A short introduction of the project

This project will shape a sabbatical from my "day job" as pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Clarks Summit, PA.  I've been there a good, long while, and will take a break during the summer of 2021 to work on the project. The Louisville Institute is blessing me with a research grant to develop and write. Here is the brief introduction for the project:

I have a hunch that the Holy Spirit plays jazz trombone. After thirty years of creating jazz for the church, I’ve noticed how syncopated music thaws frozen hearts, unites fractured communities, and invites dead bones to dance. As a working pastor, I have discovered from both pulpit and piano bench how this musical art form can renew Christian faith, spark creativity, open us to the life-giving work of God, and engage us in a life of justice.

I intend to create a coherent and substantive book that explores the deep connections between jazz and the spiritual life. The research plan is to dive deeply into musicians’ archives, interview working musicians and sensitive theologians, read extensively, and visit sites where music is in the air and communities are being renewed. The project will build upon years of study and research, lecturing and teaching, recording and performing, all in service to the church.

It is a critically important time to explore the connections between jazz and the life of the Spirit. Congregations are withering from cultural frostbite. American life bears the unhealed wounds of racial injustice. Hope seems tenuous. Yet jazz is rigorously alive. I want to name this vitality as a sign of God’s ongoing Pentecost and explicate some ways that the soul of church and culture can be empowered and renewed through theological reflection on the living tradition of jazz.

Welcome!

Welcome to this ongoing exploration of the music of jazz and the life of the Spirit! It will be the platform for sharing discoveries and connections, as I develop a project called, "Thriving on a Riff: Jazz and the Spiritual Life."

The title is intriguing, but not completely original. "Thriving on a Riff" is the alternate title for a tune by Charlie Parker, otherwise called "Anthropology." You can listen to it by clicking here. It's one of many new melodies that Parker and his colleagues invented on the chord changes of "I've Got Rhythm." In the original recording, the melody doesn't appear until thirty seconds before the conclusion.

What would it mean to thrive on a riff? Seems nonsensical to the non-musician. A "riff" is a musical phrase, often repeated, usually brief, and frequently the basis of a creating a melody. The old swing tune "In the Mood" is a perfect example of a riff, repeated and adjusted numerous times to create a danceable melody for a blues in the key of Ab.

Yet to thrive - not merely live or survive, but to thrive - seems to me to be the aim of human life. What I hope to explore is how music, particularly improvised music, can teach us about thriving.

Feel free to join the conversation. You can follow the posts by entering (and confirming) your email address in the window on the left. I hope you will.

Until next time,
Bill Carter