We all remember the songs that make us love music. Whether you are a musician, concert go-er, casual listener, or simply someone who taps their feet to the songs on the radio, there is a tune that you know and recognise and thoroughly enjoy. There is not a human on this planet who does not appreciate music, whatever form it presents itself in. Music is a universal language, it can reach anyone, anywhere. Inevitably this is why in 1977 the Voyager was launched into space with the Golden Record aboard, imprinted with the sounds of J.S. Bach, Stravinsky, Beethoven, Mozart, and a Georgian folk song. According to Classic FM, “The record attempts to give a snapshot of the whole human race, so it includes voice recordings and greetings in 55 different languages. However, the ultimate language which transcends boundaries has always been music, so perhaps that is a good place to start…”

So we will start with music, and I will share my musical moments with you as music is ultimately a communal concept, and would be nothing without an audience. In jazz, this notion is particularly palpable, improvising being a fundamental ingredient. It is this ingredient that makes jazz an interactive music. I do really believe jazz is a music that should be played for live audiences; which can be as humble as simply playing for the other band members. The joy in playing jazz, the motivation to keep playing, comes from your sound being heard, thought about, and answered; like a conversation. At the Julian Joseph Jazz Academy, which I am at every Saturday, we are always told that soloing is a language; it has syntax, it has tone, it has vocabulary. You listen to and learn other solos to absorb the vocabulary, much like a child listening to their parents and friends to learn more complex words and sentence structures. And so when it comes to playing with other musicians, you are always listening, trying to absorb and give an answer to their statements and questions without needing to speak at all.

This is why music “transcends boundaries”, and why it was sent into space. You do not need to know English, French, Mandarin, or Swahili to hear music and acknowledge it. The songs that made me love music more than just what was on the radio were the likes of ‘American Idiot‘ by Green Day, and ‘Plug In Baby‘ by Muse, and at that stage I knew nothing other than that they made me feel good. Though when I heard jazz, the way I understood music changed, and the way I felt music changed. When I heard Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers’ ‘Moanin’‘ (hence the title of this blog), I knew I had to find out more about why this made me feel so good.

So I write this blog to share with you my (albeit comparatively little) knowledge of music  (whether it be jazz, rock, pop, folk, traditional gamelan…), as well as how I come across it ‘au quotidien’, and the new things that I learn. I will have a ‘weekly tune’, and please do share your music, whatever the style, as all music is inherently worth listening to.