Ideas
Innovations of Jazz (the enjoyable, rhythmic remixing of things that feel like home)
Jazz was, once upon a time, 4 things:
- Improvisation (the creation)
- The Blues (the content)
- Swing Rhythm (the pulse)
- Joy (the feeling)
Innovating jazz expanded one of those scopes.
No improvisation? That’s just classic swing (Frank Sinatra, Big Bands).
I different sort of Blues? Other base music with deep comfort, familiarity, and meaning? That’s world jazz (Hiromi Uehara, Jorge Luis Pacheco, Tigran Hamasayan).
No swing rhythm? That’s Rockabilly and Rock n' Roll, R&B and Modern Gospel.
Swapping out the feeling of joy? That’s cool jazz, modal jazz, smooth jazz, hard bop and free jazz.
Jazz isn’t only what you make it. But most modern forms of music have, at least, a little jazz in them.
Abstractions of Jazz
“Profoundly naive; unimaginably wise. They were spectacular. Everything I’d hope to find in the system…biodigital jazz, man.” — Kevin Flynn
Wynton Marsalis defined jazz as improvisation, the blues, and swing. But what does that mean, really?
Improvisation is spontaneous creation. Or, as the old saying goes, “composition is slow improvisation, and improvisation is fast composition.”
Blues is a feeling. Deeply emotional, deeply comforting. Everyone has their own set of the blues.
Swing is a type of rhythm.
So jazz can be any creative remixing, of deeply familiar and deeply emotional content, done with a consistent poetic rhythm, with an emotional tone of joy.
In that sense, anything can be jazz. If you play it right.
Innovations of Jazz (or, Jazz throughout the ages)
Jazz was, once upon a time, 4 things:
- Improvisation (the creation)
- The Blues (the content)
- Swing Rhythm (the pulse)
- Joy (the feeling)
Innovating jazz expanded one of those scopes.
No improvisation? That’s just classic swing (Frank Sinatra, Big Bands).
I different sort of Blues? Other base music with deep comfort, familiarity, and meaning? That’s world jazz (Hiromi Uehara, Jorge Luis Pacheco, Tigran Hamasayan).
No swing rhythm? That’s Rockabilly and Rock n' Roll, R&B and Modern Gospel.
Swapping out the feeling of joy? That’s cool jazz, modal jazz, smooth jazz, hard bop and free jazz.
Jazz isn’t only what you make it. But most modern forms of music have, at least, a little jazz in them.
A Technical Definition of Jazz
“You want a technical definition? Improvisation is in it, the Blues is in it, swingin' is in it.” — Wynton Marsalis
Lots of musicians improvise (shredding on the guitar). Improv doesn’t make it jazz.
Blues has some great improvising singers. Blues + improv doesn’t make it jazz.
Big bands can swing. But it can just be a performance. Without improvisation, its not jazz.
Spontaneous creation. Blues vocabulary. A swing rhythm. Anywhere all three are present, you’ve got jazz.
The 4Cs of Success Redux (or, how to define the success you really want)
You can figure out what sort of success you’re seeking by asking two questions.
Question 1: Do you want to be accepted by a tribe, or create a tribe?
Question 2: Do you care more about success now, or after you’re gone?
If you want to be accepted by a tribe, you’re looking at either credentialed success (acceptance by the governing body) or critical success (acceptance by the cool kids in your industry).
If you want to create a tribe, that’s either commercial success (lots of customers) or commercial success (lots of fans).
If you care more about success right now, that’s either credentialed success or commercial success. Nobody remembers a random marine biology Ph.D. from 20 years ago, and if Coca-Cola disappeared tomorrow, very few people would genuinely miss it.
If you care more about success after you’re gone, that’s either critical success or cultural success. Win an academy award, and you are enshrined in a long line of award winners, never forgotten. Make Rocky Horror Picture Show, and 50 years later people will still be playing dress-up to your film.
Of course, its possible to have different types of success in different areas.
C.S. Lewis received an Honorary Doctorate in Divinity (critical success), as well as creating enduring fiction with the Chronicles of Narnia (cultural success).
And of course, these are not mutually exclusive. You can experience success both now and after you’re gone.
But if you want to be a writer, you’d know:
- Credentialed = get a Creative Writing MFA
- Critical = win a Pulitzer Prize
- Commercial = write sleazy romance novels (they make the most money)
- Cultural = create the next Lord of the Rings
And that the skills and pathways to each of those types of success look very, very different.
