Can the Jam Session save Democracy? Maybe…
Some folks may be familiar with The Jam Session as a regular feature of almost all jazz festivals. It is an opportunity for musicians to gather for playing, networking and to get a sense of the local musical landscape. For non-musicians it can be an opportunity to get an early listen to next year’s breakout star or simply a low-cost musical evening with (usually, in Michigan anyway) really good bar food.
If you’ve never been to a jam session, here’s the general set up for a lot of sessions. There is a house band who start the evening by playing a few tunes while other musicians trickle in and sign their names as well as their instruments up on a list. Lists at some sessions even ask what tunes participants want to play.
At the other end of the spectrum are the old school sessions where musicians have to push their way onto the stage by standing nearby and coming up with a musical idea compelling enough to motivate the other musicians to provide space for them in the tune. Regardless of which end of the spectrum you get to experience, one thing all the jazz jam sessions do is allow individuals space for self expression with a general expectation that most everyone in the room will be listening. This personal expression, the improvised musical moment, is probably the most significant defining feature of jazz music.
But jazz wouldn’t work if the only criteria was the ability to improvise. And a great jazz jam session usually includes multiple enthusiastic improvisers. For multiple improvisers to share a stage and wind up making what most folks would regard as a joyful noise, they have to be very good listeners.
In education (which is my background) we try very hard to build good listeners. Good listeners tend to be good learners and good collaborators. This is one of the things that has always attracted me to improvised music environments - to be successful, participants have to be really good listeners - and listening, really listening to each other, has been in pretty short supply recently. Most folks are quick to jump on the defense or the attack or hold the floor, but a whole lot fewer are ready to settle down and listen deeply. Detroit-based saxophonist, Kasan Belgrave describes the improvised music environment in terms of its collaborative communication,
“It’s a conversation - in music school you learn the practices of music, you learn theory, scales, foundational practices and all those practices add up to learning ways to play but to really learn how to speak - the ability to have musical dialogue - you have to just play.”
This idea has not been lost on scholars. In The Fierce Urgency of Now the authors describe the unique collaborative environment of the jazz jam session:
“improvisors envision and enact something new together, and enrich their experience in the world by acting upon it and changing it…Their harmonious balance between individual solos and collective improvisation provides a metaphorical solution to one of the recurrent dilemmas of social life in the United States: how to encourage individuality without selfishness and how to encourage collective consciousness without totalitarianism.”
Effective communication is a hallmark of the successful jam session. That may be in the form of clearly established norms and goals, like those of one of southeast Michigan’s most popular local jam sessions, at Parts & Labor in Melvindale, Michigan. Bass player and host Jeff Pedraz describes “The Workshop”:
“Originally my goals for the Workshop were mostly about focusing on repertoire, teaching jam session etiquette, and creating an environment that was inclusive and non-vibey for both young and older musicians who needed experience.”
Let me just take a second to explain the term “vibey”. The jam session, for all its unique value, is not immune to the problems that come with human beings. And one thing human beings love to do is vibe each other. Up and coming saxophonist, Elvin Sharp came up with this definition: “It's a form of disapproval that reliably results in diminished self confidence and potential denial of opportunity for the one getting vibed.” And yet, he doesn’t completely disregard its utility, “Sometimes that’s not a bad thing, it pushes you to work hard and bring your A-game.” But that kind of pressure doesn’t always work for everyone. Ellen Rowe, Chair of Conducting and Arthur F. Thurnau Professor of Jazz and Contemporary Improvisation at the University of Michigan noted vibing as a problem for her as a woman starting out in jazz,
“I avoided jam sessions when I was growing up. The few times I had gone I had been treated badly by the guys there and ended up just feeling insecure and uncomfortable…the important thing I learned was to do everything I could to help young women have a positive environment to learn jazz in and to try and create the least toxic jam sessions I could whenever I had the chance to be in charge.”
Even so, she describes the essential value of the jam session for skills development and community building,
“Our department relies on our bi-weekly Canterbury House jam sessions to try out tunes they've been working on, learn to call a tune and lead the band through it and most importantly, to build community in an environment away from school and faculty. The jam session environment can be a useful tool for jazz education when there is someone setting the tone, supporting the shy or insecure players, both male and female, and creating a vibe where everyone feels welcomed and supported. When this happens, we build community and all students feel comfortable taking chances and trying new things out.”
