Improvisation in Jazz and Art

After reading two books on jazz…

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Gillaume: I finished two books on jazz: Ted Gioia’s How to Listen to Jazz and Herbie Hancock’s Possibilities.

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Max: Worthy works. What did you think?

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Gillaume: Ted’s was from the outside looking in, Herbie’s was from the inside looking out. I learned a lot. Especially about improvisation, about the players having to be ready to be ready to change direction at any time.

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Max: Jazz is incredibly broad. There are really uncountable ways of playing it. That’s maybe why Herbie titled his book “Possibilities.”

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Gillaume: And then there’s an album: Miles Davis - The Picasso of Jazz. And I wondered if Picasso was into jazz. I mean his paintings of the three musicians.

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Max: Maybe not so much. Picasso was very focused on visual art.

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Voice-over

That said, Picasso’s two paintings, both called The Three Musicians, representing as they did three artist friends, there is a jazz-like quality about them. Not just the instruments. Picasso was a great improviser. Maybe that’s what he had in common with jazz greats like Miles Davis.

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