Art defies defeat by its very existence, representing the celebration of life, in spite of all attempts to degrade and destroy it.
Nadine GordimerRead
Jazz is a very democratic musical form. It comes out of a communal experience. We take our respective instruments and collectively create a thing of beauty.
Interpretation
Jazz music is a collaborative art form shaped by collective participation.
In this quote, Max Roach emphasizes the communal nature of jazz music, where individual musicians contribute their unique sounds to create a beautiful and cohesive piece. This collaboration reflects a democratic spirit, highlighting how the collective effort of artists leads to a richer artistic expression that transcends individualism.
In practice
During a music appreciation class, I shared the quote to illustrate the importance of teamwork in musical expression.
Art defies defeat by its very existence, representing the celebration of life, in spite of all attempts to degrade and destroy it.
The medium of poetry is a human body: the column of air inside the chest, shaped into signifying sounds in the larynx and the mouth. In this sense, poetry is just as physical or bodily an art as dancing.
When you dance, your body just wants to find its natural weight. I'm naturally a lot more Tommy Tune than I am Wolverine.
If I wanted to make a quick buck, there's far easier ways of doing it. What I want is to provoke people. If you want a hit song, all you need to do is rewrite an old song. It might have been proven to work, but you won't be remembered the same way.
It was as though we were a picture, trapped in time: this had been happening for hundreds of years, people sitting in a room, waiting for dinner, and listening to the blues.
We took away your art because we thought it would reveal your souls. Or to put it more finely, we did it to prove you had souls at all.
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