I’m looking at a photograph of Oliver. Oliver lives in Brooklyn NY. In the photograph Oliver is lying on his back in a shady spot in Prospect Park. The sun is dappling the tree limbs that hang above his head and he is staring upward in utter fascination and amazement at the light and trees above him. His arms are spread wide as if … [Read more...]
Sep
22
To "Be" Autonomous
By Shawn Bowers
What has always fascinated me about jazz is that my identity as an improviser is unconditionally bound to the identity of those I am improvising with. By identity I mean what Heidegger would refer to as Dasein- the manifestation of my potential to “be†in the world. Jazz is a music that is phenomenological in this regard. It … [Read more...]
Jul
31
Listening with intentionality
By Shawn Bowers
“IT AIN’T WHAT YOU DON’T KNOW THAT GETS YOU IN TROUBLE. IT’S WHAT YOU KNOW FOR SURE THAT JUST AIN’T SO.†-Mark Twain Jazz is predicated on a very unique type of listening. It’s a listening style that isn’t new but one that requires some explanation. It is kind of listening that is … [Read more...]
Jul
26
Polyrhythms of organizational improvisation
By Shawn Bowers
Using Jazz music as a platform for conversations about organizational improvisation has the power to bring about a fusion in "ways of knowing." In much the same way that the polyrhythm combines two rhythmic entities sustaining the integrity of each identity while forming a new entity of richer complexity and possibility, the jazz … [Read more...]
Jun
05
You Are Jazz
By Shawn Bowers
Improvisation . . . What do you imagine? Jazz? Stand up comedy? Experimental theater? Modern dance? If you were asked to improvise in the moment what would you think? Probably your first thought would be fear, ooooh no- not me. I’m not going there. A lot of us imagine improvisation to be some sort of magical talent that one is … [Read more...]
