Above the red door at Cafe Nuta are four red letters: L-I-V-E. As if to say, the cafe itself is live on the air and for those about to enter: please do so quietly. I gently crack open the red door and poke my head in. Jazz was in the air, but nobody was there. The back door was already cracked though so somebody must be, I thought. A moment later the barista appeared, took my order and then disappeared, sitting down behind the counter, leaving me alone again in the live but empty room. I came to find ‘Nuta’ is Polish for a musical note. Makes sense, I figured. Passing through the entrance was like stepping into a melody, hearing its notes and feeling its emptiness in between them. I felt like I was sitting in a song, grooving to the cafe’s rhythm, humming its melody.
The walls are lined with stunning paintings by Thục Nữ from Sputnik Gallery, including pieces near the entrance and along the back left wall where a bookshelf also sits. A blue book stands out in the bottom left corner of the shelf: The Shape of Ideas by Grant Snider. Snider takes readers on an exploration of creativity through his illustrations. The book’s chapters include: Inspiration, Perspiration, Improvisation, Aspiration, Contemplation, Exploration, Daily Frustration, Imitation, Desperation, and Pure Elation.
I began to flip through and look at the pictures while Art Tatum, Paul Desmond, and Bill Evans played on the speakers. Such jazz legends guided me to Chapter 3: Improvisation and specifically Snider’s illustration — Play Each Day Like Jazz. He writes (and draws) ideas such as: Be cool but don’t be too smooth; Develop a sense of structure and repetition; Don’t hesitate to improvise; Listen. Let others bounce ideas off you; Return to a satisfying theme; End in a free jazz freak-out.
The main idea I gathered was that hesitation kills improvisation and improvisation is what gives life to ideas. Perhaps visiting this cafe on a day when I didn’t plan brought me here: to this page, this chapter, this book, this bookshelf, at the back of this cafe. To make me pause, sit, groove, hum, and take note: Don’t hesitate to improvise. Act on instinct. Wander aimlessly through cafes. Escape into books. Get lost, but pay attention. “The closer man gets to the unknown,” architect Buckminister Fuller wrote, “the more inventive he becomes – the quicker he adopts new ways.” In sum, live like jazz. It’s how the best ideas take shape.
