You may be surprised to know that the entire performance was improvised. The choreography was improvised, the shape, the journey, all improvised. That was his challenge to himself during this tour...genius
This is the result of a disturbingly talented genius at play. The candy store analogy fits… only Jacob is Willy Wonka dreaming up the candies and creating them ON THE SPOT. JC NEVER fails to amaze.
Jacob is truly a musical genius, you dont get 5 Grammys for tinkling the ivories once in a while, his entertainment value is second to none. He energy & shows remind me of a young Nigel Kennedy.
@@buttons6171 your absolutely right, he doesn’t, not sure we’re my brain went, my guess is my head was thinking of Nigel Kennedy when he was younger his energy & shows remind me of Jacob. Corrected in edit 👍.
That was pure improvisation :) Isn't it even more amazing? He does these things every time different :) I am not sure where he comes from but the way he is able to process music and put all of these vibrations together is just alien...
Jess, I was at that concert and it is absolutely amazing everything he does during the show. The whole band is fabulous, but his tuning and melodic subtlety is way above average. if you've never seen him live, don't miss the opportunity if it comes up. Really go!!!. Thanks for your reacts Kisses Joao
I love how he switches it up on when he will come in on a phrase, or he'll even subdivide a note in how he glides or riffs vocally. It's just beyond anything I could do, but it is so fun to hear and experience. So many notes, but all of them useful.
A lovely, heart felt reaction. One of the hallmarks of a Jacob concert is his interactions/conducting of the audience in singing along with him. It always blows my mind the total, utter confidence in his own musical ability that he is able to so freely open and share "his" performance and make it everybodies. From what I know of Jacob this is not "choreographed". That's one of the statements of Jacob's ability and confidence that-I believe-to challenge himself, he starts and then "surfs the wave that comes" so to speak. I really think among Jacob's many, many skills his ability to communicate with an audience is one of the most sublime. Again really enjoyable reaction, thanks!
Well said. For me personally, Jacob's at his finest when it's just him at a piano, he really lets out his incredibly complex and deep capacity for "feeling". Also his sense of dynamics and rhythm is on par with Keith Jarrett himself!
saw him last year and was so good i had to book tickets to go again the same week. bought tickets to go for his next tour around this time next year. absolutely incredible, don’t miss out on an opportunity to be a part of this
The only time I let my guard down and feel anything anymore, is when I listen to Jacob and/or watch him perform. I hate that my life is like that, but I'm grateful that his music exists so I have that one exception.
I just cry every time I hear him. Truly. This angelic ambassador of music is in our wounded world to bring us the magic of his gifts. He is a wonder and we are so fortunate to have him.
Thank you for your reaction to this piece and work of art. Experiencing Jacob perform brings tears of job, a sense of belonging which I do not often experience. This is the closest feeling to "home" I experience.
I find it weird that this hasn't come up yet, but you should definitely check out his version of "Moon River". He put more into it than most, ehh, "cover artists". If you want to keep your hair and/or hair color, don't try to think too much about what's actually going on. But if you don't mind loosing it, we're all up for a breakdown on the musical stuff going on; keys, progression, modulations, chord breakdown, does the tonic come with gin, that sort of fun stuff. I wish you good luck 😊His "Flintstones", ehh, "cover", is also mind blowingly insane. You have no idea how amazing this guy is wrt vocal arrangements. Have fun.
Mr. Collier definitely took us to church with that one. I can't even begin to imagine the kind of energy that was pulsing through that crowd. Completely spectacular in everyway imaginable. Also, another band that is sort of in the same vein (kind of sort of, they've got a cool blend of soul, R&B, funk, jazz, gospel, and a bit of rock) that I think you would love to listen to or react to is Lawrence, particularly their acoustic-ish versions of their songs Don't Lose Sight, I'm Confident I'm Insecure, and 23. They are impeccable and their stage presence is phenomenal, I was fortunate enough to see them in Syracuse last November, and I should have worn an extra pair of socks, because within the first 5 minutes of their set my socks were blown clean off my feet.
