SAM JC LEE bassist.composer.arranger.engineer

In the beginning, there was improvisation. For creation is precisely God setting in motion a reality of “ceaseless alterations.” Thus, the very being of life is improvisatory - by which I mean that it is a mixture of both structure and contingency, of regularity and unpredictability, of constraint and possibility. Further, if God is indeed still at work in the world, then God, too, is part of that improvisatory movement. Being part of that reality, we take part in that improvisatory movement in all that we do. Since we are creatures embedded in multiple and ever-changing historical and cultural milieus, our identities and very being arise from our relation to others and the world which we inhabit.

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This sort of improvised beginning is remarkably similar to that of what we now call Christianity. Like the story of Jazz, it’s hard to know exactly where to begin. Jesus appears in the midst of heteronomous Judaism comprised of Sadducees, Pharisees, Herodians, and Essenes - all of whom took the Torah as their text but each with varying interpretations. Jesus himself takes no stand with any of these groups. Instead demonstrating a keen knowledge of the Torah, he improvises upon the conventional readings of it.

While we seek harmony as brothers and sisters, we must also recognize that dissonance is often productive and, in any case, an inevitable result of continually improvised ekklésia....

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There will be a new harmony of those differences, one in which there is true - and not merely contrived - shalom. Here and now, though, we can barely begin to imagine how that harmony of heavenly shalom might sound.

- excerpts from Resonant Witness ‘Conversations between Music and Theology’ by Jeremy S. Begbie

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Once someone asked, “Why there’s so much dissonance in Jazz music? There’s too much going on and it makes my ears tired.” When I was younger, I used to response “well, only trained ears would appreciate Jazz music” with my young, Jazz-snob attitude. However, I wondered what part of Jazz keeps drawing people to its transcend beauty and to pursue the art form through many generations, despite Jazz is no longer considered as Pop music. Of course, there are complexity and sophistications of harmony and rhythm in Jazz that may attract certain demographics. However, as I learn more about the history of Jazz music (although many Jazz musicians don't like the term 'Jazz'), its origins, and social/cultural backgrounds, especially in the lens of African American sufferings, I realized Jazz also should be understood as form of protest. Music is one of the most reflective art forms that reflects the current events, culture, and society etc. For example. most of musical compositions have cadence as how to end the song. To make cadences meaningful, tensions are needed for resolutions. During dark times such as during the World War II, a lot of classical compositions tend to use a lot of dissonant harmony and very dense rhythms compared to other eras when more romantic consonance harmony was more commonly used. Blues, one of the most authentic African American art forms, is another great example. Blues uses both major and minor harmony in the same key (e.g. F7 chords with F minor pentatonic melody), which can be understood as symbolism for duality of the reality as suffering and hope for better days. These is more evident in more genres that came from Blues, such as Jazz, Gospel etc. In a similar way, this rule breaking dissonant harmony and the intense rhythmic density in Jazz and Gospel music should be understood as crying out for resolutions (justice and peace) from very painful tensions (oppressions and sufferings), while, in contrast, there are more harmonic consonance and rhythmic simplicity in folks and Americana music. 

 

Growing up as a pastor’s kid and being a career jazz musician helped me develop my love for improvisational art forms, as well as for old traditional hymns with beautiful melodies and texts that are timeless, which led me to try connect these two. However, the cultural and historical disconnection between old traditions and modern art forms has always been a struggle for both artists and audience. Especially there are tensions between status quo (consonance cadence) and those who want to bring changes even if it may be uncomfortable to some. This status quo could mean many different things from cultural differences, or demographics. However, in the eyes of Black history, the complicity of the evangelical for racial injustice has been the biggest status quo that derailed the society for a long time. Especially early civil rights movements were inspired by biblical truth that everyone is created equal and dignity, but this resistance on change caused the church to loose the seat in the conversation. This leads to a question on what musicians who work on congregational church music can contribute for the change? Jazz and Gospel music are the most American art forms, and there are not many better artforms than Jazz and Gospel music to reflect American History. The idea of Jazz adaptations on Christian music is nothing new. Unfortunately, it is usually the case that the music is too hard to appreciate for casual music listeners, or it’s too simplified that the quality of Jazz music is diminished for the sake of accessibility. This probably comes from both the resistance we have and not so thoughtful approaches from musicians maybe with lack of care for the listeners. 

This is where I saw the needs to work on creating arrangements and concert formats that people can engage easily with familiar melodies while musical integrity is not compromised while still challenging people. As I’ve been working on this projects, I began noticing striking yet profoundly beautiful parallels between Jazz improvisational art forms and how God works among our regular liturgical lives, as well as human nature as creative improviser by design. For example, most Jazz song forms have the beginning and the end, and there's beautiful interplays and communion among musicians while improvising in between. God is the Alpha and the Omega, He created the heaven and earth, and promised Jesus will come again and restore everything in new heaven and earth. Meanwhile, it is God's redemptive grace that he dwells among us while we live making choices. God is the ultimate improvisor as He leads us to his promises. Improvisation is one of the most profound art forms reflecting God's love and beauty. They way I see it, there could be symbolism of seeking justice and freedom from suffering, yet there’s gentle care and communion.

 

I’m currently writing more originals and arrangements that involves more diverse instrumentations and style, and hoping to make this music more materialized as an presentable album format that way I can reach more broader audience. Once published, I’d like to tours and clinics for local communities, churches, even schools to help and equip for better understanding of arts and theology, especially in the contexts of protest music. Moreover, one of my ultimate hopes is to raise awareness for local churches to advocate and support local musicians as lack of robust theology on music created lots of barriers between churches and musicians. I am hoping this can be Jazz ambassador to trigger conversations to open up people’s hearts and mind. At the same time, I’m hoping to help local faith communities understand why it’s very important to nurture local artists and skeptics. 

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“Mission is no less a corporate affair than worship, and it is unlikely that there can be a transforming Christian musical presence in society until the church refinds its musicians and musicians refind the church” - from Resounding Truth by Jeremy Begbie

 

Please pray and support this project and check back as the studio project will launch soon.

Booking for live concert or clinic is available upon request. Please contact via here

For a concert program sample, view here

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