lunacat

Jazz is one of the very few truly American artistic genres. I suppose the early rock and roll/blues experience qualifies but really their earliest roots can be traced back to the importation of African peoples. Folk of course is sourced in the Celtic and Scots traditions, Cajun from the Arcadians, classical from greater Europe and so forth. But jazz . . . I mean the real stuff very unlike the easy listening drippy saxophone pablum we hear on most contemporary jazz stations . . . true jazz was born of the American inner city of the late fifties, much the same way that hip-hop, grunge and others eventually morphed among urban youth. But jazz stands apart even from these in that it wasnt a function of evolution; it was invented.

Oh of course there was the big band kind of jazz for decades before the fifties . . . Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman, Count Basie and countless others. These really set the stage for mass distribution and the development of pop radio as it appealed to a wide variety of demographics and experience and ultimately became the signature music for World War II. Real jazz, on the other hand, was born of disenfranchisement, frustration, racism and economic and social injustice. Real jazz was the artistic language by which the inner city said Look at me. I exist, I have integrity and you can no longer ignore me.

For those not familiar with what Im talking about, check out these recordings:
Miles Davis Kind of Blue
Miles Davis In a Silent Way
John Coltrane My Favorite Things
Horace Silver Song for My Father

For those just a little more adventurous:
Miles Davis Bitches Brew
John Coltrane A Love Supreme

And these dont even scratch the surface. For those even more adventurous, please make recommendations to me.