‘Tao of Trading’: Some Hot Licks and Stock Picks

“Jazz” and “the financial world” are not words that one ordinarily finds in the same sentence. Or even the same story. For many jazz musicians, financial matters are as inscrutable as the chord changes to “All the Things You Are” to a Wall Street broker.

But Robert Koppel, a veteran trader on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, has other ideas. And his book “The Tao of Trading” (Dearborn Financial Publishing) finds powerful analogies between jazz and finance.

“There is something intangible, subjective and intuitive about trading,” writes Koppel, “that involves a state of mind that has more in common with the spirit of jazz--improvisational, automatic and alive--than with an objective, rule-based system of rational decision-making.”

Koppel comes by his opinion via a long involvement with jazz. “I’ve played piano since I was a kid,” he says. “And all I have to do is close my eyes to hear the music of people like Bud Powell, Eric Dolphy, McCoy Tyner. They’re with me all the time.”

In the “Tao of Trading,” a book that is eminently readable, even for the financial neophyte, Koppel stresses the role jazz played in his own transition from a stiff-backed trading approach to a more open, in-the-moment method--one he feels is intuitively chosen by the best traders and finest musicians.

“I was a perfect candidate for believing in the left-brain school--that if you knew the technique, that’s all there was to it. But I had to learn that there can be too much reliance on the score, if you will. Obviously, you have to know all the technical considerations. If you’re a musician, you have to know the piece and the chord changes. And if you’re a trader, you have to learn all the axioms of trading, how to read a price chart, and so forth.

“And all those things are important, but it’s really the intuitive, the imaginative, the experiential aspects of the activity which produce success. You have to, in effect, allow yourself to be immersed in the music, in the experience and in the moment.”

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Legrand Jazz: Michel Legrand may be best known as a film composer and songwriter, but he has significant jazz credentials as well. Last week he received the Henry Mancini Award for Lifetime Achievement at the Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers’ 13th annual gala. His achievements include three Oscars and five Grammy awards for films such as “The Thomas Crown Affair,” “Summer of ‘42” and “Yentl,” and songs such as “The Windmills of Your Mind,” “How Do You Keep the Music Playing?” and “The Summer Knows.”

Asked if his busy composing schedule allows any room for jazz projects similar to his classic 1958 album “Legrand Jazz” (which featured Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Ben Webster, Bill Evans and others), Legrand shrugged and noted, “Ah, but there aren’t any great artists around anymore, are there? No Miles, no Dizzy.”

Reminded that such first-rate veteran performers as saxophonists Phil Woods and Lee Konitz were still highly active, Legrand brightened. “Yes, that’s right,” he said. Then, after pondering for a moment, he added, “And here’s an idea: Phil Woods and Lee Konitz with Bud Shank. An alto saxophone summit.” Calling to an assistant, he instructed him, “Make a note. We should look into that.” For a recording? Or a concert? Stay tuned for further developments.

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West Coast Jazz Fests: Two of the most consistently attractive California jazz festivals have announced their 1998 schedules. The 41st Monterey Festival, which takes place Sept. 18-20 at the Monterey Fairgrounds, will have headliner appearances by the Pat Metheny Trio, the Dave Brubeck Quartet, McCoy Tyner, Elvin Jones, Al Jarreau, Joe Zawinul, Paquito D’Rivera and many others. But, typically, some of the more unusual action will take place in the panel discussions, seminars and performances by lesser-known emerging talents on the festival’s numerous stages. Information: (800) 307-3378.

The preliminary headliners (with more to be announced) for the 16th annual San Francisco Jazz Festival, Oct. 29 to Nov. 10, are Diana Krall, John Pizzarelli, the Mingus Big Band, Al Jarreau, David Sanchez and others. And the festival again includes imaginatively programmed special events such as “Asian Concepts in Jazz,” featuring Fred Ho’s Monkey Orchestra, and “4 Generations of Jazz Violin,” with Joe Kennedy, Johnny Frigo, Regina Carter, Darol Anger and Matt Glaser. Information: (415) 398-5655, Ext. 3.