The freedom to take risks in a non-judgmental environment is a crucial element for successful collaboration in any community where idea-sharing is the goal.
Belgrave explains the idea of getting vibed this way,
“You can get vibed anywhere. People with degrees vibe people without degrees. People with information or power vibe people without it. It happens everywhere, not just on the bandstand.”
Interesting take. It definitely got me thinking about all the places where humans make a point of creating exclusionary categories to sort each other.
Pedraz creates a set list of tunes that he makes accessible to interested players and each session he invites local professionals, both nationally and internationally recognized musicians, to support the evening so players of all levels are guaranteed a chance to play with and learn in a friendly and supportive environment. According to Pedraz,
“The Workshop encourages attendees to come early and listen to their peers, and not just to play and be featured. We learn by listening, watching, not just playing. It’s through this community-building that we achieve results. I am incredibly proud that we have created a consistent listening culture on Monday nights.”
Multi-instrumentalist and co-host, with Pete Siers, of a monthly jam session at Ann Arbor’s James L. Crawford Elks Lodge, Kenji Lee, explains the critical importance of listening in this way:
“As we listen with intention and love we identify each other’s cadences, tendencies, interests, and mannerisms. As we listen, we learn what we love about someone! And what we hate! The more we listen, the more we learn to love some things we used to hate and hate some things we used to love! But we can’t learn much if our ears are closed, [that’s why we have] two ears, one mouth…”
Listening, by itself has been widely studied across a variety of contexts including Climate & Ecology studies, Learning and Language Acquisition, and Political Communication. One general conclusion across these contexts is that listening is a human behavior that requires practice. Music lovers, pay attention!!
Of course, music people know all about the deep connection between the brain-building power of music and science - just think about the number of scientists and mathematicians who also play music: Albert Einstein was an accomplished violinist, Brian May (legendary guitarist for Queen) also kept up a side hustle as an astrophysicist, and Stephon Alexander, author of the Jazz of Physics famously provided saxophone hooks throughout the 80s to some of Hip Hops most well known acts.
And guess what? It’s not only men!! I had to do a separate search and make the word FEMALE the first term, but I found some!! Check out:
Ada Lovelace, generally regarded as the first computer programmer, also an accomplished pianist; Eugenia Cheng, mathematician and award-winning concert pianist ; and Dorothy Vaughan: An influential NASA mathematician, made famous in the film Hidden Figures, She was also involved in the music ministry at her church and even wrote a song called "Math Math".
And there are way more too - but that’s a topic for another day…
The film Join or Die talks about how the decline in group membership (faith groups; unions; clubs; and other civic organizations) since mid-century has shrunk the number of places where people gather around common interests. An important outcome of this decline in joining, says Harvard professor Robert D. Putnam, is disengagement with our political system - fewer people joining political parties, attending political meetings and other issue-oriented gatherings results in lower voter turnout. If you don’t vote, how can the system ever work for you?
One of the brilliant things about jam sessions, besides the fact that they happen a lot, is that these events are places where individuals of different backgrounds gather regularly, without obligation, around a common interest. It doesn’t require formal membership, yet most of these sessions are open and welcoming to all. This dynamic may have helped sustain it through this period of radical decline in group membership described by Putnam.
Whatever the reason for the jam session’s enduring attraction, WE know why WE go! It's exciting to see our friends, high level locals, and surprise guests all come together in a positive and mutually supportive community environment. Is it possible to leverage this existing infrastructure to support the rebuilding of democracy? That remains to be seen, but I wouldn’t rule it out, in the words of the great Margaret Mead…
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”
Each year A2 JAZZ FEST hosts a jam session at the end of our festival - and this year for 2025, we’re hosting two!! We thank lifelong A2 resident, and local drum hero, Jesse Kramer who has been the MC for the A2JF wrap-up jam for three years running! Jesse leads a welcoming session and makes sure all players get a chance to shine! I asked him what we can expect from this year’s session:
“I am honored to have Kurt Krahnke on bass and Duncan McMillan on piano joining me in the house band. They are both very seasoned, accomplished musicians that I have long admired.
The past A2JF jam sessions were well attended, and it was especially exciting to see so many younger jazz musicians, some in high school. I hope to see more this year, as well as musicians performing in the festival. My favorite part of this session is seeing different generations of musicians perform together.”
