PASTOR DAVE’S MUSINGS FROM THE HEARTLAND

August 7, 2024

                MAKE A JOYFUL NOISE

One Friday evening on July 29^th, Diane and I attended a wonderful concert by Danny Lerman at the Young Amphitheater in Centennial Park in Plymouth, Indiana.  The program was a part of Encore’s summer series in the park.  Danny is a jazz saxophonist who graduated from Riley High School in South Bend, Indiana.

A hallmark of jazz is improvisation.  Underlying each song is a basic melody which is usually played at the beginning.  Then each artist takes the basic melody and adds his or her own embellishments.  It really gets wild when everyone plays their interpretations at the same time.

From remarks Danny made early in the evening it seemed that the four other musicians appearing with him were not his usual group.  Each of them was an accomplished jazz artist in his own right.  At times it appeared they were making up how they would play a song as they went along.  Friday night was truly an evening of improvisation at its very best.

When I was taking violin lessons, I had several books that contained nothing but exercises.  Each week my teacher would assign one or two of them for practice.  At the time they seemed rather tedious.  I would much more have liked to play a real song.  However, as I listened to Danny Larman work his magic I realized that he was incorporating with great effect many of those exercises that I had practiced.  I wondered to myself how many times he must have practiced them so that he could play them so effortlessly.

A previous Encore concert in the park featured three artists: Taylor Brown, Kevin Cott, and Wilson’s Reservoir.  The first two acts were solo performances whose emphasis was on the content of the songs.  Kevin Cott’s songs took a philosophical bent, even working in some Rene Descartes.

Wilson’s Reservoir was another story.  It was group where the emphasis was on the rhythm.  Each of their songs had a driving beat that almost made the words irrelevant.

Underlying both evening performances was basic music theory which set the parameters within which western music is written and performed.  Fundamental to these parameters are the exercises which I practiced so many years ago and revisited just a while back.   They were based upon rhythmic patterns, scales, and note patterns that resonate with the human spirit.  They have the potential of bringing an audience together in a pulsating, vibrant singularity when they are performed by a skilled artist.

Beginning in the Book of Genesis with Jubal, who is the father of all harp and flute players (Genesis 4:21) and continuing through the heavenly chorus in the Book of Revelation music is an essential part of the Biblical story.  The Book of Psalms is a great hymn book which continues to be used for corporate and individual worship.  Even nature itself is described as taking part in this music.  The Bible describes trees as clapping their hands (Isaiah 55:12) and singing for joy (Psalm 96:12).

Friday, August 12^th, will be the final in the Encore Summer Series in the Park.  Diane and I are looking forward to an evening at the Young Amphitheater, surrounded by the wonders of nature, listening to the Sulentic Brothers Band.  We will be participating in an activity that goes back to the beginning of history that touches the human soul as it inspires and brings hope.

(This article was originally published August 7, 2011.  Comments may be sent to davidh15503@embarqmail.com.)