If you're interested, the BBC aired a documentary about Jacob about a year or so ago. It does a great job summarizing Jacob's musical career so far. What an absolute genius! th-cam.com/video/ERvd5QjupSU/w-d-xo.html
THE Musician for musicians and musical human being’s ❤❤❤ isn’t it fantastic what music can do as the most original feeling inducing communication humans can produce ? ❤ your non-analytical, nearly speechless reaction. Had the strongest experience while his concert …. first time in tear’s in a concert since Pink Floyd here in Switzerland, July 26th 1988 😢.
That first part is Queen's live proformance version . I do love his piano solo . Overall nice . You couldn't have seen Queen's live videos on their songs , since you said you have never seen a concert like this . Freddie Mercury orchestrated the audience as if they were his choir .
You might enjoy reacting to _Jacob Collier - Dancing Queen feat. Alita Moses (Live in Stockholm)_ ① It's much simpler. It was unrehearsed and improvised. Neither Jacob nor Alita Moses had sung it before. It's an ABBA song, performed in Sweden, so the audience knew all the words. The audience didn't need guidance. Best Wishes. ☮ ① th-cam.com/video/wEUnXXTZE-Y/w-d-xo.htmlsi=iFySdxnS6m01OeAU Description: _"15 minutes before stage time in Stockholm, I asked Alita if she wanted to sing this ABBA with me. She had never sung the song before (in fact, neither of us had!) but she agreed, and moments later we improvised this rendition on stage, entirely unrehearsed. "_
There are many other Jacob Collier "audience choir" videos uploaded on TH-cam (it's something he does at all of his concerts). Here are two from his own YT channel: th-cam.com/video/3KsF309XpJo/w-d-xo.html and th-cam.com/video/hg3U7TPZxbI/w-d-xo.html Just incredible!
His genius is not in his voice but in his creation of sound in music. I also believe his last name is pronounced more in the English style rather than a French pronunciation.
When you say you would like to be a "fly on the wall" you seem to suggest that there is some plan or strategy that will be revealed. You'll be disappointed. He plans and plays straight and only from the heart. He becomes the music - therein is the "magic" of his manner. He displays no active ego - and that innocence is so inviting - and he clearly knows that. He dives in, and trustingly let's go - he doesn't swim to a destination, he has learned to let the river take him there. As a classical musician this style of creating was very difficult to grasp. But now that I can see it, I am seeing it appear not just with Collier but with many others artists in many different genres. As a musician he is demonstrating not what "he can do" but what "we all can do." To find the flow, and to create without hesitation - a successful hunter doesn't plan to shoot, nor does he think of it - he just releases the string. Often times, given some of his word choice and lyric choice (i.e. wiggle, wiggle) I am firmly convinced that he had read, if not adopted the philosophy of Alan Watts. Finally - I so enjoy your reactions!!! Wonderful and sincere and valuable to share with us. Thank you!!
Dude, this man has been famous for more than a decade four-time Grammy winner! He is phenomenal! Chosen by producer Quincy Jones. Just check out his wikipedia page. He is a multi-talented genius!
Jacob, Jacob, Jacob, sigh .... divinely gifted genius! I have this dream where he gets together with Dimash and these two otherworldly talents make music that stops clocks. Just fantasizing .... I don't think there is anyone on the planet who can do what either of them do!
I'm sorry to have to disagree with you on the level of pre-planning each part of the song. Jacob is extremely improvisational. I think he feels the mood of the crowd and adjusts the performance accordingly. You can see this when he brings in different notes for the audience to sing. That's Jacob having fun with the instrument at his disposal.
This was a great video. So, getting inspired by it, I'd like to draw your attention to Putri Ariani. I love both of these artists. I don't easily love! I do appreciate most artists, and enjoy them. But, as an artist, both Jacob, and very recently Putri has my highest respect and admiration Putri doesn't cover songs, she upgrades them to her sensibility. And she is also a great songwriter and a "phenomenal" singer/musician at 17! When I first listen to Jacob he was 17 as well... As soon as I've heard Putri, I thought of Jacob. A collaboration, which I will suggest to Jacob, as soo as he is done with his world tour. So, I also suggest that you point your radar to Putri Ariani; you'll be glad that you did...
