Yogi Berra Explains Jazz:

[Rattlecan ★]

 

 

Interviewer: Can you explain jazz?

Yogi: I can't, but I will. 90% of all jazz is half improvisation. The other half is the part people play while others are playing something they never played with anyone who played that part. So if you play the wrong part, its right. If you play the right part, it might be right if you play it wrong enough. But if you play it too right, it's wrong.

Interviewer: I don't understand.

Yogi: Anyone who understands jazz knows that you can't understand it. It's too complicated. That's what's so simple about it.

Interviewer: Do you understand it?

Yogi: No. That's why I can explain it. If I understood it, I wouldn't know anything about it.

Interviewer: Are there any great jazz players alive today?

Yogi: No. All the great jazz players alive today are dead. Except for the ones that are still alive. But so many of them are dead, that the ones that are still alive are dying to be like the ones that are dead. Some would kill for it.

Interviewer: What is syncopation?

Yogi: That's when the note that you should hear now happens either before or after you hear it. In jazz, you don't hear notes when they happen because that would be some other type of music. Other types of music can be jazz, but only if they're the same as something different from those other kinds.

Interviewer: Now I really don't understand.

Yogi: I haven't taught you enough for you to not understand jazz that well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[MickinMD ★]

Musicians who can improvise well have brains and bodies so tuned to music they can pull it off. They delightfully amaze me.

When you study music, especially piano, in the adult program of the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University, you have to be able to read sheet music as well as take courses, some semester long like Theory and Composition and some just one long day.

I was assigned and to an Improvisation one-day class that was associated with jazz, where the first thing we learned was:

“Improvisation is not the expression of accident, but rather of the accumulated yearnings, dreams and wisdom of our very soul.” -Yehudi Menuhin

 

On of the activities was to go to the piano and make up a melody to fit a described action.  As I sat at the piano, I was told. "There's a fish swimming happily along in a lake.  It suddenly feels energetic and leaps out of the water, splashes back down, and resumes its happy swimming.  Play that."

I played something where the melody followed major chords at the beginning and end, then used shorter, faster notes based on 7th and incomplete chords in the middle for the jump.  The assessment was that it was pretty good, but sounded too structured - but not bad for a first try.  I left and went back to memorizing Chopin.

 

 

[Ralphie ★]

The yogi documentary done by his daughter was a great thing to watch. He is so 📉\|}%% lovable.  And the book by Ron Guidry was good too.  Driving Mr. Yogi. Owl consume any yogi stories I can find.   

 

[Ralphie ★]

Abd the commercial where he answers “yo” with yo GI! Was good too.

 

[groupw]

Yogi was a jazz musician. His speech was jazz. 
Jazz is not my first love, but I grown too appreciate and even love aspects of it. I’m grateful to Ken Burns’ “Jazz” for giving historical perspective and points of reference for jazz. 

[groupw]

Yogi was a jazz musician. His speech was jazz. 
Jazz is not my first love, but I grown too appreciate and even love aspects of it. I’m grateful to Ken Burns’ “Jazz” for giving historical perspective and points of reference for jazz. 

[Ralphie ★]

2 hours ago, groupw said:

Yogi was a jazz musician. His speech was jazz. 
Jazz is not my first love, but I grown too appreciate and even love aspects of it. I’m grateful to Ken Burns’ “Jazz” for giving historical perspective and points of reference for jazz. 

You can say that again!