“Van Gogh and jazz are the same thing,” she once said. When I looked at her blankly, she explained. “Van Gogh’s gradual discovery of color in his paintings over a period of ten years gives us a way to understand how an individual can transcend oppression to find a loose and dazzling joy. Jazz does the same, but on a communal level. The jazz solo is a love letter to the maintenance and expression of self that still manages to remain in harmony with a greater community.”
