Jazz Rhythms

“Man is a mystery. I occupy myself with this mystery, because I want to be a man.”

- Fyedor Dostoyevksy

A very dear friend of mine, actually a very big fan of classical music, often asks me why it is that I admire jazz so much and what is so special about it?! What is jazz?!

Well, I understand jazz as something absolutely unexpected, unpredictable and always with a touch of mystery. Jazz is when you never need to know what the end destination is and you're not expected to know what lies around the next corner. No one can predict the next note or where the musician is going to finally bring you for only he knows the road. However, after a while you get used to this music and after listening to one fragment several times you finally follow the composition; you start improvising together with the jazz band, pretending to be your favourite instrument. And this, in fact, is the greatest thing about jazz, at this point you immediately get the “I’ve got the whole world figured out” feeling.

To me, Pablo Picasso is jazz. There is always something hidden in his painting, you never know which colour, form or contour is coming next in the composition. His improvisation is exceptional; his figures look mysterious and meaningful. Look at the paintings below and you will find jazz. Art is like jazz, it is always a mystery.

Pablo Picasso. Boy with a Pipe.(Garçon à la pipe), 1905. Oil on Canvas, 100 x 81.3 cm. Private Collection

Pablo Picasso. The Absinthe Drinker, 1901. Oil on canvas, 55 x 40 cm. The Hermitage, St. Petersburg, Russia.

Pablo Picasso. The Old Guitarist, 1903. Oil on panel, 122.9 x 82.6 cm. Art Institute of Chicago.