The Language of a Jazz Musician

“Hey, play that d-diminished sharp five chord again.” I’m not sure that many people would be able to decipher exactly what this means. It probably has something to do with music, since the words “play” and “chord” are used. But unless you were a true jazz musician, this would probable sound like absolute gibberish. Yet if you do not know this in the world of jazz, no one will ever call you a cat.
I am a member of the jazz community and for that reason, when I have a saxophone in my hands, someone may refer to me as a “cat.” While generally this would be considered a mammal of the feline persuasion, the way it is used here is actually a sort of compliment. To be a cat, you have to know the lingo. You have to know that if someone says you sounded “bad” on stage last night, it actually means you played incredibly. If someone says you “totally killed it during that set,” you have to know they mean not many people have ever played a bunch of songs in that order the way you just did. A cat is a jazz musician. A set is a grouping of songs, generally lasting for about an hour, which an audience sits and listens to. And if you kill it, you are among the greats. A cat stands on stage with an instrument in their hands and plays a set that the audience can all agree they totally killed.
But that’s just the basic lingo. Then you have to know the names of the greats and the way the music works. John Coltrane. Miles Davis. Charlie Parker. However, it is rare that you hear someone refer to these cats by their full names. More often than not, John Coltrane is called Trane, Miles Davis is called Miles, and Chalie Parker is simply referred to as Bird. If you do not know these name simplifications in a circle of jazz musicians, you may as well walk away. And once you know their names, you have to know their music. Miles Davis played the blues. This is a twelve-bar progression of major and minor chords, with a two-five-one turn around at the end. Wait… What? Was that English? Exactly. This is the most standard form of a tune that any jazz musician can play. I means certain sounds fit together and when you play certain notes, everything will fall into place. Common sense, right? Well for me, yes, but only because I am a cat. But you have to be a member of the group to know just what notes to play in order to kill it.
There are certain words, people, phrases, and ideas that a jazz musician must know in order to be a member of this circle of people. Laymen may pick up on certain words and ideas, but a true cat can turn around and make sense of them in order that they totally kill their set.