Work Ethic is Heart Knowledge
Most people know what apple pie is.
Only a fraction of people can actually bake an apple pie.
Only a fraction of those people can actually get themselves to bake apple pies on a regular basis (usually bakers).
Knowing what something is, is head knowledge. Knowing how to do something is hand knowledge. Knowing how to get yourself to do what you already know how to do is heart knowledge.
Some people are exceptional at head knowledge (those with high IQs). Others are exception at hand knowledge (many athletes, artists, or multi-skilled people).
I think that being exceptional at heart knowledge is what it means to have a good work ethic.
A good work ethic means, no matter what you do, you can do it consistently and with sufficiently quality, day-in and day-out. Which is neither a matter of information or of skill.
Like both head and hand, its a type of knowledge. Meaning it can grow over time, if you nurture it.
...AND Profit.
A reader gave me feedback on the idea of [power and passion and profit. The connection wasn’t clear.
To clear things up:
- Power times passion times profit for success. They act as multipliers.
- Power times passion (without profit) doesn’t result in success.
Why and profit?
Over 60% of NBA players file for bankruptcy within 5 years after retiring.
That’s from 3 in 10,000 high school basketball players (that make it to the NBA).
In other words, they clearly have the power x passion for the game.
“Why do they go bankrupt? Why don’t they coach? Or run a summer camp for helping kids get into the NBA and charge $5k a pop?”
That’s what power x passion but without a pathway to profit looks like.
There are lots of ways to be profitable if you have the power x the passion.
But without x the profit, the formula doesn’t work.
And sometimes, you have to put in just as much energy into the “and profit” as you do into the power and the passion.
Be A Perfectionist (About A Few Small Things)
“You’ve got to make every single detail perfect. And you have to limit the number of details.” —Jack Dorsey
Every successful person is a perfectionist about a few small things.
It’s an artist’s way of being.
One could even say that what you’re a perfectionist about is your brand.
For example: Goggins? Willpower.
The key is to stop being a perfectionist about everything, and start being a perfectionist about a handful of things.
We know this in other words: “Be the best in the world at one thing.”
It hits different when we think about how to actually get to the becoming.
Seeking Alpha
We all want to do better than average. That’s the human condition. But each brand archetype approaches it differently.
I think it looks like this:
- Artists start with what resonates most with them
- Athletes start with what they can do best
- Entrepreneurs start with what can make money
- Investors start with what can reliably compound over time
- Engineers start with what problem can be solved
Here’s the thing: we all start from different places. But high success often ends in the same place.
Which is a combination of all of them.
Michael Jackson:
- did what resonated with him,
- in a way that he could do best,
- in a way that made money,
- that reliably compounded over time,
- and solved technical problems (at the time) to create the music that he wanted
So maybe finding Alpha isn’t just one thing.
Maybe it’s all of them.
Power AND Passion AND Profit (or, Why Are Smart Kids Unsuccessful Adults?)
Its almost become a trope that the smart kid becomes the underperforming adult.
After spending time with lots of overperforming adults (those that get outsized results), I see a pattern:
- start with power
- develop their passion
- make a profit (not just financial)
Power, as in superpower. But we’re not superheroes, so its just power.
Passion, as in you do it 8-12 hours a day, every day, for the next 7 years.
Profit, as in how you do it gets a positive, fruitful result in your life.
Overperforming adults often weren’t overperforming kids. Which means they learned early on that they have one, maybe two powers.
And then they follow that formula.
Smart kids learn early on that they have a lot of powers.
But having lots of powers looks like the opposite of developing passion.
Its hard to spend 8-12 hours a day doing one thing, when you get the same results as others in 1-2 hours a day in everything. The perks are better.
And then profit doesn’t enter into the equation until its too late.
Cross-Train Cousin Disciplines
When we want to get good at something, we know to practice the discipline.
A lot of people will also cross-train with sibling disciplines.
A few examples:
- Saxophonists practice piano
- Actors practice directing
- A salsa dancer might practice ballet
Sibling disciplines are siblings because they come from the same family.
Which means they share the same culture.
Personally, I’ve gotten the most mileage out of cousin disciplines.
That’s my name for disciplines that share the same DNA, but have a completely different culture.
A few examples:
- A public speaker taking theatre classes (the family of standing on a stage, delivering memorized lines, and projecting to the back of the room)
- A singer taking voice acting training (tone production, vocal control, and range)
- A fiction writer taking improv classes (scenes, idea development, character interaction)
I get the most mileage out of pairing a rigorous cousin with a non-rigorous cousin, or a technical cousin with a non-technical cousin.
