La libre parole, a jazz solo

Musical improvisation is a beautiful metaphor for free expression: an art of addressing others, seeking clarity and weaving a fragile harmony, where each voice is prepared but daring.

Beyond the musical pleasure, an evening in a jazz club can bring reflections on the times - and on human nature as it exists at all times. This is what I experienced recently in London, listening to the musicians' solos as they spoke. It occurred to me that the improvisation permitted by jazz could in many ways be compared to the free expression guaranteed by liberal democracy.

First of all, there's nothing solitary about a solo of this kind. It takes place against a musical backdrop provided by the rest of the band or, when it represents the only instrumentation of the moment, it responds to what preceded it or anticipates what's to come. What's more, such improvisation is designed to interact with the audience. When a saxophonist takes to the stage, the audience, more or less silent, welcomes him, listens to him, and also judges him. And nothing is written in advance. It's this tacit pact between those who speak and those who listen that creates the beauty of the moment.

Similarly, liberal democracy is not supposed to guarantee the right to be right, but the right to make proposals that will be submitted to the appreciation of others. Like the improviser, the person who expresses his or her views on politics or society knows that his or her words are only valid if they are part of a larger whole: the collective conversation, that civic orchestra where multiple voices can form an ephemeral harmony.

What's more, a liberal democracy loses its meaning as common language withers and opinions become incomprehensible, in the manner of a certain kind of jazz which, through snobbery and the accumulation of transgressions, no longer even seeks to please. Confusion denies the very nature of both music and the debate of ideas.

Finally, every musician knows that a solo rarely falls from the sky. Prior work feeds spontaneity, and vice versa. Composition and improvisation irrigate each other. The same is true of in-depth discussions. Without authenticity, self-confidence and risk-taking, no progress can be made. But without study of the subject, there's little chance of achieving originality. It all goes together.

So let's never glorify freedom of expression without also praising the search for truth, which presupposes a demand for clarity and a willingness to listen to others. Finally, it's not just music, but also the Anglo-Saxon tradition that we can draw inspiration from.

Graduate in philosophy and journalist by profession, Jonas Follonier is the founder and editor-in-chief of the Regard Libre.

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