Walk in the Woods
Vol IV: #26 I Just Like It
After a few minutes, I selected two and sent them to my nephew. He has yet to respond to the video links. I get it. Jazz is an old soul’s music. No twenty year-old is gonna listen to jazz without a girl to impress. There was a time when I listened to jazz to impress people, mainly a few ladies. But now, I just like it.
I feel a need to produce a blog post, though I’m tired of myself at the moment. Lots of life going right and lots of life going wrong. (Isn’t that what it is?) Accordingly, the rest of this post will a Jazz appreciation post.
My nephew asked me who my top five drummers are. He likes to do that type of thing, ask for lists of favorites and bests. The answers usually lead to more questions and fun debate as the entire exercise is his way of creating conversation. I like it. And in regards to his drummer question, I gave him a preface before answering.
My knowledge of drummers and percussionists is limited, mostly to rock drummers. And while true, Keith Moon and Stewart Copeland are considered rock icons, they are still merely rockers. Jazz drummers (and session drummers) by contrast are both more disciplined and more creative. The jazz drummer must be tight to the beat yet loose and confident when given the lead, unafraid to experiment, tear down, and reshape a groove. The rock drummer does not rearrange the beat or update a popular fill. Unlike his jazz sibling, he’s paid to sit in the pocket and play it like he did the night before. All the creativity he’ll use is in the studio, written and rewritten by a team of musicians and producers. Mr Jazz does all that writing and rewriting in the moment, as the song unfolds. No second take. No bathroom breaks.
I said all this is fewer words and began to search YouTube for examples of great jazz drummers. And while I listened to find the right songs, my head bobbed and shoulders swayed, especially to Latin jazz greats like Tito Puente. After a few minutes, I selected two and sent them to my nephew. He has yet to respond to the video links. I get it. Jazz is an old soul’s music. No twenty year-old is gonna listen to jazz without a girl to impress. There was a time when I listened to jazz to impress people, mainly a few ladies. But now, I just like it.
Abstract: Jazz Reborn
A poem, about the evolution of Jazz.
As if Jazz made love to parrot from Havana and gave us Machito,
Who gave us Tito.
Oye Como Va
Flutes whistle up and away,
Backed by rhythmic horns, bright and clean.
All following the percussionists, all of them,
The bongo and timbales players, steady while on parade.
Bamp, bump, bamp, bump-bamp. Baaam—bamp, bomp.
And this is how Jazz lives on, despite her fading name,
In the lush mountains, white beaches, and rain forests of Latin American, from Cuba to Brazil.
May she find her way back to the land of her birth, in whatever form she please.