Jacob is an otherwordly genius and a far above the norm human being. This form of drawing the public in to be a part of the concert is not new... Bobby McFerrin does this since a long time -> th-cam.com/video/fjvR9UMQCrg/w-d-xo.html
For reasons (?) far beyond my comprehension I cannot stand JC. It’s like my body just hates the man’s guts for absolutely no reason. But GOD is he a genius. I really need to work on my unknown issues because I would absolutely love to attend one of his concerts and witness such greatness in person. And definitely would prefer to not have mixed feelings about it 😂
Hate the man's guts? Hmmm¿ that's quite a strong sentiment. Obvious place to start would be that you recognise his genius - are you perhaps somewhat jealous of his talent / angry that the muses have passed you over (like everyone else on the planet) / resentful that your own talents are withering on the vine while his flourish in never-ending bounteousness ? A sort of Salieri / Mozart syndrome? He is talented without a doubt, but he is not a God, so one day he too will pass. In which case, it's probably as well to enjoy him while you can, for who can say what tomorrow will bring for him, for you, and for us all?
@@Ozymandi_asmaybe it is jealousy, even envy. I could never be the Salieri to his Mozart since I possess no musical talent beyond every-voice-is-welcome university choir. And yes, hatred is too strong of a sentiment. It’s more like an aversion. I really hope I can overcome this soon and enjoy the wonders his talent and passion bring to the world in full.
@@FB711_imagine a corpus of work that encompasses all of human knowledge that has accumulated to date. Then take any single person and compare the knowledge that they possess to that contained in the set of all knowledge. Doesn't really matter who they are, anybody from a peasant farmer in rural south east Asia to a highly qualified professor at an Ivy League university, both their scores will be miserably, infinitessimally tiny. Maybe one tinier than the other, no doubt, but really you might as well be comparing turds. Even the most gifted people are usually only gifted with a fairly narrow range of abilities or knowledge. Go through the levels of secondary and tertiary education, and what do you get? More details about smaller subjects. And I guarantee you there are some amazingly stupid PhDs out there. So, prodigious as Mr Collier's musical talents are, he's really just as stupid as the rest of us about almost any topic you care to name. And I'm sure there are some topics on which you would put our prodigy into a dark shade. Now I'm not suggesting talents and education attainment are trivial matters without any real meaning - obviously they are important. But I think it's important to recognise that we all suffer under tremendous limitations. The cleverest people tend to be the ones who understand best how little it is they actually know. And something I've noticed about a lot of musicians is that they seem to understand that however talented they are, they all serve the muse, and almost all rely on the support of collaborators. I'm sure JC realises that he has a gift, or maybe that the gift has him, and that knowledge obliges him to use it well. But grandiosity does not seem to have seeped into other parts of his ego. His gift is also a burden, everywhere he goes, any performance he gives, people are going to be disappointed if they get anything less than confirmation of his genius. And look at him there on stage - most of the time it's just him, and so he's compelled to wander the globe going from venue to venue on his own, certainly creatively. What seems like an amazing life might be a lonely treadmill, and he may even find himself envying the privilege of being ordinary. Lots of musicians tire of touring. It's a life that brings its own difficulties. Comparing ourselves to others is useful for identifying goals and aspirations, and allowing us to monitor how are progressing towards them; but otherwise the comparisons that result in feelings like jealousy and envy are a great source of unhappiness and distress in the world. Usually the comparison is made to some idealised and selective model of reality that ignores many other facets of the entire reality. And then we are left with all manner of negative affects that don't really contribute anything of value to our own development and growth, and leave us feeling dissatisfied with the things we do achieve. Nor are they of any real value to the person who is envied. If that's something they get off on then that's a bit weird. Sometimes, they can be very destructive. The truth is that envy or jealousy towards someone like Collier is pointless, because we can never be like him, and no amount of resentment will change that, but it will get in the way of enjoying him. Is it unfair? Yes, of course, welcome to the human condition and enjoy the ride as best you can. Instead of resentment, cultivate a sense of wonder and of gratitude that some members of our troubled species are able to bring joy and consolation to the rest of us. And don't dismiss the university choir so quickly, and don't make a false comparison to professional entities. Before we had music industries, and star performers giving concerts to huge audiences, and great composers and all the rest of what we now associate with professional music making, music was a form of social interaction and expression that had been an essential feature of every human society. In our atomised culture we need community choirs more than ever.
