For now, here's a column I wrote a while back for a student newspaper. It's more or less an introduction to jazz, an art form I am fiercely passionate about. It's not the best written thing, but it sums up pretty well my opinions on the genre! The above photo, for anyone interested, is of Miles Davis in Rotterdam, 1967.
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Jazz is an art form riddled with
misplaced assumptions. Some people may have you believe that jazz is
a 'black' music, when in fact it sprung from the cultural meeting of
blacks and whites in the 20s. Jazz fans may try and complain that
jazz was the pop music of the 50s and its popularity has declined,
when in truth jazz has always been the concern of the minority. You
may even be under the impression that jazz is simply too complex or
challenging a sound to listen to. These assumptions, while not rotten
to the core, are sadly misleading. It is true that having an
understanding of the history of jazz, and taking the time to
comprehend its development help you
appreciate the music, but
at a fundamental level jazz is not the property of intellectuals, and
one does not need to know about time signatures or chords to fully
and truly enjoy it.
You will have
undoubtedly heard of Louis Armstrong, though probably through his
gravelly rendition of 'What a Wonderful World' rather than through
his virtuoso as a trumpeter. Although you won't know it, you will have heard of Dave Brubeck's song 'Time Out', and probably of Nina
Simone's 'Feeling Good' too. You're most likely comfortable with vocal jazz,
and might even liken instrumental jazz to the most stereotypically
boring of genres; classical. However, the line between jazz and
classical music is a defined one. Classical compositions are exactly that.
Composed. Jazz is underpinned by improvisation, an element as
important to jazz as Freddie Mercury was to Queen. Yes, there are
rules to which most of jazz conforms, yet from these restraints it
manages to swing and evolve and remain, intrinsically, free.
And what other
genre of music can boast as many sub-genres as jazz? Dixieland sprung
from the loins of New Orleans ragtime blues in the 20s. The nervous
tension of bebop and hard-bop in the 30s was eventually calmed under
Miles Davis’ haunting trumpeting. Cool and modal jazz lead to jazz
fusion, while free jazz took the scope of big band and tripled the
intensity. Bill Evans’ piano and Dave Brubeck’s tinkering with
beat. Art Blakey’s drumming and John Coltrane’s avant-garde
explorations. Jazz is too grand and great and beautiful a genre to
truly define, but Louis Armstrong famously said "If you have to ask what jazz is, you'll never know." Trying to confine
jazz to words is too belittling and unreasonable a task. Listen and
dance and you'll understand.
