INSIGHTS FROM MILES DAVIS

A few months ago I wrote that I was getting into jazz. I was spending time listening to it, and going to jazz clubs with "smart" jazz friends who would graciously answer my naive questions. Then over the Thanksgiving weekend I took a deep diveon the topic and read the book, MILES, The Autobiography, written by Miles Davis with Quincy Troupe in 1989.

To put it mildly, Miles Davis lived a fast life. He had to overcome many demons and he holds nothing back in this book. I guess that is why I was so entranced by it. But I will admit that his language is extrememely colorful, so if you read it don't say that I didn't warn you!

The book cover states that "for more than 40 years Miles Davis was in the forefront of American music." I know that people have a wide range of reactions to Miles Davis, both the man and the musician but as I read the book what struck me was that Miles Davis was constantly rewiring himself when it came to his music.

I began to see a correlation with some of the people I had met this past year who have asked me...how do I stay in the game? How do I compete? It is highly competitive today regardless of one's field or one's age. Miles Davis made me realize each of us HAS to be our own critic. At age 49 when Miles Davis saw younger musicians coming on the scene he made the statement," I'm not prepared to be a memory yet," and he went out there and learned what it takes to stay in the game!

He hired younger band members. He dressed differently. He added percussion instruments to the mix and he gained an understanding of why Jimi Hendrix, SLY, James Brown and PRINCE were having success. He could have hung it up and complained, but he didn't.

Yes, I know that I'm overlaying my interpretation on what Miles Davis did, on what each of us can do, but it works. If we're still playing the same old song, with the same old beat, with the same old band then we need to change.

Tony Bennett was an original inspiration for us when we wrote DON'T RETIRE, REWIRE! When he did the MTV show Tony Bennett UNPLUGGED, and then went on to make duets with KD Lang we caught the fever and thought of him as a role model for rewiring!

Maybe neither Tony nor Miles works for you, but find someone who does and go make some changes in your life that keep you in the game!

DISCOVERING MY INTEREST IN JAZZ

I've been telling people that we all need to "rewire early and to rewire often." What I mean is that we constantly need to be looking at our life and adding and deleting activities, interests, even relationships. We need to learn how to discard and how to add. Many people across the country have told me that they don't have a hobby, or even an interest. They've become too family and work -oriented, or just tired, and they've lost their fun.

I don't remember how, where or why but a few years ago I developed a low level interest in jazz. I stress the word, low level, because I want everyone to realize that passions don't just happen...they build. I wasn't just listening to jazz, I found myself at Jazz At Lincoln Center ; I watched the Ken Burns video on JAZZ. I'm someone who needs to know the background on a topic..how did jazz get birthed? What makes jazz, jazz? Where does Miles or "Bird" or Dizzy fit in? Why were they considered great?

One of my personal drivers in life is to constantly be learning. To give me a jumpstart, Michael Bomwell, a New York-based jazz saxaphonist, lent me The Smithsonian Collection of Classical Jazz. It is great! I am really understanding Jazz, the Blues, Ragtime and Ferdinand "Jelly Roll" Morton!

I'm also reading the VERY colorful autobiography of MILES DAVIS and can say that there appears to be a lot of regret, recovery and fulfillment in the world of jazz artists. As my interest has been growing, I have been doing more exploring, and just discovered that a colleague from my days at WORKING WOMAN magazine, Marc Myers, writes one of the web's most popular daily blogs, JazzWax.com. Marc's writing has also been exciting and his love and knowledge of jazz makes reading his blog a joy and an overall experience! So my rewiring has allowed me to reconnect with a friend and get great jazz insights on a daily basis!

Yes, life is still challenging; unemployment is up and the Dow is down (at least today it is!) but the erraticness of life seems to be a bit more managable now that I have a new interest to explore and "cool" jazz constanly playing in the background. So how about it... are you ready to rewire and find your new fun?