Having one’s own mediocrity highlighted in such a visceral way, by another individual’s abundance of talent, can be a very emotionally taxing experience. Some can enjoy the experience and sit back and appreciate the wonder of it all. For others the realisation of their inadequacy overwhelms them, which leads to feelings of extreme resentment and despair, anchored in the realisation that their relative inadequacies are chronic with no possible remedy because they are innate.
You may be surprised to know that the entire performance was improvised. The choreography was improvised, the shape, the journey, all improvised. That was his challenge to himself during this tour...genius
Yea he totally performed a different version for each of his shows. Man got some balls
@@kumararup188 and mad skillz
This is the result of a disturbingly talented genius at play. The candy store analogy fits… only Jacob is Willy Wonka dreaming up the candies and creating them ON THE SPOT. JC NEVER fails to amaze.
Jacob is truly a musical genius, you dont get 5 Grammys for tinkling the ivories once in a while, his entertainment value is second to none. He energy & shows remind me of a young Nigel Kennedy.
I didn't know he had 5 Grammys! Incredible!
@@jessicasopranonotes Haha, you can see four of them sitting on his Wurlitzer piano in the background of his "Fix You" video.
True, I clocked that the other day when I watched it - all lined up in row facing sideways.
jacob doesn't play the violin...? trying to figure out what you could've meant by this lol
@@buttons6171 your absolutely right, he doesn’t, not sure we’re my brain went, my guess is my head was thinking of Nigel Kennedy when he was younger his energy & shows remind me of Jacob. Corrected in edit 👍.
That was pure improvisation :) Isn't it even more amazing? He does these things every time different :) I am not sure where he comes from but the way he is able to process music and put all of these vibrations together is just alien...
Jess,
I was at that concert and it is absolutely amazing everything he does during the show.
The whole band is fabulous, but his tuning and melodic subtlety is way above average.
if you've never seen him live, don't miss the opportunity if it comes up. Really go!!!.
Thanks for your reacts
Kisses
Joao
Eu também! Pura magia!
I love how he switches it up on when he will come in on a phrase, or he'll even subdivide a note in how he glides or riffs vocally. It's just beyond anything I could do, but it is so fun to hear and experience. So many notes, but all of them useful.
This is what joy looks and sounds like in it's purest form.
A lovely, heart felt reaction. One of the hallmarks of a Jacob concert is his interactions/conducting of the audience in singing along with him. It always blows my mind the total, utter confidence in his own musical ability that he is able to so freely open and share "his" performance and make it everybodies. From what I know of Jacob this is not "choreographed". That's one of the statements of Jacob's ability and confidence that-I believe-to challenge himself, he starts and then "surfs the wave that comes" so to speak. I really think among Jacob's many, many skills his ability to communicate with an audience is one of the most sublime. Again really enjoyable reaction, thanks!
Well said. For me personally, Jacob's at his finest when it's just him at a piano, he really lets out his incredibly complex and deep capacity for "feeling". Also his sense of dynamics and rhythm is on par with Keith Jarrett himself!
saw him last year and was so good i had to book tickets to go again the same week. bought tickets to go for his next tour around this time next year. absolutely incredible, don’t miss out on an opportunity to be a part of this
Just WOW! That's all I can think to say. Great reaction to such a great performance!!
Thanks, Jess. A beautiful, emotional performance. It brings me tears of joy.
The only time I let my guard down and feel anything anymore, is when I listen to Jacob and/or watch him perform. I hate that my life is like that, but I'm grateful that his music exists so I have that one exception.
