Nichiren Buddhism in the Contemporary Jazz Improvisation of Herbie Hancock & Wayne Shorter Cover Image

Nichiren Buddhism in the Contemporary Jazz Improvisation of Herbie Hancock & Wayne Shorter
Nichiren Buddhism in the Contemporary Jazz Improvisation of Herbie Hancock & Wayne Shorter

Author(s): Steve Odin
Subject(s): Music, Aesthetics, East Asian Philosophy, History of Art
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego
Keywords: Jazz; Improvisation; Aesthetics; Nihilism; Value Creation; Aesthetic Value; Beauty; Novelty; Variations; Spontaneity; Extemporaneity; Japanese Philosophy; Buddha Nature; Unlimited Possibilities;

Summary/Abstract: This essay explains how Nichiren Buddhist philosophy and practice of Soka Gakkai International (SGI) in Japan inspired the contemporary jazz improvisation of musical legends Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter. The essay concludes with the jazz aesthetics of spontaneous musical improvisation formulated by Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter based on the Nichiren Buddhist theory and practice of “value creation” by tapping our Buddha nature as the source of infinite creative possibilities.

  • Issue Year: 54/2019
  • Issue No: 3
  • Page Range: 65-79
  • Page Count: 16
  • Language: English