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What does jazz have to do with human spirituality?In Thriving on a Riff, Presbyterian minister and jazz pianist Bill Carter shows us how jazz, in its quest for transcendence, bridges the gap between the secular and the sacred and, further, that these two worlds are not mutually exclusive--jazz is spiritual.Carter traces jazz from its origins in the twilight of American slavery, to its evolution from dance music to serious art form during the American civil rights movement, and its eventual introduction into the church as a legitimate expression of praise and lament. Along the way, he explores the spiritual dimensions of jazz, with its blend of passion and intellect, its ability to awaken us to something in and beyond ourselves.From King David to Dave Brubeck, from the Psalms of Israel to John Coltrane's A Love Supreme, musicians help us glimpse the experience of music as communion with the Divine. And true to jazz sensibilities, brief'Improvisation'sections add to the gravitas and delight, expounding on the chapter's theme in the form of a poetic extension without breaking rhythm. Weaving together stories from the history of American music with his personal experiences as a working musician, Carter invites us to meet a God who not only embraces syncopation but blesses the swing.

This book about Miles Dewey Davis is more psychologically driven than a straight biography; but it does cover his musical career, as well his spirituality as a jazz musician. Davis rocketed to jazz fame as a trumpeter, making a plethora of jazz recordings during his life time; and his music kept the “jazz world” on edge for almost fifty years. This book also discusses Davis's religion, politics, civil rights activism, and his personal struggles as a Black man in the United States. Miles Davis and Jazz as Religion: The Politics of Social Music also shows how Miles Davis made a political statement, as he challenged racial stereotypes in jazz or “social music.” Artistically, Davis was able to integrate rock, jazz, classical music, rap and blues, in his music, as he had a passion for changing his “social music.” In this regard, Miles Davis's music was important to him intellectually, spiritually, and psychologically, because he wanted to make his musical contributions count.

Improvisation, ein wichtiges Element in den Liturgien der Alten Kirche bis in die Barockzeit, kann Atmosphären verdichten, Texte und Worte vertiefen und so entscheidend zur gottesdienstlichen Verkündigung beitragen. Im 20. Jahrhundert ließen die aus den USA stammenden Jazzgottesdienste eine neue kirchliche Improvisationskultur aufblühen, die heute zu einer eigenständigen Klangfarbe in evangelischen Gottesdiensten geworden ist. Anknüpfend an'Jazz und Kirche'(Beiträge zu Liturgie und Spiritualität 29) untersuchen jazzbegeisterte Theologen und religiös inspirierte Musiker das gestalterische Potenzial des Jazz für die Klangfarben und Stimmungen von Liturgien aus musiktheologischen, soziokulturellen und musikpsychologischen Perspektiven. Die Beiträge sind in Deutsch und Englisch verfasst. Ein passwortgeschützter Link führt zu einer Onlinebibliothek mit Musik- und Notenbeispielen. Mit Beiträgen u.a. von Patrick Bebelaar, Jeremy Begbie, Alexander Deeg, Gotthard Fermor, Tord Gustavsen, Hans Martin Gutmann, Carol Harrison, Julia Koll, Uwe Steinmetz, Daniel Stickan. [Blue Church. Improvisation as a Soundscape of Protestant Services] Improvisation, an important element in the liturgies of the Early Church up to the Baroque period, can intensify atmospheres, deepen texts and words, thus contributing decisively to the proclamation of worship. In the twentieth century, jazz vespers, originating from the USA, had blossomed into a new ecclesiastical improvisation culture, which today has become an independent sound color in evangelical worship services. Following up on'Jazz and Church'(Vol. 29), jazz-loving theologians and religiously inspired musicians investigate the creative potential of jazz for the sound colors and moods of liturgies from music-theological, sociocultural and music-psychological perspectives. The contributions are written in German and English. A password-protected link leads to an online library with music and music samples.

This scholarly study demonstrates “that while post-Hurricane Katrina New Orleans is changing, the vibrant traditions of jazz... must continue” (Journal of African American History).An examination of the musical, religious, and political landscape of black New Orleans before and after Hurricane Katrina, this revised edition looks at how these factors play out in a new millennium of global apartheid. Richard Brent Turner explores the history and contemporary significance of second lines—the group of dancers who follow the first procession of church and club members, brass bands, and grand marshals in black New Orleans's jazz street parades.Here music and religion interplay, and Turner's study reveals how these identities and traditions from Haiti and West and Central Africa are reinterpreted. He also describes how second line participants create their own social space and become proficient in the arts of political disguise, resistance, and performance.

