Jazz Improvisers | Jedi Knights

After today's class I am enlightened, but not swayed.

I hadn't thought of the fact that Billie Holiday did not improvise. I know there would be general outrage and confusion if it was announced that she could no longer be included in the "jazz singer" category.

I am also beginning to see that singers are not judged by the same standards as instrumentalists. As John pointed out, the singer's goal is usually to lead, to stand out, to "be" the show. They do not have the strong instinct to create collective art as we do. And, the expectations of the audience are different when it comes to singers and instrumentalists. The audience probably will not leave disappointed if they attend a "jazz singer" concert and that singer does not improvise. But of course, an instrumental "jazz concert" without improvisation would be difficult to pull off.

But, I still have a deep regard for improvisation and a sense that improvising artists are unique. To me, it is like an ancient religion practiced by a brave and faithful few. That is one of my goals for my higher education in jazz performance. I would like to be able to call myself a jazz pianist with no twinge of hypocrisy.

Allow me to tell another China story to illustrate this point. When I first went to Beijing as a college student, an English-language magazine asked me to write a story on Liu Yuan, who is widely considered China's top jazz saxophonist. When I was in Beijing there were about 10 working Chinese jazz musicians in the city. The other location for Chinese jazz was Shanghai.

The background for this is that jazz entered China in the 1920's through Shanghai, a port city and trading hub. It gradually faded under Communist rule, and then went underground altogether during the Cultural Revolution of 1966-76. After this, musicians began to dig out their instruments (literally, having buried them to save them from being destroyed). But there was now a dearth of Western influence. Jazz, rock, pop, and blues cassettes slowly began to trickle in, from Western students coming to study.

And that brings us to Liu Yuan. He was trained in the suona, a traditional Chinese wind instrument, because he comes from a long line of suona players. He heard the sound of the saxophone in Europe when his Chinese music troupe went touring. He knew he wanted to learn to play the sax and learn to play jazz. But, there were no jazz teachers in China, no jazz musicians living there, no Internet, very limited TV programming, not even CD's yet, only tapes. He managed to borrow money to purchase a saxophone and then learned the music -- chord changes, forms, stylistic inflections, and improvisation -- from a handful of tapes.

When I interviewed him I asked him about the jazz currently existing in Shanghai. He scoffed, just like Carmen McRae. Shanghai was perhaps more known for jazz than Beijing, due to its history, and specifically due to the "Peace Hotel Jazz Band." This was a group of gentlemen who had played in Shanghai big bands in the 1930s and 40s. They truly represented the history of jazz in China. But, they did not improvise. They also lacked a depth of understanding -- as regards Ben's comment in class, there was no indication that they had studied Charlie Parker or Sonny Rollins.

In one of my previous blogs I mentioned "cultural obstacles." To fully understand the mountainous task that faced Liu Yuan and others trying to learn jazz, we must consider that Chinese society has discouraged individual expression for thousands of years. This sensibility exists in the government, in social customs, and in the family.

But Liu Yuan managed to turn what he had into something real. Today he plays with authentic sound. Having surmounted that level of difficulty, he and his kind deserve to be set apart for simply being jazz improvisers.

I wish I could send you to a video or recording, but I have searched the Internet unsuccessfully for a good quality representation. Please note that there are several YouTube videos labelled "Liu Yuan Quartet 01, 02" etc. but I believe this is a mistake, because the saxophonist is not him. But, here is an interesting article with more detailed backstory:

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/life/2010-03/29/content_9655355.htm