I can listen to Jacob forever and ever. Everything he does is pure love and genious
JC: Choir ? who needs a choir? I have an audience :D
I just cry every time I hear him. Truly. This angelic ambassador of music is in our wounded world to bring us the magic of his gifts. He is a wonder and we are so fortunate to have him.
Thank you for your reaction to this piece and work of art. Experiencing Jacob perform brings tears of job, a sense of belonging which I do not often experience. This is the closest feeling to "home" I experience.
Now you got to react to the audience choir of his. As an opera you'll appreciate it more than anybody
Ahh, my man Mr Collier. Thank you to you and your patron supporter for shining a light over this amazing individual. Cheers
He is such a genius ! Thanks for this nice reaction ! Greetings from germany !
I find it weird that this hasn't come up yet, but you should definitely check out his version of "Moon River". He put more into it than most, ehh, "cover artists". If you want to keep your hair and/or hair color, don't try to think too much about what's actually going on. But if you don't mind loosing it, we're all up for a breakdown on the musical stuff going on; keys, progression, modulations, chord breakdown, does the tonic come with gin, that sort of fun stuff. I wish you good luck 😊His "Flintstones", ehh, "cover", is also mind blowingly insane. You have no idea how amazing this guy is wrt vocal arrangements. Have fun.
I was there, yes, in Lisbon, Portugal! Bravissimo Jacob!!
Mr. Collier definitely took us to church with that one. I can't even begin to imagine the kind of energy that was pulsing through that crowd. Completely spectacular in everyway imaginable. Also, another band that is sort of in the same vein (kind of sort of, they've got a cool blend of soul, R&B, funk, jazz, gospel, and a bit of rock) that I think you would love to listen to or react to is Lawrence, particularly their acoustic-ish versions of their songs Don't Lose Sight, I'm Confident I'm Insecure, and 23. They are impeccable and their stage presence is phenomenal, I was fortunate enough to see them in Syracuse last November, and I should have worn an extra pair of socks, because within the first 5 minutes of their set my socks were blown clean off my feet.
If you're interested, the BBC aired a documentary about Jacob about a year or so ago. It does a great job summarizing Jacob's musical career so far. What an absolute genius!
th-cam.com/video/ERvd5QjupSU/w-d-xo.html
THE Musician for musicians and musical human being’s ❤❤❤
isn’t it fantastic what music can do as the most original feeling inducing communication humans can produce ?
❤ your non-analytical, nearly speechless reaction.
Had the strongest experience while his concert …. first time in tear’s in a concert since Pink Floyd here in Switzerland, July 26th 1988 😢.
yes! It's kind of heavenly!
That first part is Queen's live proformance version . I do love his piano solo . Overall nice .
You couldn't have seen Queen's live videos on their songs , since you said you have never seen a concert like this . Freddie Mercury orchestrated the audience as if they were his choir .
Getting emotional to hear this….. beautiful
You might enjoy reacting to _Jacob Collier - Dancing Queen feat. Alita Moses (Live in Stockholm)_ ① It's much simpler.
It was unrehearsed and improvised. Neither Jacob nor Alita Moses had sung it before. It's an ABBA song, performed in Sweden, so the audience knew all the words. The audience didn't need guidance.
Best Wishes. ☮
① th-cam.com/video/wEUnXXTZE-Y/w-d-xo.htmlsi=iFySdxnS6m01OeAU
Description: _"15 minutes before stage time in Stockholm, I asked Alita if she wanted to sing this ABBA with me. She had never sung the song before (in fact, neither of us had!) but she agreed, and moments later we improvised this rendition on stage, entirely unrehearsed. "_
that's an amazing one, hope Jess reacts to it :)
There are many other Jacob Collier "audience choir" videos uploaded on TH-cam (it's something he does at all of his concerts).
Here are two from his own YT channel: th-cam.com/video/3KsF309XpJo/w-d-xo.html and th-cam.com/video/hg3U7TPZxbI/w-d-xo.html Just incredible!
