echovar’s The MicroCaster in Chief, puts President Obama in the context of jazz musicians:
“Watching President Barack Obama work his way through the long, long inaugural day, I see a virtuoso. In each venue, at each moment, he’s broadcasting live across multiple streams of media. It’s live, well thought out, and in the moment. While the messages are carried by the major media networks, the voice speaks to the micro-community.
“...
“When a great player improvises he’s not making things up out of thin air. He knows the scales, the changes, the modes, the melody, the rhythm and the audience. And from those raw materials he makes something both familiar and new.”
It’s a good comparison as Obama always seems to be operating on several levels at once. The post is interspersed with YouTube jazz snippets. I especially liked this one of Anthony Braxton performing “Impressions”:
