Episode Summary

Chase Jackson is a jazz vibraphonist, multi-instrumentalist, composer, educator, and producer. He also just happens to be the beloved musical backbone for the How Humans Work Podcast. In Episode #29, Chase drops in for a lengthy exploration of how music and stress intersect. Fully saturated in the world of sound creation, we learn from this young master that sound, music and musicianship have much to teach. Indeed, they run parallel to other arts, sports and life endeavors when it comes to stress.

In LESSONS IN TENSION we don’t just come see the connection between sound, math, culture and feelings, we also come to see through Chase’s eyes how the musical modes of artistry relate to our lived experience. Whether that is with his electronic, nu-disco, funk band Wake the Wild, running a Jazz ensemble, or jamming on the vibraphones, we get a strong sense of how Chase’s musical path has given him abundant life lessons for him. We hear how music is not only a way to get ideas across but a way to deepen into the flowing sonic conversation and as importantly, to be alive in the moment.

Chase also offers us a deeper perspective on the nature of sound in human life. Wisely pointing out that our vocabulary of sounds and the reference points there in are richer and more complicated than they have ever been in human history. Our age is period of tremendous elaboration on this primal sense, and Chase Jackson is right up there when it comes to dedicating one’s life to the world of sound.

Beyond the realms of music making, we come to find how the unique path of being a jazz vibraphonist called for a broader life strategy to better position himself. The adaptive moves there and elsewhere in Chase’s journey are a remarkable example of how the inner-spirit can use stressful situations to propel one’s life forward with meaning and ingenuity. Chase also generously reflects on a substantial moment in the life of his band, as well as the experience he and I shared in the Stepping Stones Coming of Age program.

Episode #29 with Chase helps us to connect the dots to stress’ vital contribution to not just the world of sound, but to the sound of the world.