Why Jazz Works (Part I)

As I was running late for a gig the other day, I texted the leader of the group, "Yo, man...I'll be there a little after 9:30. I like to call it 'laying back on the time'. Haha!"

In jazz, when you lay a phrase back on the time and then put the following one right in time, it's hip. Dangerous...but hip. In real life, when you show up late and then jump right in with no problem, people admire you. You can also get fired this way.

After waking up early the other morning, I thought, "If we all, collectively as a human race, hate getting up early, why do almost all of us do it? What if, one day, we all just decided to sleep in?"

In real life, if we all just decided to sleep in, many different societal constructs would fail. In jazz, if we all just decided to not play in time, the whole song would fall apart. (And if you think late Coltrane has no time feel, you're wrong.)