JOHN OSLER'S UPBEAT Admin
- Sep 25, 2016
- 3 min read

GRIT

GRITTY

KYLE EASTWOOD’S DAD

Kyle Eastwood has shown the results of having a gritty dad and putting in serious time practicing his stand up bass. The Dirty Dog has been privileged to present the outstanding jazz bassist Kyle Eastwood and his band. His dad Clint is a pretty good jazz pianist and together they have written scores for his movies. Clint Eastwood is genuinely gritty.

GRITTY SURFACE

There are gritty surfaces where ever you look in the city of Detroit. It is a product of a good supply of slush, ice, snow and abuse.

TRUE GRIT, MORE THAN JUST BEING GRITTY

Detroit and jazz are both often described as hard driving and gritty. This is a good thing according to most fans of the Motor City. We tend to take pride in the perseverance of those who have hung in there in bad times and the good times.

GRIT- A SERIOUS DEFINITION

“Grit in psychology is a positive, non-cognitive trait based on an individual’s passion for a particular long-term goal or end state, coupled with a powerful motivation to achieve their respective objective. This perseverance of effort promotes the overcoming of obstacles or challenges that lie within a gritty individual’s path to accomplishment, and serves as a driving force in achievement realization.”

DETROIT GRIT – MY DEFINITION

Grit is not getting discouraged when setbacks occur. It is the ability to keep getting up and then getting up again. It is getting on and getting on. It is knowing that hard work is going to be required and continuing on. It is finishing what you start. Grit can sometimes be coarse but in the end it is very sweet.

GRIT – THE HOT TOPIC IN EDUCATION

Grit has recently caused a stir in education and psychology ever since Angela Duckworth, a psychology professor at the University of Pennsylvania, began to point out that grit can be developed and is as important as IQ and talent for predicting educational success. She has shown that those who are given a chance to work through setbacks and persevere will surpass the achievements of those who lack this opportunity..Her latest book is Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance. Her research has shown that grit is a learnable trait for all children and should be an essential ingredient in every child’s education.

Grit is egalitarian, The development of grit does not rely on your background, and for many grit appears to be a an engine of social mobility.

Angela Duckworth’s Ted talks have been viewed over eight million times.

GRIT AND JAZZ

I have always admired people who had grit. They were more courageous, brave, plucky, dogged, resolute, determined, feisty. gutsy and tenacious than I could ever be. They were not gritty like Clint Eastwood the actor but like Clint and Kyle Eastwood the jazz musicians and like Clint the film director. Playing jazz is not the easiest job. It is not for the timid and it takes hard work and the ability to identify and correct mistakes, over and over again. In Detroit I have watched older musicians give younger players a chance to fail and if they did they were encouraged to try again. Character was built into the young artists one lesson at a time.

Come on out to the Dirty Dog Jazz Café where grit is not served just as a side dish.