What have Creativity, Acceptance and Jazz Have to Do with Mindfulness

Raphael Imbert the Chairman of the Music Conservatory in Marseille is an accomplished Jazz Musician who gave a really fascinating interview on a philosophy podcast hosted by Charles Pepin, a French author, philosopher and podcaster. I learned a few inspiring facts that I had not given thoughts to before as I am not a musician. It is fascinating to make parallels between different disciplines.

• His first experience playing the Saxophone: He had been intently listening to a neighbour playing accross the street for weeks when he finally got the courage at age 15 to visit the neighbour. He tried to play the saxophone there and then and found that it came to him naturally, he could straight away produce harmonious sounds. His take on this is that Learning is first a process of Imitation and Copying. You have to immitate the style before honing the skill and finding your own. ‘Fake it until you Make it’ is a saying that can sometimes be interpreted in a negative way (imposter syndrome). Here is a very positive interpretation, and method of personal growth.
• Jazz Jamming is a truly creative process borrowed from the Creole Style, and akin to Story Telling in the Creole Tradition; a tradition when the story teller opens up brackets of additional mini paths and loops prior to coming back to the main story thread. Jazz is very similar in the sense that you have to follow new threads based on what tune come up. It takes confidence but also acceptance to embrace the new thread. It also takes focus to not loose the main thread completely and respect the rules of Jamming. This reminds me so much of Meditation and Mindfulness as a process. Acceptance is the key. ‘What you resist persists’ as Eckhart Tolls puts it.
• There cannot be an off note in Jazz, unlike Classical music which rules are rigid and each note must be in key. An off-key note in Jazz is an opportunity for exploration. Embrace it and own it, take it further. A creative process that makes room for exploration within the guidance of the time dedicated and rules set by participants. In this example, one cannot be a perfectionist. You have to let go of attachment and embrace new paths in Jamming
• You make do ! Another very positive take on an expression which could possibly translate disappointment. Actually it is about producing something special with what you have got.  This is a positive process and takes personal growth.  Very much like a Chef in the kitchen will make do with what ingredients are available but uses skill and creativity to produce a tasty lunch, the Jazz musician embraces the tunes and takes it further.