because poetry is the highest use of the word. The language > that one speaks attains its height in poetry; a person reads a great poem > and his soul is ennobled. The Bible is poetry, great literature is poetry. > A good lyricist is a poet. Johnny Mercer was a poet: ‘Footsteps that you > hear down the hall, the laugh that floats, on a summer night, that you can > never quite recall.’ That’s poetry. So if I can be remembered as a poet, > I’ll be happy.* > > —Jon Hendricks > > Enjoy . . . > > Best always, > Greg > > > > On Tue, Mar 29, 2022 at 10:51 PM Rachel Hayden < > [log in to unmask]> wrote: > >> *CAUTION: *This email originated from outside of JMU. Do not click links >> or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is >> safe. >> ------------------------------ >> Gregg and Greg ~ >> >> This was just so cool! I've never explicitly thought of the blues in this >> way before. I became obsessed with albums like Miles Davis' Kind of Blue >> (not a "blues" album per se, but definitely related) in high school, and >> feel that it added sophistication and nuance to my emotional capabilities, >> especially regarding the apprehension of the sublime within sadness, an >> appetizer for compassion. I learned that album well enough to pretty much >> sing along with all the solos note for note. I also listened to people like >> Skip James. There's something about the play between the major and minor >> 3rd in such music that speaks so much to me, and I wonder how much it has >> to do with the sort of alchemy described by Greg Thomas which transmutes >> sorrow into this ecstatic lyricism. >> >> I'm curious about the possibility of a similar analysis of hip-hop >> culture. It seems like there are some parallels in that hip-hop is a way of >> life for some people, containing arts besides music such as dance and >> graffiti, as well as being a tremendous worldwide musical movement. It >> might not be as overtly ecstatic in most cases, although artists like >> Kendrick Lamar or Lizzo certainly perform an excavation of the soul which >> for me has notes of ecstasy. >> >> I grew up in sort of a punk rock culture. The music was obviously heavily >> indebted to blues via rock, and I also see some parallels there in terms of >> punk being more than music, but a kind of quasi-religious culture which >> included moral codes, virtues, and competing worldviews which shared an >> anti-establishment bent. Punk, however, lacks the deep cultural and actual >> religious significance of the blues, focusing more on ethics and lifestyles >> in many cases, and beginning as more of an exclusively youth movement. >> There is definitely commonality with blues in the transmuting of >> anger/sadness/alienation to joy. For instance, the punk band Against Me! >> released an album called Transgender Dysphoria Blues which helped me >> through some pretty rough spots. >> >> Thanks much for this. >> >> Rachel >> >> >> >> On Tue, Mar 29, 2022 at 9:32 AM Henriques, Gregg - henriqgx < >> [log in to unmask]> wrote: >> >>> Please check out the latest from Greg Thomas, which involves connecting >>> with Lene…good to see these connections grow! >>> >>> >>> >>> *Blog - Tune Into Leadership* >>> >>> Latest posts from https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.tuneintoleadership.com_blog_&d=DwIFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=VsNux4XbAnqobXjuQlS9vS8Bm9u14ON-dJC2SxO3-dY&s=5lNFbbdLl9A1Lh79tABm6Qfs7KClZd3WVyVqR6BdKPY&e= >>> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.tuneintoleadership.com_blog_&d=DwMFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=Wf_Vtww8uHBr06uT45YZCioegKsqKYyydAWS55FweT0&s=uOggWOD0RHHjrZzCmAKz8dryDEZYADB1FCM6WmbV5N0&e=> on >>> 03/28/2022 >>> >>> >>> >>> *A Speech: “Bildung and the Blues” >>> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__jazzleadershipproject.us3.list-2Dmanage.com_track_click-3Fu-3Dc8cf02468a29b3d1abd1880a4-26id-3Df353e64c43-26e-3D83f057da1c&d=DwMFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=Wf_Vtww8uHBr06uT45YZCioegKsqKYyydAWS55FweT0&s=jRB5kO57NGhI0Pfsqzwb0Nj-iydz-iBwCFwoVPAmDBY&e=>* >>> >>> *By Greg