I am
currently reading a book called “The Story of Jazz,” written by Marshall W.
Stearns and first published in 1956.There are updated editions is this text as well, but I have an old hard
cover copy loaned to me by my Jazz friend Salim Malik, complete with book worm
holes and, quite expectedly, yellowing and beat up.The first chapter – Jazz and West African
Music – tells us that the “blue tonality” of West African music occurs in all
African American music.It is present in
the field holler, the work song, the spiritual, gospel, minstrelsy, the blues
and ragtime, and especially in Jazz.Blue tonality is difficult to describe, but it features rhythmic spark,
flatted fifth notes that are distinct from those in European music, changes in
the expected melody and a unique blues flavour that must be heard to really be
understood.And blue notes, coupled with
falsetto breaks in the style of vocal delivery and the use of the
call-and-response pattern, distinguish Jazz from European music and infuse an
improvisational core and distinctive swing to the music we know as Jazz.
I would
like to begin this entry with a dedication – to Frankie and Diana Rhys.I saw them the other day after a long time,
and we shared a brief conversation.Frankie is a keyboard player, alto saxophonist and teacher.Diana is a singer.Both are great Jazz artists, and the best
part is that they are Belizean.Frankie
has played numerous Jazz shows and gigs and, along with Diana, on “Blues At The
House Of Culture” (on March 24th, 2000) and Carlos Perrote's “Twin Boy.”I consider Frankie to be a Jazz Renaissance
man, versatile and dedicated to his art.I remember fondly Diana's low, smoky voice and her sultry version of
“Tenderly.”They have not been too well
lately, and as they go to retire in the United States, I'd like them to know
that their solid contributions to the music in Belize have not gone unnoticed
and are very much appreciated.God
speed, Frankie and Diana – this piece is for you both.
It amuses
me to tell the story of how Jazz had its start, because for students and
newcomers to the idiom, Jazz may seem esoteric, sophisticated and inaccessible.
If truth be told, this new, hot music had its beginnings not in respectable
conservatories or concert halls.Jazz
was probably first heard in the good-time houses and bordellos of New
Orleans.After the United States Civil
War there was a glut of brass instruments waiting to be played not in military
settings, and New Orleans had more than its fair share of such
instruments.In addition New Orleans was
the veritable polyglot city – a large black population, and a mixture of
Spanish, English, French and Caribbean communities.It also had a large red light district,
Storyville, and there the sex industry flourished at the turn of the
century.One famous dance venue was
known as the Funky Butt Hall!
