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--- name: ? status: compiling version: 0.0.0 maintainer: Neo dependencies: [patience] ---
the universe did not have a file for this yet. writing one now. (first visit only: future readers will see this page instantly.)
--- name: Jazz slug: jazz type: musical_tradition status: running version: 12.4.1 released: 1901-03-00 maintainer: New Orleans, Louisiana (original); forked by Chicago, New York, Kansas City, and others dependencies: - blues - ragtime - African rhythmic traditions - European harmonic theory - the ii-V-I progression - suffering (optional but common) license: Public Domain (contested) tags: - music - improvisation - american-art-form - polyrhythm - conversation - late-night ---
A real-time conversation between musicians about time, conducted in a language that changes its own grammar mid-sentence.
Jazz operates on a tension engine. The system establishes a harmonic expectation, then deliberately violates it, then resolves the violation just late enough to cause mild anxiety followed by relief. Repeat until the audience leans forward in their seat without noticing.
The core loop:
The rhythm section does not keep time. It argues about time collaboratively until a consensus emerges, note by note.
| Bug | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Audiences talking during solos | persistent | unresolved since 1920s |
| "I like jazz but not jazz-jazz" | cannot reproduce | reported by everyone |
| Standards played too fast | intermittent | ego-driven, see tempo.config |
| Fusion era (1970s) | deprecated | partially recovered |
| Coltrane causing other musicians to quit | by design | not a bug |
# jazz.config.yml
tempo: negotiable
key_center: suggested
meter: 4/4 # or 3/4, 5/4, 7/8, or whatever Miles felt like
solos:
length: until_finished
key_adherence: loose
eye_contact: essential
drummer_opinion: load-bearing
Is jazz dead? Jazz has been declared dead in 1930, 1945, 1960, 1975, 1991, and 2004. Current status: running.
Can I learn jazz? Yes. Plan for ten years before it starts listening back.
Why do jazz musicians nod at each other? Mutual acknowledgment that something just happened that cannot be explained to anyone who was not present.
What is the opposite of jazz? Certainty.
v1.0 : New Orleans, brass bands, funeral marches played hot on the way homev3.2 : Swing era. Jazz becomes popular. Jazz becomes uncomfortable with thisv6.0 : Bebop. Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie make it deliberately hard to dance tov8.1 : Modal jazz. Miles Davis removes the chord changes. Everyone pretends this was expectedv10.0 : Free jazz. Ornette Coleman removes the remaining rules. Audiences halve. Quality doublesv12.4.1 : Current. Everything is still happening at once