Thomas on Mar 28, 2022 07:39 am* >>> >>> *Lene Rachel Andersen* >>> >>> Last week, upon the invitation of philosopher and author Lene Rachel >>> Andersen, I gave a short address as part of the Global Bildung Festival >>> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__jazzleadershipproject.us3.list-2Dmanage.com_track_click-3Fu-3Dc8cf02468a29b3d1abd1880a4-26id-3D02b74aecf8-26e-3D83f057da1c&d=DwMFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=Wf_Vtww8uHBr06uT45YZCioegKsqKYyydAWS55FweT0&s=A63Cp7YPcBs9pTLR15bt2PIjLNV05BsciF_g9o5oO_U&e=>. >>> Having studied two of her many books, *Metamodernity: Meaning and Hope >>> in a Complex World *and *The Nordic Secret: A European story of Beauty >>> and Freedom *(co-authored by Tomas Björkman), I was honored that she >>> asked me to participate. >>> >>> I titled my presentation “Bildung and the Blues.” The relation between a >>> term of German origin such as “Bildung”—a concept that relates how >>> individuals and groups of people learn and grow through education and >>> self-development to cultivate skills, habits, and values that contribute to >>> society—and the American form of music called the blues, innovated by Black >>> Americans, is likely not readily apparent. The intention of my short speech >>> was to highlight connections between the Blues and Bildung beyond the >>> distance posed by geographic and cultural origin. >>> >>> What follows is the address, plus some content that I would have >>> included if I’d had more than the allotted eight minutes. Given that I’ve >>> coined an expression—the *blues idiom wisdom tradition*—I figure it’s >>> about time I began fleshing out that tradition as I perceive and conceive >>> it. This is a small step in that direction. >>> ------------------------------ >>> >>> *The blues is a wisdom tradition* deriving from the Black American >>> people in North America. The blues has many dimensions: musical, poetic, >>> literary. The blues is also an attitude, way of life, and worldview. My >>> mentor Albert Murray coined the expression “blues idiom” to capture the >>> richness of the blues. >>> >>> I’ll explore these dimensions and connect the Blues Idiom directly to >>> Bildung in the latter part of my brief remarks. >>> >>> From a planetary perspective, the so-called blues scale is close to the >>> pentatonic scale, which is practically universal in human cultures. The >>> blues, then, connects to music culture globally. >>> >>> In the United States, the blues is the roots music of many of the >>> nation’s styles, from gospel and jazz to country & western and rock and >>> roll. As a form, the blues most often has a repeated 12-bar cycle, a >>> call-and-response melodic structure, a American Negro or Black American >>> vocal timbre, and a harmonic system that connects to Christian church music >>> tradition, and, as mentioned above, other music across the world. >>> >>> *Jonathan Batiste* >>> >>> Blues and jazz musician Jonathan Batiste received the most nominations >>> for the 2022 Grammy Awards, set to air on April 3rd. >>> >>> He happens to be a colleague of mine via our connection to the National >>> Jazz Museum in Harlem. His song for Record of the Year, “Freedom,” is a >>> blues. It’s not happenstance that the title of that song, “Freedom,” is >>> fundamental to not only Black American life and history, but to American >>> democracy itself. For Black Americans, there’s a direct connection between >>> the lack of social, political and economic freedom of our early sojourn >>> here and the manifestation of the blues form at the turn of the 20th >>> century. >>> >>> But when you listen to Batiste’s “Freedom >>> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__jazzleadershipproject.us3.list-2Dmanage.com_track_click-3Fu-3Dc8cf02468a29b3d1abd1880a4-26id-3D56a8d85feb-26e-3D83f057da1c&d=DwMFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=Wf_Vtww8uHBr06uT45YZCioegKsqKYyydAWS55FweT0&s=IFbk2DuZ-NQgy61E4GdneFDFK2Nk8UALoN3ocWki2k8&e=>,” >>> you don’t feel down and out, depressed, or downtrodden. You join his >>> celebration of life despite the pain in life. Albert Murray called this >>> nuance the distinction between the blues *as such* and the blues as >>> *music.