Listening to God by Listening to Jazz

Faithful people around the globe strive to listen to the quiet still voice of God, yet in our busy bustling lives, in heart of the vibrant and noisy city of St. Francis, it is sometimes hard to take the time to really listen.  Have you taken the time to listen for God?

Jazz musicians are skilled in listening: to each other, to the spirit of the audience and to the history of the notes that have been played throughout time.  The musicians that play at Old First’s Jazz Vespers service are also skilled at listening to the voice of the Spirit.  

"It's pretty special to be able to perform in a church," says Mad Duran. As jazz musicians, it reinforces the feeling and the spirituality in our music. I try to program our performances to match the ambiance the church has created for us. The Old First Church is very lovely, and it's huge, with a lot of reverberation off the walls. So I pick music that I feel will resonate well with the acoustics and with the whole vibe of Jazz Vespers, and I pick my musicians according to their ability to be simpatico to the surroundings."

Lead by the musicians and a minister, Old First’s Jazz Vespers creates a creative and interactive environment that combines meditation, prayer, sacred text and amazing jazz music.  Old First’s Jazz Vespers has created a safe sacred space for those who are turned off by traditional church services, while also creating an exciting reason for those who frequent church on Sunday morning to celebrate anew.

"We're nondenominational, interfaith, interracial," says Ed Klitsch. "That gets people from everywhere. We get blacks and whites and Muslims. We get conservative folks hanging out with funky jazz people. It's a magical thing."

Join us on October 1st at 5 pm, when our very own Don Pender kicks off the 2006/2007 Jazz Vesper season with his quartet.  Learn more about this exciting ministry at: www.oldfirst.org/jazz

 After a week like yours, couldn’t you use a little jazz?