Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly . FEATURE . Sacred Jazz . July 13, 2001 | PBS

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FEATURE:
Sacred Jazz
July 13, 2001 Episode no. 446

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MARY ALICE WILLIAMS: Their instruments are different, their religious roots in different soil. But when David Chevan and Warren Byrd get together, as they did at the Jewish Community Center in Washington, D.C., they're both jazzmen, making a joyful noise.

DAVID CHEVAN: Let's pump it! I began so much of my musical heritage, not just in my parent's house, but in going to synagogue.

WARREN BYRD: Church music in general has always been a part of my background.

Chevan and Byrd

Listen to a track from David Chevan and Warren Byrd's CD LET US BREAK BREAD TOGETHER.

We [are] two different people, coming from different backgrounds. But nonetheless, it has been kind of nice to celebrate God with David and play the music and express God's presence as opposed to pointing out the differences.

CHEVAN: The goal is to successfully express yourself through the vessel that is the piece that you are playing, and express what you are feeling about the room, about the people together, about your relationship with God in 16-bars, in 32-bars of music.

BYRD: I am actually in the process of praising him and worshiping him and fortifying his presence.

CHEVAN: And you can do that by playing phrases, by playing scraps of arpeggios that all combine together to be a statement of where you are at this moment ... in that relationship.

BYRD: We hope that a lot of positive things will happen as a result of people seeing us work together. I know that's where my heart is.

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	Related Links: David Chevan Find information here about bass player David Chevan's projects, including "Avadim Hayinu" -- jazz interpretations of Jewish and African-American sacred music offered together with pianist Warren Byrd. St. Peter's Church: Jazz Ministry This Lutheran church in New York City is home to one of the oldest and most widely praised weekly jazz vespers series in the country. It was begun in 1965 by the late Rev. John Gensel. CNN: "Church of Coltrane will play on in new location," April 24, 2000 All About Jazz: This is the Afro-Semitic Experience Jazz Review, June 24, 2002

	Related Article: THE WASHINGTON POST, February 13, 2000: "Ministry of Jazz: In Which a Presbyterian Congregation in Southwest D.C. Finds Soul and a Fractured Community Feels the Spirit" by Marc Fisher This is the story of "Jazz Night" at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Washington, D.C., a mostly white congregation in a mostly black neighborhood that brings people together through the message and ministry of jazz. The text appeared in the POST's SUNDAY MAGAZINE, accompanied by the photographs of acclaimed photographer Larry Fink.