The God Groove according to Kenny Werner
Woodshed
MASTER CLASS
BY KENNY WERNER
The ‘God Groove’
Zen and the Art of Jazz: Part 4
MANY PEOPLE ARE AWARE OF SOMETHING THAT I AM CALLING the “God Groove.” Gospel and blues musicians know it, so do Motown and Nashville musicians. Some jazz and classical musicians know it, too. The complexity of jazz and classical music make it more of a challenge to channel.
Miles Davis lived the God Groove. Cornell Dupree, the renowned jazz and r&b guitarist, definitely played the God Groove.James Brown’s whole body expressed the God Groove. Steve Gadd plays the God Groove. (The Gadd Groove?) Two of my favorite musicians who have recently left us played only the God Groove and nothing else: Charlie Haden and Paul Motian. One who has most recently left us, Ornette Coleman, was pure consciousness.
What I’ve titled the God Groove need not refer to God. It needn’t even demand a belief in God. The God Groove is like nature itself. It just is. When you don’t add anything to the perfection that already exists, that’s the God Groove. We’ve all had flashes of it. But the complaint of most musicians is that it only seems to visit fleetingly and, most cruelly, doesn’t return when we most want it to.
An essential component of the God Groove is detachment, an ancient spiritual practice. Being detached enough to leave things well enough alone. When one detaches from the demands of the ego and just “watches” the music go down, he is in the God Groove. Think about the way water flows in a stream or river. If we get into a river and try to push the water downstream, we might believe that we’re somehow helping the current along-but we’re really just getting in the way. It’s better to sit on the riverbank, watch the natural currents and just let it flow. That is the underlying principle.
Detachment may sound easy. Many musicians search for it and have not found its treasure. Many are as well-versed in New Ageisms as the next person, declaring, “I surrender myself to the Grand Pooh-Bah of the Universe and allow He/She/It to carry me on the wings of white light,” but in parentheses the musician is still thinking, “And then I’ll play my ass off!” People in all walks of life go for that same freedom but then parenthetically think, “And then I’ll get everything I want!” Such a person has not truly surrendered. The musician hasn’t surrendered his most prized possession: his need to sound good.
Think about leaves. The wind blows the leaves. They move, not of their own volition, but totally dependent on the strength and direction of the wind. If there is no wind, they are motionless. Their minds don’t wander. (I believe leaves are blessed to not have minds.) The motion of the leaves, the counterpoint of how they move against each other, the graceful motion itself feels … inevitable, like it was just meant to happen.
Think of trees: strong, stately objects of dignity. They stand there, doing their selfless service, providing oxygen, giving shade from the heat and the sun. They may be attacked by violent storms and still they stand there, peacefully doing their duty. If the force of a storm is greater than the strength of a tree’s foundation, it falls. Severed from its roots, the tree dutifully dies and, even in death, provides nutrients to the earth, seeds that will serve to create a whole new generation of living trees.
I may have the science wrong, but you get the idea. That’s the God Groove. For humans to be like that we have to do what we do without interference of the ego, desires, agitations, ambitions and such. I tend to think that perfection already exists. It’s humans that f--k it up.
Humans, of course, have much more baggage, a little extra thing known as the mind. It allows us to lord over all other beings on the planet, or so we like to think. It is said that God created man with a mind so there’d be someone who could appreciate his creation, that only man has the tools to be “conscious” of God’s work. We do, however, have an aspect of ourselves that works as naturally as the other living things: breathing.
The science of breathing is revealed in the Vijnana Bhairava, one of the supreme scriptures of Shaivism. The name for the outgoing breath is called prana, and the incoming breath is called apana. If prana goes out and the apana does not come in, the body is a corpse. Sitting quietly and watching the breath go in and out is the simplest form of meditation. Something is happening by itself. The mind sits quietly and observes, and while it does, all sorts of good things are happening, the greatest of which is that one is living in the moment.
Kabir, the great 16th century poet-saint of India, said: “I am not repeating the mantra on my beads, nor am I repeating it with my tongue. God himself is repeating my mantra, while I sit in a very relaxed manner and listen to it.”
Now let’s transpose that message to apply to musicians: “I am not playing music with my hands, feet or embouchure, nor am I playing it with my mind. God himself is playing the music while I sit in a very relaxed manner and listen to it.”
Now think back to Cornell Dupree, who passed on in 2011. His body was completely relaxed when he played. His right arm and hand moved in a self-propelling motion. The guitar seemed to play itself. His left hand moved up and down the neck and chose the notes effortlessly. Also, you might notice with such a guitarist that the left and right hands talk to each other. They didn’t have to consult with the mind. They dance as one. If you look at a video of Dupree playing, you could think of what Kabir said. He “sat in a very relaxed manner and listened.”