Von seinen musikalischen Ursprüngen her besitzt Jazz eine Nähe zur christlich-religiösen Praxis. Entsprechend haben Jazzmusiker immer wieder spirituelle Aspekte und persönliche Glaubenserfahrungen mit ihrer Musik verbunden. Doch erst seit einigen Jahren werden Kirchen auch hierzulande zu neuen Orten des Jazz. Vor dem Hintergrund dieser Entwicklung zielen die einzelnen Beiträge darauf, das Besondere dieser musikalische Praxis zu erkunden und zu untersuchen, inwiefern Jazz und Kirche einander inspirieren. Wie beeinflussen Kirchenräume die Klangsprache des Jazz? Welche theologischen Anregungen stecken in dieser musikalischen Praxis, die Improvisation, Interaktion und Performance betont? Und was kann der Gottesdienst vom Jazz lernen? [Jazz and Church. Philosophical, Theological and Musicological Approaches] The musical roots of Jazz have a certain closeness to Christian religious practice. Accordingly jazz musicians have repeatedly integrated spiritual aspects and personal experiences of faith into their music. But only in recent years church buildings in this country have become new places of jazz. Against the background of this development the contributions of this volume intend to explore the specific features of this musical practice and to analyse to what extent jazz and church inspire each other. How do the interiors of churches influence the sonic language of jazz? What kind of theological stimuli can a musical practice possibly provide which emphasizes improvisation, interaction, and performance? And what can worship learn from jazz?

In Spirits Rejoice! Jason Bivins explores the relationship between American religion and American music, and the places where religion and jazz have overlapped. Much writing about jazz tends toward glorified discographies or impressionistic descriptions of the actual sounds. Rather than providing a history, or series of biographical entries, Spirits Rejoice! takes to heart a central characteristic of jazz itself and improvises, generating a collection of themes, pursuits, reoccurring foci, and interpretations. Bivins riffs on interviews, liner notes, journals, audience reception, and critical commentary, producing a work that argues for the centrality of religious experiences to any legitimate understanding of jazz, while also suggesting that jazz opens up new interpretations of American religious history. Bivins examines themes such as musical creativity as related to specific religious traditions, jazz as a form of ritual and healing, and jazz cosmologies and metaphysics. Spirits Rejoice! connects Religious Studies to Jazz Studies through thematic portraits, and a vast number of interviews to propose a new, improvisationally fluid archive for thinking about religion, race, and sound in the United States. Bivins's conclusions explore how the sound of spirits rejoicing challenges not only prevailing understandings of race and music, but also the way we think about religion. Spirits Rejoice! is an essential volume for any student of jazz, American religion, or American culture.

The John Coltrane Church began in 1965, when Franzo and Marina King attended a performance of the John Coltrane Quartet at San Francisco's Jazz Workshop and saw a vision of the Holy Ghost as Coltrane took the bandstand. Celebrating the spirituality of the late jazz innovator and his music, the storefront church emerged during the demise of black-owned jazz clubs in San Francisco, and at a time of growing disillusionment with counter-culture spirituality following the 1978 Jonestown tragedy. For 50 years, the church has effectively fought redevelopment, environmental racism, police brutality, mortgage foreclosures, religious intolerance, gender disparity and the corporatization of jazz. This critical history is the first book-length treatment of an extraordinary African-American church and community institution.

Whether you are an artist whose talents are an untapped source of energy for your church or a ministry leader wanting to involve artists and the creative arts in your outreach efforts, Outreach and the Artist will renew your vision. Musician and biblical scholar Con Campbell offers encouragement, wisdom, and practical tips for evangelism with, through, and to the arts: Evangelism with the Arts. While the abilities of Christian artists may serve the church internally, artists within the church usually have enormous untapped potential for outreach. Evangelism through the Arts. People's natural love for various artistic mediums provides a connection-point to exploring life's big questions with unbelievers in non-threatening and engaging ways. Evangelism to the Arts. Christian artists are uniquely positioned to make an impact in artistic networks, which often have no Christian witness or presence and tend to be shut off from conventional methods of outreach. Spreading the gospel is a task worth every God-given resource we have, and artists and their creative gifts are no exception.

As part of the growing literature on theology and the arts, God's Mind in that Music explores the substantial theological insight expressed in the music of jazz legend John Coltrane. Focusing on eight of Coltrane's pieces, themes under consideration include lament ('Alabama'), improvisation ('My Favorite Things'and'Ascension'), grace ('A Love Supreme'), and the Trinity ('The Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost'). By attending to the traditions of theology and of jazz criticism, and through a series of interviews with musicians, theologians, and jazz writers, Jamie Howison draws the worlds of theology and jazz into an active and vibrant conversation with each other. Built around a focused listening to John Coltrane's music as heard against the background of his life and social context, and interacting with the work of a range of writers including James Baldwin, Dorothee Soelle, Jeremy Begbie, and James Cone, God's Mind in that Music will be of interest not only to those interested in the intersection of music and theology, but also to Coltrane fans, students of jazz studies, and anyone who believes that music matters.

Edited by prominent musician and scholar Leonard Brown, John Coltrane and Black America's Quest for Freedom: Spirituality and the Music is a timely exploration of Coltrane's sound and its spiritual qualities that are rooted in Black American music-culture and aspirations for freedom. A wide-ranging collection of essays and interviews featuring many of the most eminent figures in Black American music and jazz studies and performance --Tommy Lee Lott, Anthony Brown, Herman Gray, Emmett G. Price III, Tammy Kernodle, Salim Washington, Eric Jackson, TJ Anderson,Yusef Lateef, Billy Taylor, Olly Wilson, George Russell, and a never before published interview with Elvin Jones -- the book examines the full spectrum of Coltrane's legacy. Each work approaches this theme from a different angle, in both historical and contemporary contexts, focusing on how Coltrane became a quintessential example of the universal and enduring qualities of Black American culture.