Nice one, I thoroughly enjoyed your reaction and breakdown
He toured the US in June but will return to the Hollywood Bowl In September
His genius is not in his voice but in his creation of sound in music. I also believe his last name is pronounced more in the English style rather than a French pronunciation.
in 2008 he topped the country in abrsm vocals so his genius is ALSO in his voice haha
@@jwlsiee He does have extremely accurate vocal pitch.
He is a genius
5:36 He is a genius
@@jwlsiee He is a genius
Ooof, can't WAIT for this one :))))
Clearly improvised.
When you say you would like to be a "fly on the wall" you seem to suggest that there is some plan or strategy that will be revealed. You'll be disappointed. He plans and plays straight and only from the heart. He becomes the music - therein is the "magic" of his manner. He displays no active ego - and that innocence is so inviting - and he clearly knows that. He dives in, and trustingly let's go - he doesn't swim to a destination, he has learned to let the river take him there. As a classical musician this style of creating was very difficult to grasp. But now that I can see it, I am seeing it appear not just with Collier but with many others artists in many different genres. As a musician he is demonstrating not what "he can do" but what "we all can do." To find the flow, and to create without hesitation - a successful hunter doesn't plan to shoot, nor does he think of it - he just releases the string. Often times, given some of his word choice and lyric choice (i.e. wiggle, wiggle) I am firmly convinced that he had read, if not adopted the philosophy of Alan Watts. Finally - I so enjoy your reactions!!! Wonderful and sincere and valuable to share with us. Thank you!!
Beautiful
Dude, this man has been famous for more than a decade four-time Grammy winner! He is phenomenal! Chosen by producer Quincy Jones. Just check out his wikipedia page. He is a multi-talented genius!
Jacob is super good, but so are you. Well, maybe Jacob is on another level, but still, really enjoyed your comments and enthusiasm! Thanks!
Please react to Little Blue Mahogany sessions
Jacob, Jacob, Jacob, sigh .... divinely gifted genius! I have this dream where he gets together with Dimash and these two otherworldly talents make music that stops clocks. Just fantasizing .... I don't think there is anyone on the planet who can do what either of them do!
Please react to moon river
Believe it or not this is improvised!
The Modern Mozart
react to little blue
I'm sorry to have to disagree with you on the level of pre-planning each part of the song. Jacob is extremely improvisational. I think he feels the mood of the crowd and adjusts the performance accordingly. You can see this when he brings in different notes for the audience to sing. That's Jacob having fun with the instrument at his disposal.
Dimash - Stranger!
This was a great video. So, getting inspired by it, I'd like to draw your attention to Putri Ariani. I love both of these artists. I
don't easily love! I do appreciate most artists, and enjoy them. But, as an artist, both Jacob, and very recently Putri has my highest respect and admiration Putri doesn't cover songs, she upgrades them to her sensibility. And she is also a great songwriter and a "phenomenal" singer/musician at 17! When I first listen to Jacob he was 17 as well...
As soon as I've heard Putri, I thought of Jacob. A collaboration, which I will suggest to Jacob, as soo as he is done with his world tour.
So, I also suggest that you point your radar to Putri Ariani; you'll be glad that you did...
Jacob is an otherwordly genius and a far above the norm human being. This form of drawing the public in to be a part of the concert is not new... Bobby McFerrin does this since a long time -> th-cam.com/video/fjvR9UMQCrg/w-d-xo.html
For reasons (?) far beyond my comprehension I cannot stand JC. It’s like my body just hates the man’s guts for absolutely no reason. But GOD is he a genius. I really need to work on my unknown issues because I would absolutely love to attend one of his concerts and witness such greatness in person. And definitely would prefer to not have mixed feelings about it 😂
Hate the man's guts? Hmmm¿ that's quite a strong sentiment. Obvious place to start would be that you recognise his genius - are you perhaps somewhat jealous of his talent / angry that the muses have passed you over (like everyone else on the planet) / resentful that your own talents are withering on the vine while his flourish in never-ending bounteousness ? A sort of Salieri / Mozart syndrome? He is talented without a doubt, but he is not a God, so one day he too will pass. In which case, it's probably as well to enjoy him while you can, for who can say what tomorrow will bring for him, for you, and for us all?
