Tis a riff to be simple,
Tis a riff to be free.

This is probably a little cynical as an analogy, but it alludes to one of the pinnacle goals of jazz improvisation, minimal expression.  As an example, I have always admired Bill Evans for his ability to use seemingly a minimum amount of effort to say what he had to say, which was often considerable.  Being flashy and athletic is certainly a method which can attract quite a bit of attention, but doing a lot with a little has almost universal value in all things, not just the arts.

There is a passage in Hermann Hesse’s novel Steppenwolf in which the protagonist opens a door into a room in which he finds the composer Mozart.  After a brief discussion, Mozart opens a trap door in the floor from which you can see all the way to hell.  There are two people slogging along down there with a heavy burden.  Mozart explains that the two unlucky sinners are Wagner and Brahms, charged with carrying their excess notes through all eternity.  (Mozart laughs!) Considering Wagner and Brahms were critical adversaries throughout their life, this is more than just amusing. 

There is a real beauty, not to mention an ample amount of skill, to using the minimum amount of expression to create a maximum effect.  I remember a visual artist pointing this out to me in Picasso’s work.  He would weld a bicycle seat to the handle bars to create a bull, or draw a reclining nude with three lines.  It is an aesthetic which is nearly universally admired but not often attempted, especially in jazz.  

Theolonius Monk is another example of minimal expression that comes to mind.  When improvising, the tendency is to play more, often to account for notes that might have not been exactly what was expected.  Doing less seems to imply that you are making discerning choices, which is a difficult road done on the fly.  When playing traditional jazz, a minimal road is a difficult creative choice because playing through the same changes a hundred times is likely to narrow down rather than expand the number of choices you are likely to make.  Though minimal, Monk was very creative in other ways: large leaps, sparse playing with lots of silence, unexpected dissonance, unusual spacings, etc.  Taking a free approach, as I have done, does seem to keep the creativity high, even when the style is simpler.  But still, the speed and density of the playing belies how quickly the gears are turning upstairs.

As I have grown older, I find the idea of minimal expression has become more and more attractive, and this album is one in which that aesthetic appears to be dominant, though not constant.  In my lifestyle as well, I have become more drawn to that which is less hectic, quieter, and more reclusive.  Even though Mother Nature and simple living can be extremely complicated at times, they are often at their most beautiful when they are at their simplest – a rainbow, a sunrise or sunset, a full moon, a fresh breeze, getting together with family or friends, simplicity, freedom – it truly is a gift.