If you really want to spread your wings (and learn new things), cross-train cousin disciplines.
Gratitude Means The Time Is Now
“Now’s not a good time.”
We hear that a lot. In sales, getting in shape, starting a new business, a new relationship.
And sometimes it isn’t. But sometimes it’s a great time to start, but we’re fooling ourselves.
Gratitude shifts attitude (as the studies show).
But why?
When we remember all the good, we signal to our body that now is safe. Now is secure. Now is good.
And if now is good, it’s a good time to start.
Three things we can always be grateful for:
- Today is the youngest I’m ever going to be.
- It’s never been easier to start (if you’re reading this, you probably have a smart phone).
- It’s never been easier to make it (you can make money doing almost anything these days).
There are often times where its not a good time (generally speaking). Health crises. Deep family issues. Home and economic insecurity.
But for most of us. We’ll never be younger. It’s never been easier to start. It’s never been easier to make it. And a host of other things that are going in our favor.
And if you practice gratitude, you may see that the time is now.
The Third Skate
A couple weeks ago, I went recreational skating with a speed skating coach.
I was curious about skating technique, so we started from the ground up.
Most of it was intuitive, he said. Starting. Stopping. The illusion of two skates on the ground when you’re dancing and grooving to the music.
But one idea stuck with me, unique to speed skating.
When you’re on rollerblades:
- put one foot forward and one foot back
- tip forward the back skate so (that only the front wheel is touching)
- tip backward the front skate (so that only the back wheel is touching)
When you do this, you create the third skate.
The third skate is controlled like regular rollerblading.
You can maneuver it, even accelerate with it depending upon your body position.
You maintain balance, because it keeps your center of gravity directly below you (between the first and second skate).
In vintage jazz dance, we have a similar concept: what is created between you and your partner and your relationship with the music.
I’m now tempted to call it “the third dancer”.
The pattern is pretty clear.
The third thing is the intangible thing that’s created as the outcome of the dynamic interplay between two tangible things.
Or, the “invisible” but very real relationship that comes from two parties.
In counseling, when they say both partners need to prioritize “the relationship”? That’s the third skate.
The relationship created between a business and customer, made up of either the warm feelings (or broken promises)? The third skate.
I’ve heard it said that a brand isn’t a logo, or typography, or a product. Or that a brand is the consistency you show in the marketplace.
Perhaps another way of looking at it: your brand is the third skate.
Improv, Via Negativa
“Okay, but what is Improv really?”
In terms of creativity, it’s more useful to describe what it isn’t.
Consider a jazz saxophonist soloing over Giant Steps.
The architecture of the song is AABA. You don’t want to change that. You want it to stay the same. So that’s not where the improv lives.
The design of the playing (tone, timbre, instrument technique) is unique to the player. You don’t want to, on some notes sound like John Coltrane and on others sound like Charlie Parker. You want to maintain your sound. So the improv doesn’t live there.
What does change are the notes.
So every time you play Giant Steps, the architecture stays the same: that’s the song.
Your “sound” stays the same: that’s your style.
But the notes change. And that’s the improv.
Improv, Via Negativa
“Okay, but what is Improv really?”
In terms of creativity, it’s more useful to describe what it isn’t.
Consider a jazz saxophonist soloing over Giant Steps.
The architecture of the song is AABA. You don’t want to change that. You want it to stay the same. So that’s not where the improv lives.
The design of the playing (tone, timbre, instrument technique) is unique to the player. You don’t want to, on some notes sound like John Coltrane and on others sound like Charlie Parker. You want to maintain your sound. So the improv doesn’t live there.
What does change are the notes.
So every time you play Giant Steps, the architecture stays the same: that’s the song.
Your “sound” stays the same: that’s your style.
But the notes change. And that’s the improv.
The Art of War (and Chess and Fiction Writing)
“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles." — Sun Tzu, The Art of War
Sun Tzu gives us two states for success:
- Know thyself
- Know thy enemy
But in chess, this is not enough.
You also need to know your openings, know your principles, and know the game you’re playing (a one-minute bullet match online is a different game than a 3 hour classical over-the-board tournament).
Which together might be something like:
- Know the players (psychology)
- Know your point (plan)
- Know ideas (principles)
- Know the parameters (sport)
Fiction writing is like chess, in that knowing your strengths and weaknesses as a writer, and the challenge of getting published before you, is not enough.
