Award-winning jazz flutist James Newton agrees. The first music I can remember was when I was 4 years old in my home Baptist church in rural Arkansas. There were four women singing spirituals, with no piano, and it was my first encounter with the Holy Spirit. I obviously couldn't process it all as a child, but God has stayed with me all of my life, and I pursue that feeling when I play. I use the music as an art form to be a light in the darkness to testify through my music and life.
Jazz is simply a type of music defined by syncopation and improvisation.
Music and art belong to God. In South America, Europe, and Japan, I use my concert and clinic tours as opportunities to tell the world about Jesus Christ. Since jazz arose from gospel music as well as blues and other improvisational styles in the previous century, the roots of its connection to Christianity run deep. Every note I play or write, just like Bach, is dedicated to Jesus Christ. If the Holy Spirit is in the equation, if the musicians are praying for His anointing and are behind the cross, it's beautiful.