Was Jesus a jazz musician?

this was the first session I went to on my last day of greenbelt, a huge christian arts and social justice festival in the uk - more posts at sarah tells stories. 

Philip Roderick is involved with a group called contemplative fire, who had led some worship sessions that I had missed and it was too late by now to do anything about that. However, coordinating a jazz church space as I do, I thought I would hear someone else's reflections on Jesus and jazz. 

Really there was nothing new in what Philip said, using language for Jesus and jazz such as flow, zone, grace and swing. there is a dance between structure and freedom in jazz, as there was in the life of Jesus, in what he was teaching the disciples. As he, as we, allow the Spirit to speak/flow through structures, the both/and-ness of things is beautiful. 

All of creation has a melody - we just need to hear. As we interact with others, Philip suggests that it is helpful to find the melody of others and thus be able to walk in time with them. 

improvisation is hugely underestimated according to Philip, though as I rewrite this from my journal, I forget the context of that thought ... later in the session, he spoke about bricolage, french for taking what we have and using just that, and he led us in an improvisation singing vive la bricolage. it was lovely. as community we strive to breathe together, think together, pray together in improvisation. again, the image of community mirrors that of a jazz band, with its delicate balance of personalities, each individual and each group learning the best of the past and adding our own personal vision. One has to understand one's own role in the group well enough to improvise. 

Philip spoke of three elements of a jazz musician: respect for tradition (learning not merely repeating); respect for other players, allowing each person's gifts to blossom; openness to learning something new from an old piece and from each other. Are these elements in all people, living in community? 

Relating jazz to the kingdom, Philip suggests that in neither is their failure - only feedback. Jazz operates on the knife-edge of failure, incorporating mistakes and bum notes. 

And on contemplative prayer, he says that this requires the same attentiveness, atunement and alertness that jazz calls for in order for music to play the performer, in order for us to be played through - hearing echoes of Spirit??