* >>> >>> The blues is also poetry. The great American writer and democratic >>> theorist Ralph Ellison once said—“As a form, the blues is an >>> autobiographical chronicle of personal catastrophe expressed lyrically.” >>> >>> The sentence preceding that basic definition is a classic poetic and >>> literary description, with customary Ellison eloquence: >>> >>> *The blues is an impulse to keep the painful details and episodes of a >>> brutal experience alive in one aching consciousness, to finger its jagged >>> grain, and to transcend it, not by the consolation of philosophy but by >>> squeezing from it a near-tragic, near comic lyricism. * >>> >>> The blues as music also plays a vital social function. In Murray’s *Stomping >>> the Blues*, he describes this dimension of the culture of >>> Afro-Americans, in a ritual domain, as the *Saturday Night Function* and >>> the *Sunday Morning Church Service*, two sides of the blues idiom, >>> secular and sacred. >>> >>> On Sunday morning, rituals of devotion and propitiation were enacted by >>> the souls of Black folk “making a joyful noise unto the Lord.” On Saturday >>> nights, the other side of the tradition, a community of blues people >>> engaged in purification rituals to banish the mess and cruelty of life, and >>> in fertility rituals . . . to continue the human species! >>> >>> You play the blues to get rid of the blues by facing your troubles >>> straight-up and straight ahead, admitting that life can be unfair and >>> random, but yet and still: you dance, groove, have a good time, and get it >>> on, baby, lettin’ the good times roll—to stomp the blues, even if just >>> temporarily. In the blues idiom tradition, you know those shadowy blue >>> devils will likely be back tomorrow to try to get you down and throw you >>> off course. >>> >>> The blues idiom, as an orientation to life and worldview somewhat >>> similar to Stoicism, understands that tragedy, pain, death, and even >>> injustice are givens, yet creates beauty in form and meaning to affirm the >>> sheer fact that we’re alive. In the collection *Conversations with >>> Albert Murray*, Murray defined the blues idiom as “an attitude of >>> affirmation in the face of difficulty, of improvisation in the face of >>> challenge. It means you acknowledge that life is a low-down dirty shame yet >>> confront that fact with perseverance, with humor, and above all with >>> elegance.” >>> >>> *From Schiller and Goethe to Ellison and Murray* >>> >>> On p. 144 of *The Nordic Secret, *Lene Rachel Andersen writes about two >>> iconic Germans who extended, elaborated, and refined the idea of Bildung, >>> Friedrich Schiller and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. “If we talk about >>> scaffolding personal development, Schiller and Goethe are an example of two >>> geniuses who became each other’s ladder and scaffolding as they both >>> climbed, each in his own way,” she wrote. From Goethe derived the literary >>> tradition of the *bildungsroman*; for Schiller, the relationship >>> between moral and aesthetic education and freedom, personal to political, >>> was key. >>> >>> With respect to the blues idiom, the same can be said for Ralph Ellison >>> and Albert Murray—they were two geniuses who became “each other’s ladder >>> and scaffolding as they climbed, each in his own way.” Over the course of >>> their relationship and in their writings and interviews, they honed and >>> developed concepts and perspectives that synthesized their lived experience >>> as Black American men with the highest of American values and meanings >>> within a Western humanist tradition. I’ve come to call this dynamic >>> relationship the *Ellison-Murray Continuum. *The two attended the >>> historically black college Tuskegee Institute together in Alabama in the >>> 1930s. Ironically, they became two of the most important literary minds and >>> cultural theorists that America produced in the 20th century. What’s ironic >>> is not the fact that they accomplished this while being racialized