blue like jazz

We went to the frwy last night to see Jason Hildebrand and his production of blue like jazz.

The play, like the book, opens with these lines:

"I never liked jazz music because jazz music doesn’t resolve. But I was outside the Baghdad Theatre one night when I saw a man playing the saxophone. I stood there for fifteen minutes and he never opened his eyes.
After that I liked jazz music.
Sometimes you have to watch somebody love something before you can love it yourself. It is as if they are showing you the way. I used to not like God because God didn’t resolve. But that was before any of this happened....

I was watching BET one night, and they were interviewing a man about jazz music. He said jazz music was invented by the first generation out of slavery. I thought that was beautiful because, while it is music, it is very hard to put on paper; it is so much more a language of the soul.... The first generation out of slavery invented jazz music. It is a music birthed out of freedom. And that is the closest thing I know to Christian spirituality. A music birthed out of freedom. Everybody sings their song the way they feel it, everybody closes their eyes and lifts up their hands."

Tonight... Thursday is your last change to see it in Hamilton... if you can... go.
It is well worth seeing... funny... lively... real.

About the production
Blue Like Jazz // Live is a solo theatrical multimedia performance by Jason Hildebrand based on acclaimed post-modern author, Donald Miller's book. It is a personal, raw and humorous reflection on spirituality, God, and community. It is an honest and unexpected journey - a scrapbook of one man's life.

The performance incorporates the use of video and motion graphics projected onto a 12'x7' video screen backdrop. It also features an original jazz music soundscape.

The purpose of Blue Like Jazz // Live, besides being an amazing theatrical experience, is to be a catalyst for drawing people into a deeper exploration of the soul and to foster community.

Adaptation and performance by Jason Hildebrand
Video and motion graphics designed by Storystream Creative
Original jazz music soundscape designed by Paul Neufeld
Here's the trailer