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Some Points About Jazz
We spend most of out lives playing for audiences who have very little, if any, background in Jazz. Like
all of us, they come with their own unique
musical baggage, and getting past the stereotypes can be a challenge. If I had to make a
few basic points to these hopefully openminded novices, this is what I would say.
As Bill Evans once stated, 'Jazz is not a
what, it's a how, if it were a what, it would be
static." In other words, it is a process by
which a musician approaches music. Miles
Davis is a jazz musician, as the Grateful Dead
are rock musicians who saw the value ofjohn
Coltrane's work and used the jazz spirit in
their way of making music.
Elements of jazz can be contained in
other music. besides the traditional 'swing'
style of jazz, such as funk, rock , reggae,
blues, hip-hop, country and klezmer, to name
a few.
There are many unfortunate stereotypes
that one should dispel when approaching
jazz. It doesn't have to be performed in a
dingy, dark, smoky atmosphere by people
who look like beatniks. This stereotype has
outlived the Forties, which is too bad, and we
can thank the movies for that.
There doesn't have to be a trumpet or
saxophone for the music to be in a jazz style.
You can use 3 garbage cans, a bassoon, and
the aerial of your car antennae, if you wish. If
it is created in an improvisational spirit and is
of the moment, it probably has strong elements of jazz.
Great jazz musicians do not have to look
like they are on the way to the electric chair
in order to play jazz. Look at the joy on the
face of Elvin Jones, Milt Hinton, or any other
soulful player, and the fact is that it is the vibe
they radiate that is as important as the music
that comes from their instruments.
Jazz can be played anywhere, and in the
early days, the audience was rarely seated,
they were dancing, carrying on, and having a
good time. People are a lot more uptight now,
which is really too bad. Yes, it is an art, but it
should always be a
'people's music.' A little
romance doesn't hurt,
either.
Jazz can be cutting
edge or extremely slick
and commercial (don't
tempt me here). Everyone
has differ-ent opimons
about this, but taste, ex-
posure, patience, sensitiv-
ity, and some intelligence
are the ultimate umpires.
As David Byrne has stated, " Western
Pop is the fast food of music." You can't compare filet mignon to a Quarter Pounder with
cheese, so don't even bother trying it. I can
feel Zappa's spirit looming over me!
jazz respects the past and the masters
who created it and attempts to bring the past
forward into the current scene. We can le am
from the great masters, as they are our life-
long teachers. They are never gone, never.
Great jazz tells a story to those who can't
just listen, but who have the patience and can
do the work to really hear the deep levels that
the music has to offer. Put down the remote better yet, throw it away altogether.
Does any of this matter? Only for those
who realize that music can transport, change,
and affect us in deep and very personal ways,
and even make a difference in our lives.
It's not a bad life...
Brian Torff is a bassist, composer, writer and jazz educator. He is currently the Music Program Director at Fairfield University in Fairfield, Connecticut. Brian can be reached by email at: brian@briantorff.com.
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