You also need to know your characters, your genre, and the audience you’re writing for.
Which together might be something like:
- Authorial truth (what you want to happen)
- Genre truth (what the conventions expect to happen)
- Character truth (what feels true to those experiencing the story)
- Audience truth (what needs to be true for the reader)
The strategy of chess is the interplay between what you know about yourself, what time control you’re playing, what opening you’re in, and which chess principles apply right now.
The strategy of fiction writing is the interplay between the story you want to tell, the story your publisher wants to promote, the story your audience wants to read, and the story that does the characters justice.
From that perspective, strategy is, indeed, an art.
Improv
Once upon a time, there was a young boy that became interested in the art of improvisation. So he played in band(s) and learned to jazz. He competed nationally in swing and learned to dance. He practiced on stage and learned to improv. And finally, he wrote a book of poetry and learned to rap.
And that young boy was me.
After those experiences, here is how I think about improv:
- Dance teaches the art of the move
- Rap teaches the art of the rhyme
- Jazz teaches the art of the melodic unit
- (Theatre improv) teaches the art of the scene
But that’s not always very useful.
For my writing community, I talk about it isomorphically:
- Dance is the art of the sentence. Worrying over the exact right words.
- Rap is the art of two sentences. Setup and punchline.
- Jazz is the art of the paragraph.
- Improv is the art of the scene.
For my computer science community, I talk about it through programming paradigms:
- Dance = imperative programming
- Rap = functional programming
- Jazz = procedural programming
- Improv = declarative programming (And 5. Combat = object-oriented programming. Put that’s another conversation).
The interesting thing is that all approaches are present in all the art forms.
You can improv in dance by thinking in terms of rhyming your moves. You can improv in jazz by thinking about the scene (motivic development). You can rap in paragraphs by focusing on storytelling instead of punchlines. And on and on.
Why should you care?
Because the foundational style of improv defines the art.
Rap starts with rhyme. If it doesn’t rhyme, its not longer rap.
Improv starts with scene. If its not a scene, but just one-liners or setup-punchline, it becomes standup comedy, not improv.
Add the others, sure. But start with the right sort of improvisation.
What’s in it for you?
Maybe 3 things.
- Skill: which type of improv are you most practiced in? This comes down to your parent discipline.
- Enjoyment: which type of improv is the most engaging, naturally, to you? This might not be what you’ve practiced, but what you enjoy watching.
- Impact: which type of improv gets the result you’re looking for? In fiction writing, beautiful sentences makes for great novels, rhyme makes for great sitcoms, paragraphs make for great anecdotes and short stories, scenes make for great screenplays.
But perhaps the most important question: what do you want to make?
- Great moments?
- Great rhymes?
- Great units?
- Great scenes?
There is no “right” art of improv.
Only improv that is right for your art.
A Billion Wicked Thoughts (and Five Personal Brands)
In the book “A Billion Wicked Thoughts”, a couple engineers decided to analyze internet search data to discover what we really desire.
They came up with 5 archetypes that show up in feminine fantasies:
- Surgeon
- Pirate
- Billionaire
- Vampire
- Werewolf
The idea is that they all represent a form of untamed masculinity.
I think they also represent 5 brand archetypes.
Consider this quote from Sahil Lavingia (founder of Gumroad): “Every job will be automated until four remain: engineer, entrepreneur, investor, artist.”
Add in the athlete, and you’ve got the modern brand version of the fantasy:
- Surgeon = Engineer
- Pirate = Entrepreneur
- Billionaire = Investor
- Vampire = Artist
- Werewolf = Athlete
But what makes them brands? In my head, I picture Arnold Schwarzenegger’s “come with me if you want to live, but adapted to each of these as brand promises:
- Engineer: “come with me if you want solutions.”
- Entrepreneur: “come with me if you want freedom.”
- Investor: “come with me if you want compounding value.”
- Artist: “come with me if you want beauty.”
- Werewolf: “come with me if you want protection.”
Leaning in to your brand promise means less process, and more product.
- Engineer: less tech talk, more “my product/service solves X”
- Entrepreneur: less hype, more new possibilities available
- Investor: less percentages, more legacy
- Werewolf: less gym sessions, more bradley.thor chopping wood
(Artists don’t need this advice, because they already get it: go to a musician’s page, and you won’t see them posting practicing with a metronome or Zoom sessions with their coach or page 23 of their music theory book. Just clips of the beauty of their finished work.)
So, what’s your brand?