Paul Shirley wrote a brilliant article for ESPN.com comparing jazz music and NBA basketball, and understanding why they both come off as niche markets for the people that understand the fundamentals. This paragraph simultaneously made me realize why I love jazz music, and why basketball is my favorite sport to watch. Just replace "basketball" with "jazz" and "sport" with "music."
"Basketball is an abstract sport. Its players are required to adapt to ever-changing variables, and there is very little planning that can be done because the game is designed to be played with as little stoppage as possible. Football and baseball, on the other hand, are relatively predictable. The roles assumed by players of those sports are rigid and there isn't as much room for creativity. That's not to say there isn't any -- watch a quarterback navigate the pocket sometime -- but after each play, both teams stop and plan for the next situation, employing more cognition than is possible during a basketball game."
It's funny that I find myself in the exact opposite situation than Paul's since for me, jazz and music are where I critique with my ears and experience, whereas I've always wished I was talented at basketball.
Paul Shirley: It's not you, it's jazz and NBA - ESPN
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/thelife/news/story?id=4159347
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5 years ago
i was actually thinking almost the exact same thing the other day when I was playing basketball, but my direct comparison was to improv which i compare to jazz which i've never done.
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