Please join us at the Raven’s Club on Sunday, September 28th, from 7pm-10pm to put a bow on A2JF 2025!! And before that - coming up SOON…
On August 14th, from 7pm - 9pm, A2 JAZZ FEST will welcome brilliant local up and comer, Annie Hayes (drums) who will be bringing her No Man’s Land trio (Marlena Boedigheimer/Sax, Brynn Hilliker/Bass) to support our special preview & fundraiser, SPACE is the PLACE!! This group will be all warmed up and ready, fresh from a feature at the Women Who Drum Festival - Detroit legend, Gayelynn McKinney’s yearly celebration of fem-fueled bandstand FIRE!!
SPACE Is The PLACE will take place at CultureVerse Gallery (309 S. Main St. Ann Arbor) from 7pm-9pm and will feature an Astral Art Show, with live psychedelic astral projection by Illuminatus Lasers. This event is a combined fundraiser with Refugia Festival who will also be hosting A2JF’s wildly successful Traveling Sound Museum project as part of their amazing climate and sustainability-focused festival, taking place this year at Nichols Arboretum on Sunday, September 28th, from 12-7p.
If you got this far, THANK YOU for reading!! We sincerely hope you will join us at this year's A2 JAZZ FEST!! And keep supporting LIVE LOCAL MUSIC!! Here’s a partial list of some great sessions, most are FREE and open to the public:
Sunday 7pm Aretha’s https://www.musichall.org/events/Aretha-s-Jazz-Jam: Hosts David Zwolinski; Scott Gwinnell; Jordan Schug 350 Madison St. Detroit Mi 48226 (located in Music Hall Center for the Performing Arts 313.887.8501
Monday: Harris Park Jam w/Houston Patton, 6:30 - 8:30pm, 10101 Belleville Rd. Belleville 48111 FREE
Monday (alternating): “The Workshop” Teaching and Learning Jam Session Host Jeff Pedraz 7:30-10:30 FREE Admission 17993 Allen Rd. Melvindate, 48122 313-633-0376
Tuesdays: Musicians welcome to sit in and read selected tunes: Host Trevor Lamb Parts & Labor 8-10pm FREE Admission 17993 Allen Rd. Melvindate, 48122 313-633-0376
First Tuesday of the month: Ziggy’s 8-10p 206 W. Michigan Ave, Ypsilanti 48197 Host: Jonathon Blanchett FREE/Donation
Monthly: James L. Crawford Elks Lodge 220 Sunset Rd. Ann Arbor, 48103 Hosts: Kenji Lee & Pete Siers FREE/Donation
Biweekly (during the school year): Canterbury House 721 E. Huron St. Ste. 200 Ann Arbor, 48104 Host: Rotating UM Students
Please consider supporting the A2 JAZZ FEST!!
DONATE (it’s tax deductible!!)
We can’t wait to meet you!!
References: Fischlin, D., Heble, A., & Lipsitz, G. (2013). The fierce urgency of now: Improvisation, rights, and the ethics of cocreation. Duke university press.; Staddon, S., Byg, A., Chapman, M., Fish, R., Hague, A., & Horgan, K. (2023). The value of listening and listening for values in conservation. People and Nature, 5(2), 343-356.; Nunan, D. (1997). Approaches to teaching listening in the language classroom. In Proceedings of the 1997 Korea TESOL conference (pp. 1-10).; Rudner, M., Lyberg-Åhlander, V., Brännström, J., Nirme, J., Pichora-Fuller, M. K., & Sahlén, B. (2018). Listening comprehension and listening effort in the primary school classroom. Frontiers in psychology, 9, 1193.; Daniel, D. B., & Woody, W. D. (2010). They hear, but do not listen: Retention for podcasted material in a classroom context. Teaching of Psychology, 37(3), 199-203.;Brownell, J. (2010). The skills of listening‐centered communication. Listening and human communication in the 21st century, 141-157.; Bodie, G. D. (2023). Listening as a positive communication process. Current Opinion in Psychology, 53, 101681.; Hendriks, C. M., Ercan, S. A., & Duus, S. (2019). Listening in polarised controversies: A study of listening practices in the public sphere. Policy Sciences, 52(1), 137-151.; Eveland, W. P., Henry, C. M., & Appiah, O. (2023). The implications of listening during political conversations for democracy. Current Opinion in Psychology, 52, 101595.