as >>> “black,” rather, it’s that they both attended the Tuskegee, a college in >>> the deep South founded by Booker T. Washington, who advocated for the >>> development of trade and industrial skills primarily, not artistic and >>> intellectual mastery. >>> >>> The great scholar and co-founder of the NAACP, W.E.B. Du Bois, was a >>> product of another institute of higher learning for Negro Americans built >>> in the aftermath of the Civil War, Fisk University. He attended and >>> graduated from Harvard and did graduate work at the University of Berlin >>> thereafter in the late 19th century. Du Bois, in comparison to Booker T., >>> was more in favor of the cognitive development provided by a liberal arts >>> education. >>> >>> Historically, Black colleges were a manifestation of the intense, >>> life-giving hunger for education by formerly enslaved persons, so they >>> could advance from being illiterate peasants to educated contributors to >>> their communal group and American society. Though many, many obstacles were >>> put in our way, slowly but surely we began to rise, with the Harlem >>> Renaissance in the 1920s, and, among many other examples, the Negro debate >>> students at Wiley College, who defeated the national debate champions from >>> USC in 1935, a story depicted in 2007 starring Denzel Washington, *The >>> Great Debaters.* >>> >>> *Charles Hamilton Houston* >>> >>> At the law school of one of the most prestigious historically black >>> colleges and universities (HBCUs), Howard University, the legendary Charles >>> Hamilton Houston devised the legal strategy that ultimately ended legalized >>> racial segregation. Thurgood Marshall, who argued and won the Brown v. >>> Board decision at the U.S. Supreme Court in 1954, and who became an >>> Associate Justice of the Supreme Court in 1967, was a student of Charles >>> Hamilton Houston’s. Significantly, also contributing to the legal brief in >>> the case for Linda Brown, a ten-year old girl from Topeka, Kansas, was law >>> professor Charles Black Jr., who at the age of 16 in Austin, Texas in 1931 >>> had a mind-altering experience by witnessing the power and blues genius of >>> the paterfamilias of the jazz idiom, Louis Armstrong, in person. I >>> recounted this incident in “Jazz, Social Justice, and a White Boy from >>> Texas >>> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__jazzleadershipproject.us3.list-2Dmanage.com_track_click-3Fu-3Dc8cf02468a29b3d1abd1880a4-26id-3D6fbca3c125-26e-3D83f057da1c&d=DwMFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=Wf_Vtww8uHBr06uT45YZCioegKsqKYyydAWS55FweT0&s=TNj3SMLhRSuNQXVLLm2x_J8uWTWOGaZ0Vi0l6bYqcW0&e=>.” >>> The example of Charles Black demonstrates a direct link between aesthetic >>> insight, cultural education, moral development, and social advance. >>> >>> These accounts of educational and artistic excellence contributing to >>> social change and advancement, moving the U.S. closer to the promises of >>> the social contract contained in its founding documents and principles, >>> laid the ground for Ketanji Brown Jackson, who will likely to become the >>> first Black American woman to serve on the Supreme Court. >>> >>> *Ketanji Brown Jackson* >>> >>> The Global Bildung Manifesto defines Bildung as: *the combination of >>> the education and knowledge necessary to thrive in your society, and the >>> moral and emotional maturity to both be a team player and have personal >>> autonomy and also knowing your roots and being able to imagine the future*. This >>> definition, considered in light of my comments above, definitely aligns >>> with the blues idiom, for Black Americans imagined a better future and >>> innovated a culture both rooted and cosmopolitan. >>> >>> And, as CEO of the Jazz Leadership Project, I can assure you that jazz >>> music epitomizes in principle and practice the emotional and moral maturity >>> to exercise both personal agency and autonomy while being a member of a >>> team, an ensemble. By engaging one another with soulful skill and mature >>> collaborative capacities, respecting the individual voices and sounds of >>> each