What Jazz Can Teach Us About Collaboration

People are chaotic, varied and wonderful.

Jazz small ensemble musicianship offers us a loose framework for collaborative creation within a fairly flat hierarchical structure. Diverse individuals, often meeting each other for the first time on the bandstand, fluidly transition between supporting and leading roles through prior mutual agreement or live adaptation to changing, unpredictable circumstances.

For the better part of a century, professional musicians have been using this framework to collaborate with each other and turn basic ideas into music. Many aspects of this method are analogous to team-based creation and discussion in artistic or corporate settings.

NOTE: This article is somewhat chaotic as well - my apologies.

The Short "Listicle" Version

1. Broadly speaking, Jazz performance in a small band typically involves improvisation with varying degrees of freedom within understood modular structures.
2. The content of these improvisations and order of these modular structures are derived from the loose contextual framework of a defined macro-structure, or idea, which usually comes in the form of a "Leadsheet".
3. In temporary small ensembles, the final arrangement of all elements is typically arrived at by democratic consensus during a rehearsal or with live communication on the bandstand.
4. The idea is collectively interpreted by a group (with individuals contributing according to their strengths) loosely overseen by a leader, and transformed via various musical techniques and traditions into a 'product' (the performance).

So let's talk about ideas.

The Leadsheet (The "Idea")

The basic blueprint at the heart of any Jazz performance is the "Leadsheet" - a document that codifies the very basic building blocks of the structure upon which a musical performance is to be predicated. It is the "main idea" - something not set in stone, and open to interpretation.

Here's one that describes the basic form (known as "The Head") of a famous song.

Arguably, even Frank's performance deviates significantly from the "official" codified version. He changes rhythms, adds words, and even alters pitches on the go to suit his personal style, because it is a known and accepted musical practice to do so. We still know what piece we're listening to, of course - there is a tasteful limit to his spontaneous improvisational choices.

Now, let's listen to a completely different band perform an instrumental version of the same music. In addition to performing "The Head", they will be taking turns to improvise over that same structure.

Improvisational Framework

When the structure is used as a basis for improvisation, it is called a "Chorus". It is a useful unit of measurement that serves as an efficient shorthand when having any discussions regarding the overall macro-structure of the performance.

Here's the structure of this performance:

1. The drummer sets up a medium Swing tempo, and Joey DeFrancesco, the organist and bandleader, plays The Head once through while being accompanied by Frank Vignola (guitarist) and the drummer whose name I unfortunately do not have.
2. Towards the completion of The Head, Joey DeFrancesco gestures to Frank Vignola, who then plays an improvised solo over a single Chorus while being accompanied by the other members.
3. Then, Joey DeFrancesco plays 2 Choruses of improvised material, initiating an ensemble build in energy towards the end of the 2nd chorus of his solo that indicates a return to The Head (you can observe his communication through eye contact and head gestures).
4. The band plays The Head, with a few creative arrangement decisions such as a sudden drop in energy to contrast the subsequent high-energy playing, and certain rhythmic hits in unison, which usually indicates that a prior discussion has taken place.
5. The very end of the song also features what's known as a "Tag", which takes the last phrase of a tune and extends it by repeating it once or twice with some standard harmonic changes.

Unpredictability

In the previous example, apart from some very specific predefined musical moments, no one knew exactly what was going to happen, and it would be virtually impossible to replicate that eventual performance.

But it is this very lack of rigidity that allows such creativity to thrive robustly in a multitude of conditions. By using a framework that encourages and rewards spontaneity, the flow of new ideas is assured.

In addition, there are lessons to be had from the temporal nature of music - when you play something that you don't immediately like, you can't go back and fix it. You simply have to take what you have and move forward in the best way possible, or make it sound musically intentional, which is a fantastic exercise in adaptability.

Conclusion

This is a very brief initial exploration of thoughts on the transferable collaborative lessons that Jazz can bestow upon us. I may write more on the subject in the future.