You have two poetic devices—devices of sound, devices of imagery. And imagination. So you can suggest the ineffable with sound and somehow you know what’s being described.
—Albert Murray

Last week, Jewel related the “mastery” portion of our recent full-day workshop for the Blue Sky Leaders program held in a former sanctuary at 1440 Multiversity in Scotts Valley, California. This week, I’ll share one of the key experiential designs of our workshops and highlight two additional moments that made the day special.

When you go to a jazz music set in a club or a performance in a concert hall, the musicians and ensembles take you on a sonic journey. The great American philosopher of art and aesthetics, Susanne K. Langer, argued that music transmits “feeling in form,” beyond the limits of discursive language. Over the course of a musical performance, memories, associations, and emotions arise, and by the end of the journey, we often feel fulfilled. For our JLP (Jazz Leadership Project) sessions, we take participants on a journey of feeling in form, informed by blues idiom wisdom that translates the music into soulful understanding for wise decision-making.

So, after a delectable lunch at 1440’s Kitchen Table, we had the participants face each other in two lines. To get their bodies moving, we crafted what we deemed a “Cosmic Soul Train Line” with the following scenario:

"The Galactic Leadership Council Conundrum"

The year is 2046. As a group, you've been invited to represent the Earth as part of the Galactic Planetary Leadership Council of 30 civilizations. Participation requires expertise in "cosmic giggling," solving disputes through "Harmonious Disagreement," and improvising solutions with beings who communicate through colors and interpretive movement.

The Galactic Council—who've been secretly observing us through reality TV and Zoom calls—are confused by "Earth's Paradox": how the same species that creates organizations like Doctors Without Borders also argues about pineapple on pizza.

As awakened leaders, you have until the end of this exercise to show and prove Earth’s worthiness to join the Council. Communicate your Mastery strength verbally and through colorful movement. State why your strength is vital for the Council.

To emphasize the gravity of the situation, I told them that “Earth will be banned from interstellar cooperation for 100 years if the collective doesn’t bring it and get jiggy wit’ it!”

We’re happy to report that they did indeed get loose and groove to the JLP Trio’s rendition of Herbie Hancock’s “Chameleon,” and were indeed accepted into the Leadership Council….

Devices of Sound and Imagery

After the playful exercise above, we began a deep dive into Big Ears, the vernacular jazz term for what we call “soulful listening.” Rather than beginning with a conceptual scaffolding, we ventured into deep listening and reflection through our Layered Listening exercise, in which Corcoran Holt’s “Breathe in Peace” served as both the background and the foreground. Last year, when we first introduced this exercise, it evoked a range of responses, including tears. This year, we were pleasantly surprised by a participant’s improvised poetry.

Dr. Denise Elizabeth Williams (aka Dr. DEW) was a quietly grounded presence during the session. I first noticed her walking and sitting at a café, solo, across from the sanctuary. We nodded to one another in the way Black Americans do to acknowledge presence, gesturing “I see you,” in situations where we are among the few folks of melanated persuasion in a space. But in this case, the silent nod and gentle smiles also said: “Welcome.”

When we popcorned responses to the meditative experience of Corcoran’s song, which begins with a repeated rhythmic motif and calls played on solo bass, soon joined by McClenty Hunter’s cymbal and drum responses, then, last, Janelle Gill’s electric keyboard chords and gentle arpeggios, the leaders shared what the listening evoked. Yet when we landed on Dr. DEW, she launched into a free verse poem resonating with sound, feeling, and imagery. (Listen to the song while reading for the full effect.)

Melodic Simplexity
By Dr. DEW

Dark raindrops Vacillating on the warm pavement Changing their velocity With each new DEW-drop do do do DO do do do do do do DO do do do

Joined by the soft echoes of Tapped and trembling brass Syncopated scruffy brush rhythms Cleansing and exfoliating for purification Preparing our sacred vessels For the Cosmic ride

Now we all dance together Individual and collective Flowing as entangled melodic energy Holding, hugging, deferring, loving And inviting the Mastery of each

Like the Holon and the Hologram Alchemical elixirs of the Part Mirroring and Being the Whole Never truly separated or fragmented Except in delusion

YUMMY…,, Here it comes The flight of the exotic hummingbird Piano keys running with feminine juiciness Propelling across space and time With unmatched aerial agility

Mighty Bass enters …Boom, Boom, Boom Soft and yet, powerful At the same time Divine masculine and feminine Swirling fluidly In seductive embrace

Knocking wooden blocks Summoning in the Sacred Piercing through the Multiversity’s Veil Demanding my grounded-attention And intentional present of presence Conscious and Grateful for the NOW…

Another Melodic turn… UP-ward Another Octave ascending Another Vibrational Vortex pulling… Embrace me Swallow me

Tickle my Ancestral Soul

Ahhh…They all retreat now Except for the magical strings Plucking and resonating Serenading the roots of Africa Deep, Rich, Full, Delicious

YEEES…strum the strings Of my Spine Awaken my Kundalini Leave me Open… And Breathing In… Peace.

When she finished, there was the sound of silence, her words and images bouncing in our minds, filling our hearts, and levitating our souls. Never had we experienced the beauty of creative spontaneity in quite this way during a workshop.

Jazz creates the conditions for people to discover what they didn't realize they were carrying. Our job as facilitators is simply to open the door, trust the music, and get out of the way.

Feeling in Form: When the Music Opens the Door

Devices of Sound and Imagery

The Measure of Mastery