musician while subordinating ego for the sake of the group and the >>> music, jazz musicians have resolved the dualistic divide between the >>> personal and the social, through culture. >>> >>> Thank you. >>> >>> >>> Read in browser » >>> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__jazzleadershipproject.us3.list-2Dmanage.com_track_click-3Fu-3Dc8cf02468a29b3d1abd1880a4-26id-3D893ff5d22b-26e-3D83f057da1c&d=DwMFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=Wf_Vtww8uHBr06uT45YZCioegKsqKYyydAWS55FweT0&s=ySFRQPsWA0rvE4MVc-Vao4QIos2fglXUdJG5X0b-1_k&e=> >>> [image: share on Twitter] >>> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__jazzleadershipproject.us3.list-2Dmanage.com_track_click-3Fu-3Dc8cf02468a29b3d1abd1880a4-26id-3Ddc82aed1ac-26e-3D83f057da1c&d=DwMFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=Wf_Vtww8uHBr06uT45YZCioegKsqKYyydAWS55FweT0&s=mom2iRTJ0MrS1IqVlpsGAqT4bknHenqlLxBTX3DNPNs&e=> >>> >>> >>> >>> *Recent Articles:* >>> >>> The Power of Participation and Belief in Second Chances >>> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__jazzleadershipproject.us3.list-2Dmanage.com_track_click-3Fu-3Dc8cf02468a29b3d1abd1880a4-26id-3Dac28571906-26e-3D83f057da1c&d=DwMFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=Wf_Vtww8uHBr06uT45YZCioegKsqKYyydAWS55FweT0&s=97Zk1rQX9YGBV3ob0H8g7rlsNy84sfqZ41Ge8UD61Ro&e=> >>> From Liabilities to Assets: Trabian Shorters’ Transformative Work >>> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__jazzleadershipproject.us3.list-2Dmanage.com_track_click-3Fu-3Dc8cf02468a29b3d1abd1880a4-26id-3D7417a5d0a3-26e-3D83f057da1c&d=DwMFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=Wf_Vtww8uHBr06uT45YZCioegKsqKYyydAWS55FweT0&s=8-oWelC7MRew51d2lAsJzgCfboDEN3cHaWgN4qrYw5I&e=> >>> Choosing the Hard Way: Displaying Vulnerability and Courage >>> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__jazzleadershipproject.us3.list-2Dmanage.com_track_click-3Fu-3Dc8cf02468a29b3d1abd1880a4-26id-3D91dd783a17-26e-3D83f057da1c&d=DwMFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=Wf_Vtww8uHBr06uT45YZCioegKsqKYyydAWS55FweT0&s=xRz1Bc1IaMa3ilKiDuTR1iXScL3IbFMhql-O_8x7UJw&e=> >>> Narrative Warfare: Black Americans in the Crossfire >>> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__jazzleadershipproject.us3.list-2Dmanage.com_track_click-3Fu-3Dc8cf02468a29b3d1abd1880a4-26id-3D4b691615c7-26e-3D83f057da1c&d=DwMFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=Wf_Vtww8uHBr06uT45YZCioegKsqKYyydAWS55FweT0&s=5uWsAyCi4T_dkTLsLkdeW49EcJZakCkYlCgOoZnq0Yw&e=> >>> A Beautiful Lesson in Humility >>> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__jazzleadershipproject.us3.list-2Dmanage.com_track_click-3Fu-3Dc8cf02468a29b3d1abd1880a4-26id-3D75a8a78174-26e-3D83f057da1c&d=DwMFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=Wf_Vtww8uHBr06uT45YZCioegKsqKYyydAWS55FweT0&s=v5paJPsGaljL5aFJpq5Y9rXFTD8CHDfwL8ADQ00WhwE&e=> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> ___________________________________________ >>> >>> Gregg Henriques, Ph.D. >>> President of the Society for the Exploration of Psychotherapy >>> Integration (2022) >>> >>> Professor >>> Department of Graduate Psychology >>> 216 Johnston Hall >>> MSC 7401 >>> James Madison University >>> Harrisonburg, VA 22807 >>> (540) 568-7857 (phone) >>> (540) 568-4747 (fax) >>> >>> >>> *Be that which enhances dignity and well-being with integrity.* >>> >>> Check out the Unified Theory Of Knowledge homepage at: >>> >>> https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.unifiedtheoryofknowledge.org_&d=DwIFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=VsNux4XbAnqobXjuQlS9vS8Bm9u14ON-dJC2SxO3-dY&s=-ZvAlyz7EKzkCGbUElL7Nl-0XsMfd8Fwwl8_2c1Cfvs&e= >>> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.unifiedtheoryofknowledge.org_&d=DwMFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=Wf_Vtww8uHBr06uT45YZCioegKsqKYyydAWS55FweT0&s=ufK1pm407IthSIF6OgABYqeJ1oP1U_eQ-nq7qYP9Oug&e=> >>> >>> >>> ############################ >>> >>> To unsubscribe from the TOK-SOCIETY-L list: write 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