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"Bunny M." is a seventeen-year-old Dallas resident who plays drums, piano
and clarinet. Her passion for jazz and the challenges she faces as
a youthful fan of it is the focus of her Jerry Jazz Musician column, "Accent
on Youth."
Listen to Dinah Washington sing Accent On Youth 
___________________________
Accent on Youth
by
Bunny M.
"Profile/Part II, The Thirties: Uptown Sunday Night Session,
1981," by
Romare
Bearden
Jazz 101: An Introduction to Jazz for Today's Youth, Part
One
______________________________
When most young people think of jazz, they probably also
think of their parents' generation and beyond ("Squaresville!")-- not a mental
association too conducive to developing further interest. But jazz, like
anything else, must be approached with a mind as free of preconceptions as
possible, and while it may be difficult for today's youth to think of jazz
as something independent of "Old School-ism" (not the cool kind, either),
the rewards are manifold, not least of which is an experience rich with
entertainment and a broader musical knowledge. Today's musical climate is
rife with opportunities to break such thought processes, some of which would
hardly be suspected of jazz ties. I here present my top ten personal picks
for an exciting, unusual, and diverse introduction to jazz for today's
youth.
10. Ludovic Navarre (St. Germaine): Tourist (2000) / From Detroit
to St. Germaine (2001)
Although Ludovic Navarre originally made his name revolutionizing the French
House scene, his albums Tourist (released by the respectable Blue
Note label) and From Detroit to St. Germaine are the sneakiest ways
I've come across to introduce jazz under the guise of modern dance
music -- dance that has more to do with a night out clubbing than traditional
"jazz dance" such as, swing. With a sound merging elements of ambient, house,
and garage as it was burgeoning in the United States in the '80s are also
various jazz and blues influences; indeed, the sound of jazz, be it mere
inspiration or undeniable groove, can be heard throughout almost all of St.
Germaine's work. Further, it was this new and unusual combination of
traditional jazz ideas with dance and electronic beats that opened a new
door of the House scene which would eventually spinoff into what is known
as "Acid Jazz" or "Nu Jazz".
"Wow, this is great!" I thought as I cranked up "Soul
Salsa Soul" and very quickly surrendered to the groove. The Latin energy
can fill any room to bursting, mixing a trumpet line reminiscent of Harry
James or Dizzy Gillespie (it's that clean), exotic Afro-Cuban-ish
percussion, and a dance beat so hard it could almost replace diamonds as
the toughest stuff known to man. Warning the faint of heart to sit down before
listening is futile, as chairs will probably be abandoned rather quickly
for the dance floor, and at 10:11, dancing shoes are highly advised.
St. Germaine's ingenious musical ideas have doused
countless club/undergrounders with the hard timelessness of bop. To quote
one web reviewer: "If any of the jazz cats from Miles Davis to Ben Webster
could hear this, they would recognize that same smokey, groovy goodness that
makes their own records perpetual favorites. In fact, if Davis was the birth
of cool, this is certainly a rebirthing." |
Soul Salsa Soul
*
Montego
Bay Spleen
Latin
Note |
Mais que fait la Nasa?
Trois petits points |
9. Paris Combo: Attraction (2002)
There are two things off-putting about this selection.
Number One: it's entirely in French. Number Two: it's weird.
And no, it's not because it's in French; it would be
even weirder if it was in English, with titles that translate into such things
as "But Who Made NASA?" and "Why the Cows?" (Off-put Number Three: songs
that give rise to moments of deep philosophical questioning). Paris Combo
is my musical bait to two groups of youthful music connoisseurs: the foreign
pop/ world music crowd, and the eclectic crowd (those whose tastes are weird
enough to be outside the mainstream, but not weird enough to lean towards
things like "Bad Penny Blues as Rendered by the South Scandinavian Polka
Lovers Society"). The band consists of Belle Du Berry (vocals, accordion),
Francois-Francois (drums, xylophone, additional percussion), David Lewis
(piano, trumpet), Mano Razanajato (bass, guitar, percussion) and one-name-only
Potzi on guitar. Their collaboration makes for a musical melange
of French, Austrlian, Madagascan, and Mediterranean influences, and while
it's not straight-ahead jazz, it does call to mind the playful "Holly
Golightly"-pop sound of the '60s, a la films like Breakfast at Tiffany's
(or any film scored by Henry Mancini, for that matter).
"Fibre de verre " ("Glass Fiber") is one of my favorites (out of so many
equally-favored selections); subtle and understated, with Du Berry's vocals
suggesting a tune that could just as easily have been sung by Peggy Lee (in
that "Fever" kind of way) or Blossom Dearie (in that "innocent seduction"
way as only Blossom Dearie can do).
Each track of Attraction is so very different
from that preceding and following it that the entire album could be its own
Top Ten, in a rang of not only different musical styles, but even different
artistic styles in general, with a rather large bent toward an ambience
suggestive of cubism-surrealism of painting. It's Salvador Dali for the ears,
and with so many cultures intermingled, there's something inside for everyone,
with an added bonus of some exotic-flavored jazz on the side. |
8. Brian Setzer: The Dirty Boogie (1998) / Guitar Slinger
(1996)
Known more for music of a rock persuasion, the Brian
Setzer Orchestra has been the introduction to older forms of music for more
than a few people. Though The Setzer Orchestra's musical mix relies heavily
on surfer/ '50s rock and roll sounds, old tunes like
"Since I Don't Have You " are able to seamlessly interlace with originals like
"Switchblade 327" that makes both seem contemporaneous. Along with the Cherry
Poppin' Daddies, Brian Setzer introduced me to the ever-growing movement
of a modern brand of swing music with revamped versions of classics like
"Jump, Jive an' Wail"; the raucous
"let's-see-how-close-we-can-get-to-breaking-the-sound-barrier" hysteria of
Setzer's music will indeed have you jumping, jiving and wailing.
