DownBeat September 1991 [antikvár]

ON THE BEAT DOWPEAT September 1991 Sound Language by John Ephland ince last year's credo change to "Jazz, Blues Beyond," we've received a fair amount of mail on the subject. Much has been very positive: "DB has proven to be an invaluable source of information about American music, and keeps alive a sense of continuity between the past and present!" said one reader. Someone else put it this way: "Most of the music magazines I pick up these days seem to be sort of 'music as lifestyle' magazines, in which music is treated as sort of an accessory. 'Hey, kids, do your sounds match your clothes?' Yikes! lapping good mag. I^ep up the good work!" But, in jazz, there's always room for a skeptic: " 'Jazz,' certainly, 'Blues,' by all means. But 'Beyond'? Now you've got me worried!" And then there's the cynic: "Does 'Beyond' simply mean you're ready to cash in on just about any variety of material, so long as it has achieved commercial viability with the white American yuppie audience you're so obviously groping for?" We believe it's in keeping with this magazine's proud history—launched during the '30s, when swing was America's pop music— that DB has always been about musical diversity. The credo back then was "Music News from Coast to Coast," reflecting a focus on swing bands. Over the years, we've evolved with the music. Coverage has included everything from country western swing bands to Liberace, Jerry Lev«s, and Elvis. (See our September '89 anniversary issue for a more complete overview.) The fact that DB has it roots in a form of jazz that was the popular equivalent to what rock and rap music are today has provided an interesting paradox: is our historical backbone pop music or jazz? The answer is obvious to us. Our backbone will always be jazz, both in and outside "the tradition." But jazz remains an elusive entity. In a 1951 article Dave Brubeck wrote for DB, the piano great stated, "It is fitting that the country which has been called 'the melting pot of the world' should have as its most characteristic art form a music with as mbced a parentage as jazz. . . . Jazz hears all, plays all of the sound language which makes up America." Jazz is a mongrel, a mixed bag with a distinctive heritage. For it to survive, this indigenous American art form must feed off its neighbors, integrating musical ideas and forms from surrounding cultures. And not as a parasite, but as a transformer, breaking rules en route to new music—Dizzy Gillespie, jazz, and Cuban music haven't been the same since meeting Chano Pozo; African musicians and rhythms have inspired some of today's richest jazz sounds (see our Jean Luc Ponty feature on p. 28); Max Roach can't help but make connections between bebop and rap. And there's the growing bebop-meets-hip-hop groove hitting folks like Gary Thomas, Greg Osby, and Jon Liberace '55: The Real Story Faddis at the same time it frightens others. Taj Mahal: "Older musicians are scared of hip-hop. They say, 'Them motherf*»ckers ain't even singing. . . . ' I say, 'That's the same thing you said about bebop.' " For those who favor the straight and narrow, a good chunk of our hearts will always reside here at Swing Central. It's just that our credo's credibility has a mandate built into it—namely, to stress jazz' incredible capacity to fiex and dialogue with other musical voices. More often than not, something beautiful takes place when jazz musicians take on a new musical challenge, inside or outside the fort. DB DOWNBEAT September 1991 - Volume 58 - No. 9 PUBLISHER John Maher EDITORIAI. DIRECTOR Frank Alkyer MANAOINO EDITOR John Ephland ASSOCIATE EDITOR Dave Helland DESIGN Jay Crawford Design PRODUCTION MGR. Gloha Baldwin CIRCULATION MGR. Elaine Rizleris PRESIDENT Jack Maher CONTRIBUTORS: Larry BirnDaum, Fred Bouchard, Michael Bourne, Tom Copi, Owen Cordle, Lauren Deutsch, John Diliberto, Enid Färber, Leonard Feather, Mitchell Feldman, Andy Freeberg, Elaine Guregian, Frank-John Hadley, Peter Kostakis, Arl Lange, John Litweiler, Howard Mandel, John McDonough, Bill Milkowski, Paul Natkin, Dan Ouellette, Ben Sandmel, Gene Santoro, Mitchell Seidel, Bill Shoemaker, Jack Sohmer, Slephanie Stein, Robin Tolleson, Ron Welburn, Pele Welding, Kevin Whitehead, Josel Woodard, Scoll Yanow.