This episode contains offensive language that may not be suitable for all listeners.

If there's one thing you should know about me, it's that I'm a big music fan.

You can find almost every genre on my playlist.

For me, what makes so many artists artists music special is the influence of jazz.

Jazz is a genre of contradictions. It's flexible and structure. Elevated and gritty. Cerebral, and you feel it in your body. There's an inherent back

and forth to it because jazz is best when at least two people are playing. This call

and response. The instruments are talking to each other.

The best artists didn't find their sound alone.

They found it collaboratively.

Through jam sessions with other musicians,

where they could improvise and experiment with new styles.

Jazz is a team sport.

That's kind of what I love about baseball, too.

A baseball team is like a jazz ensemble.

Every player has a role to play.

Sometimes they even have an instrument. In baseball, that instrument is a bat or a

mid, and they're always moving in response to one another. Pitchers are almost like soloists.

At certain points, all the focus on the field zeroes in on them.

Because whether or not the batter hits or misses,

the real action of the game begins when that baseball leaves the pitcher's hand.

And from there, the player set the game's tempo.

Black baseball players like my grandfather, Turkey Stearns, set the tempo fast.

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