For this post I have decided to answer the prompt that was given in regard to the listening of John Zorn’s “Khebar.” (The musicians performing John Zorn’s “Khebar” find freedom to improvise through a set of shared traditions and practices. What traditions have given you the ability to improvise and create?)
First, a little backstory: I sat at my computer, at a loss for words. “This is going to be the first impression of my writing on The New School community.” Stressed? Yes. I decided to go with the third prompt – as stated above – and pondered how I really started my journey to becoming a creative individual with a knack for improvisation. Upon further contemplation, I realized that Khebar sounds a lot like Kebab – the mind works in mysterious ways – and then it dawned on me…
It is a tradition in my family to use food as a way to bring the individuals of the family together. In one way or another, and ever since I can remember, large family meals have been an essential aspect of my life. It is not only about the food, it’s about the art of cooking: the search for the perfect recipes to form a cohesive meal, the preparation, the creation, the laying of the table, and the final sit down. Every person who planned to eat the meal is involved in one way or another, making the whole process an event. What does this have to do with my ability to improvise and create? Absolutely everything.
Through my participation in these family meals, I learned various tricks on how to use my senses to alter recipes – for better or for worse. My dad is the one who really inspired me to use my imagination when cooking and it helped me to realize how I could use the various senses of sight, smell, touch, and even sound, to alter or even create my own recipes. Furthermore, I learned that improvisation is an essential part of preparing a meal. Things simply don’t always work out they way the recipe says; so what do you do in such a situation? Improvise! Add a spice, or maybe an extra slice? It’s not an abomination, it’s your own little creation.
In conclusion, cooking really is art with a dash of science and I have realized through the process of writing this that my first “art class” actually took place the moment I was able to chew real food in my very own kitchen. For this I am eternally grateful to my parents and extended family for sharing a beautiful tradition that ties us together through thick and thin.