Someone I played with for many years was a perfect example of this. Mel Lewis sat on his drum seat like a Buddha, mouth slightly opened, eyes gazing out beyond the band and the club, completely in the zone. Mel used to say that playing the drums is like taking a good s--t. That’s the God Groove.
I feel this way when I listen to and watch Herbie Hancock play solo piano. It’s almost like leaves blowing, it’s so devoid of desire. Herbie has a wisdom that can’t be matched by simply playing great. When I hear Herbie I think to myself, “I guess I’ll just have to keep walking the path and let the years go by.” You don’t get to where he, and Wayne Shorter for that matter, are by merely practicing. You have to walk a path of wisdom and let the years roll by.
So, what then is the God Groove? Simply stated, the instrument plays itself. I like to say that when I play, “God plays while I watch and admire His work.” My gratitude is that he gives me the best seat in the house!
Before I start to sound like an evangelist (those who know me personally know that’s completely absurd), it might be a good time to define my “God.” My higher power is light, joy, peace, contentment and the vibrational, even sensual, pleasure of being connected to the Divine part of my being. He/She/It is not a person, authority figure, judge or even friend. It is an energy, an ocean of bliss, the sunlight of my true Self. It is a scintillating energy that turns me on and inspires the best in me, creatively and otherwise. Like the ocean, It has no will.
The ocean doesn’t will us to swim in it, but the ocean exists. It is there. Anytime we want we can bathe in it, enjoy the warmth of its temperature or the exhilaration of its frigidity. We can float, swim, stand still, play with our friends, meditate on the waves, anything we’d like to do. It’s available anytime we want to jump in.
What keeps me from jumping in? My web of thoughts that may have me caught up in tension, drama, regrets and fears. This, too, can be nonstop. If I meditate, breathe, sing or play I can jump into that ocean anytime I want. It is always there for me. Mantra is a repeating prayer to the Divine part of me, to honor and worship that Divinity, and to recognize it in others.
Surrender is the reality, but the word makes me bristle. Instead, I like to say “to become one with.” Something that invites me to do that more than the word surrender is the word drop. Drop all my baggage and go into the water and float in contentment, joy, serenity, peace and the bliss of freedom. Drop my anxious thoughts and come into the water.
Another image that comes to mind is the Sun. The sun doesn’t have a will. It is just an energy source. Its energy radiates rays of incredible light and heat and can be converted into many different types of energy that can serve mankind but doesn’t harm the environment. The sun doesn’t beckon me to stand in its light and absorb its rays. It doesn’t even know about me. It doesn’t know anything. It just exists in its form to provide light, heat and energy. But I can make the choice to stay in the shadows. The sun has no knowledge or opinion of my activities. I can just make the choice to evade its gifts and remain in my own darkness of thought. But anytime I am willing to exit the darkness and come outside, the sun will shower me with its light. Just the sun and the ocean and the trees that give shade. If they could talk they would say, “I’m here, come and enjoy me whenever you want.” That is my conception of my higher power, who is also known as God.
You don’t “create” a groove. Not the deepest grooves. You “surrender to” or “become one with” the groove and let it wash over you. Bhagawan Nityananda, a great Indian sage and guru of the early to mid-20th century, was a man of few words, but very potent words. One thing he said was, “When it comes, let it come. When it goes, let it go.” It’s a simple and powerful recipe for life, and a core principle for improvisers, musicians and artists of all kinds.
It has been a privilege to write these four articles for DownBeat under the theme of “Zen and the Art of Jazz.” I thank everyone for the opportunity to share, and I hope some of you have found these pieces helpful.
“Do nothing and nothing shall be left undone.” -from Tao Te Ching, by Laozi (Lao-Tzu)
Kenny Werner is a world-class pianist, composer, educator and author whose prolific output continues to impact audiences and musicians around the world. His groundbreaking 1996 publication Effortless Mastery: Liberating the Master Musician Within is a guide to distilling the emotional, spiritual and psychological aspects of an artist’s life. One of the most widely read books on music and improvisation, it is required reading at many universities and conservatories. Werner is Artistic Director of The Efforltess Mastery Institute at Berklee College of Music. His latest CD, Poesia (Pirouet), is a duo project with Brazilian guitarist/vocalist/composer Joyce Marino. Visit Werner online at kennywerner.com.
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