The Aesthetics of Repetition in Jazz: A Focus on Difference and Repetition by Gilles Deleuze

The repetition of various forms in jazz is different from a simple representation. It holds meanings that are in line with “repetitions accompanied by differences,” as mentioned by Deleuze. Jazz music is created in a direction in which all differences that accompany repetitions are accepted and no judgment is made between right and wrong according to the criterion of identity. Improvisation makes repetitions in jazz possible, and it allows the music to live in the present amid the intersection of memories, which are the synthesis of the past; and habits, which are the synthesis of the present. Consequently, new and endless versions are created in the circle of eternal return, and they represent the synthesis of the future. In other words, repetition in jazz is asking a “question.” The “framework” provided to jazz musicians is neither a complete world of artwork nor an object to represent. The framework is a space of infinite possibilities, and musicians create music by asking endless questions within. Musicians can become anything and positively accept any differences in interpretations within a space of infinite possibilities. After all, jazz is the music of differences, and its existence comes from making a difference. It is exactly in this difference where the aesthetics of repetition in jazz resides.