Most young people will be able to appreciate the unstoppable
energy of an album like Dirty Boogie, with screeching guitars,
hard-driving beats, and hard rock-like scream-vocals very similar to some
styles of modern music (ie, not made for listening on a volume lower than,
say, "8"). Setzer has a softer side too, however, as heard on
"Town
Without Pity",
"Hollywood Nocturne ", and "Sammy Davis City". "Town Without Pity" sounds like the
kind of song that sockhoppers would have slow-danced to in the '50s, while
"Hollywood Nocturne" brings to mind images of California sunsets over grandiose
mansions on hills and dramatic flamenco dances to electric, rather than acoustic,
guitars. "Sammy Davis City" is a beautiful introspection pared down to the
sparsest percussion, "green-blue"-sounding guitar, and Brian Setzer's lone
vocals for a ballad that is prettily plaintive and reflective.
As for youthful playability: forget raising the roof,
Setzer rocks the house, and whether mellow or manic, sad or swinging, the
music of Brian Setzer is the kind of music one throws a party just for the
opportunity to play. |
Switchblade 327
*
Sammy
Davis City |
Jack
Lord's Hair |
7. Fletchmo: Fletchmo Plays 'Detour' and Other Golden Greats
(2003)
James G. Fletcher aka "Fletchmo"
(http://www.fletchmo.com) is a one-man
show. A vocalist and multi-talented instrumentalist (with a synthesized drum
machine), Fletchmo records both originals and covers of jazzy/ pop standards
from the Lounge Era in a style that is self-described as: "Prolonged overexposure
to rat pack martini soaked vinyl mixed with endless all night surf music
marathons were blended with a slow, steady stream of cheap late night
horror/sci-fi/teen delinquent double features and a fatal dose of 'that old
Mancini magic', Shaken, Stirred, and left too long to ferment . . . ". From
the bachelor pad cover art to the fun, finger-snapping music, Fletchmo is
a hearty nod to the magic musical period when jazz was synonymous with popular
music. Of the up-and-coming discography of this hobbyist music maker,
Fletchmo Plays 'Detour' and Other Golden Greats is my favorite thus
far.
"Turk's
Groove" has a subtly cool, Joey DeFrancesco-esque vibe in keeping with
its classic jazz roots, while
"Polka
Your Eye Out" sounds more like Italian-gypsy street dancing fare. The
real treat of the album is the original "Jack Lord's Hair", whose steamy
surf/ super-cool-secret-agent ambiance is as smashing as the eponymous Hawaii
Five-O actor's famous coiffure.
While Fletchmo may not be a world-famous recording star,
his music is doing a tremendous tribute to the music of the Lounge Era by
remaining faithful to its musical context. Kitschy-cool and oh so fun,
Fletchmo Plays is a soundtrack made for outdoor barbecues, swingin'
soirees -- and the happenin' party in the hearts of modern day hepcats. |
6. The Rat Pack: Eee-O-11: The Best of the Rat Pack (2001)
If there's one elder still universally regarded as
devastatingly cool, even to today's young people, it's Frank Sinatra. I don't
know a single soul that hasn't heard at least one song by Sinatra, and know
even fewer that would contest his perennial coolness. The Rat Pack is still
revered at the nucleus of pop culture, and their music can be heard today
everywhere except the remotest corner of the globe. ("My Way" was one of
the classic songs spoofed in a series of commercials for eBay; Dean Martin
is only one of the swingin' set frequently played at Olive Garden).
The Rat Pack camaraderie is legendary in their musical
magic -- whether solo or in collaboration -- and virtually no one is immune
to their freewheeling brash (if not entirely PC) sense of humor.
Eee-O-11 gathers both solo and group efforts by Sinatra, Martin, and
Sammy Davis, Jr., including some familiar songs like "Volare", "The Lady
is a Tramp", and others which should be well-known. Case in point: the opening
track, "I'm Gonna Live Till I Die" (fittingly) by Sinatra had me all but
leaping in Gene Kelly-style terpsichorean ecstasy. The lyrics seem to sum
up that wonderful youthful spirit of life ("I'm gonna live till I die/ I'm
gonna laugh instead of cry/ I'm gonna take the town and turn it upside down/
I'm gonna live, live, live until I die!") over a musical backdrop that could
raise the dead, alternating between frenetic tropical rhythms just bordering
on uncivilized, and a slower paced smoldering swing. Sammy Davis' turn on
"A
Lot of Livin' to Do" unfolds in a similar, though tamer vein, while
"Sam's
Song", presumably a spotlight for the Rat Packer of the same name, becomes
Dean Martin's tongue-in-cheek ribbing of Davis, with the two of them exchanging
barbs:
Martin: "Here's a happy tune"
Davis: "It's a sweet melody and I'm happy to say it was named after me but
he's calling it -- "
Martin: "Clyde's song"
The Rat Pack is a core figure in Bunny's crusade for
the revival of Jazz-Youth Relations, and with good reason: they're timeless,
classics in both music and persona, and when the massive commercial tidal
wave of Coca-Cola, McDonald's and Walmart has swallowed civilization into
nonexistence, The Rat Pack will remain as the authors of the "Book of Cool." |
I'm
Gonna Live Till I Die |
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-- Next month, part two of Jazz 101: An Introduction to Jazz for Today's
Youth
______________________________
Peace is the word,
Bunny
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"Bunny M." is a seventeen-year-old Dallas resident who plays drums, piano and
clarinet. Her passion for jazz and the challenges she faces as a youthful
fan of it is the focus of her Jerry Jazz Musician column, "Accent
on Youth."
You can contact Bunny at: lotusflower1922@hotmail.com
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Accent on Youth archive
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