@@Ozymandi_asmaybe it is jealousy, even envy. I could never be the Salieri to his Mozart since I possess no musical talent beyond every-voice-is-welcome university choir. And yes, hatred is too strong of a sentiment. It’s more like an aversion. I really hope I can overcome this soon and enjoy the wonders his talent and passion bring to the world in full.
@@FB711_imagine a corpus of work that encompasses all of human knowledge that has accumulated to date. Then take any single person and compare the knowledge that they possess to that contained in the set of all knowledge. Doesn't really matter who they are, anybody from a peasant farmer in rural south east Asia to a highly qualified professor at an Ivy League university, both their scores will be miserably, infinitessimally tiny. Maybe one tinier than the other, no doubt, but really you might as well be comparing turds. Even the most gifted people are usually only gifted with a fairly narrow range of abilities or knowledge. Go through the levels of secondary and tertiary education, and what do you get? More details about smaller subjects. And I guarantee you there are some amazingly stupid PhDs out there. So, prodigious as Mr Collier's musical talents are, he's really just as stupid as the rest of us about almost any topic you care to name. And I'm sure there are some topics on which you would put our prodigy into a dark shade. Now I'm not suggesting talents and education attainment are trivial matters without any real meaning - obviously they are important. But I think it's important to recognise that we all suffer under tremendous limitations. The cleverest people tend to be the ones who understand best how little it is they actually know. And something I've noticed about a lot of musicians is that they seem to understand that however talented they are, they all serve the muse, and almost all rely on the support of collaborators. I'm sure JC realises that he has a gift, or maybe that the gift has him, and that knowledge obliges him to use it well. But grandiosity does not seem to have seeped into other parts of his ego. His gift is also a burden, everywhere he goes, any performance he gives, people are going to be disappointed if they get anything less than confirmation of his genius. And look at him there on stage - most of the time it's just him, and so he's compelled to wander the globe going from venue to venue on his own, certainly creatively. What seems like an amazing life might be a lonely treadmill, and he may even find himself envying the privilege of being ordinary. Lots of musicians tire of touring. It's a life that brings its own difficulties.
Comparing ourselves to others is useful for identifying goals and aspirations, and allowing us to monitor how are progressing towards them; but otherwise the comparisons that result in feelings like jealousy and envy are a great source of unhappiness and distress in the world. Usually the comparison is made to some idealised and selective model of reality that ignores many other facets of the entire reality. And then we are left with all manner of negative affects that don't really contribute anything of value to our own development and growth, and leave us feeling dissatisfied with the things we do achieve. Nor are they of any real value to the person who is envied. If that's something they get off on then that's a bit weird. Sometimes, they can be very destructive.
The truth is that envy or jealousy towards someone like Collier is pointless, because we can never be like him, and no amount of resentment will change that, but it will get in the way of enjoying him. Is it unfair? Yes, of course, welcome to the human condition and enjoy the ride as best you can. Instead of resentment, cultivate a sense of wonder and of gratitude that some members of our troubled species are able to bring joy and consolation to the rest of us. And don't dismiss the university choir so quickly, and don't make a false comparison to professional entities. Before we had music industries, and star performers giving concerts to huge audiences, and great composers and all the rest of what we now associate with professional music making, music was a form of social interaction and expression that had been an essential feature of every human society. In our atomised culture we need community choirs more than ever.
Thank you for your honesty
Having one’s own mediocrity highlighted in such a visceral way, by another individual’s abundance of talent, can be a very emotionally taxing experience.
Some can enjoy the experience and sit back and appreciate the wonder of it all. For others the realisation of their inadequacy overwhelms them, which leads to feelings of extreme resentment and despair, anchored in the realisation that their relative inadequacies are chronic with no possible remedy because they are innate.
His tone is really not that pleasurable to listen to but he can carry a note.
I'm sure h'd be delighted to know that.
That's probably why all those Grammys huh?