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Spain and The Netherlands, Jazz, and the World Cup

The World Cup is over, and I suppose the time has come for me to stop complaining. I was cheering for Holland from the beginning, and was crushed when the Netherlands lost to Spain in the final minutes of overtime in the final, in what in general was a pretty good game.

These two countries are soccer superpowers, but have also made some nice contributions as far as jazz musicians go.

The Dutch boasts a drummer who is a virtuoso in all styles, from Dixieland to free jazz. I speak of Han Bennink, who was the drummer of choice for jazz musicians like Dexter Gordon, Sonny Rollins and Eric Dolphy when they would make their trips to Holland (in fact, Bennink was the drummer on Dolphy’s album Last Date from 1964).

Spain boasts the extremely talented blind-born pianist, Tete Montoliu. Montoliu learned to read music in Braille when he was seven, and a wonderful piano style followed shortly after. Several top-notch jazz musicians enjoyed working with Montoliu as well, including Lionel Hampton and Roland Kirk.

In addition to being thankful for the contributions the Netherlands and Spain gave to the 2010 World Cup, we can also be thankful for the contributions of their jazz musicians as well.

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Doc pays tribute to Dizzy – 1958

Trumpeter and bandleader Doc Severinsen recently celebrated his 83rd birthday. After an extremely brief retirement following the end of Johnny Carson on the Tonight Show, Doc can be found back on the road again teaming up with the group El Ritmo De La Vida. At 83, his chops are still in great shape, and his wardrobe is still flashy.

Here is a video originally from a program called The Subject is Jazz from 1958, where we see Doc in a rare setting outside of a big band.

Happy Birthday Doc!

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Happy Birthday, Canada

Today is Canada Day, the celebration of the anniversary of the Constitution Act from 1867, which united two British colonies and a province of the British Empire into the single country of Canada.

Thanks to Canada for providing us with several jazz musicians, including Diana Krall, Oliver Jones, Renee Rosnes, Michael Buble’, Holly Cole, Maynard Ferguson, and of course, Oscar Peterson.

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So texting is out…but what about jazz and driving?

Beginning today in Washington state, using a cell phone while driving becomes a primary offense, and if caught, you can receive a ticket for $124.

I have read and heard a variety of reasons as to why using a phone on the road is a bad idea. The most glaring might be the comparison of texting while driving safety-wise being the equivalent to having a blood alcohol content somewhere between a .08 and a .13.

This lead me to wonder (tongue in cheek) if there was any information about the safety of listening to jazz while driving.

Oddly enough, there is, sort of. Privilege Insurance conducted a study of drivers, and asked them what music they listened to. The safest drivers happened to listen to classical, jazz, easy listening, and indie/folk. The most unsafe drivers listened to indie/rock, dance/house music, or R & B.

Dr. Nichola Dibben, a music psychologist who conducted the survey on behalf of Privilege, went on to suggest that overly complex music, or music with emotive vocals or music that has little repetition, can lead to greater driver aggression and reckless motoring behavior.

Dr. Dibben went on to say that music was however better than silence or talk radio, and can help actually keep the driver attentive, and that singing along can actually help keep eyes on the road.

In a separate study, Israeli researchers in 2002 concluded that drivers should stick to songs with similar beats per minute (BPM) to their heart. For example, if a heart beats 60 BPM, and the tempo of a song beats 120 BPM, then the driver listening to that song is more likely to be reckless and increase in driving speed. On the other hand, music that is very slow can keep you from staying awake, the study suggests.

So what jazz might you avoid listening to, according to these studies?

Perhaps something like this?

I must admit, you would be hard to find a jazz song playing in my car that clocks in less than 180 BPM. I hope my insurance rates don’t go up.

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To the Vocalists

It seems that recently I have been presented with an onslaught of male jazz singers that seem to be…well…confused and moody.

Everyone who likes vocal music likes it for their own particular reasons. Obviously having a good voice and the ability to sing in tune is a nice start. And be it a male or female singer, I enjoy an uptempo vocal tune that shows a little fun or a little attitude, and a ballad that makes its best attempt to tug at the heartstrings.

As far as the female singers go – keep up the good work. I’m happy hearing Dianne Reeves and Roberta Gambarini swing, Maria Muldaur and Ernestine Anderson lay down the law and tell it like it is, and hear Diana Krall and Tierney Sutton sing great versions of ballads like A Case of You and Two For the Road.

I feel like when I am listening to them, their personalities and talents are reflected in the music they are choosing to sing.

But lately, I feel like the guys are letting me down a bit. There are exceptions, of course. Ever since his 2004 recording Twentysomething, I’ve been impressed with what British vocalist Jamie Cullum has been doing.  Cullum, maybe more than anyone that could qualify as a jazz vocalist, reflects his personality in his music. You listen to one Jamie Cullum album, and you feel like you know what you are in for if you were to head out for a night on the town with him. His voice and attitude match his lyrics and music, and it makes sense.

He has attitude. But this attitude doesn’t confuse you, the way I am confused by what other male vocalists of today are trying to convey. It is as if they are so confused about how to express their personality through their voice, that it has just got them feeling mopey, lethargic, and overly contemplative, and that’s how it sounds. Some great male vocalists sang sad songs (Johnny Hartman, for example), but these sad songs had purpose. A girl left them. The dog ran away. We can all relate to that kind of sadness and the voice that is expressing it to us.

But no song is going to tug at your heartstrings, or make you smile or dance, if it doesn’t make sense to you. A song will never matter, no matter how pretty the strings or horns sound in the background, if there is no way for the listener to relate, or in many cases, even understand what the singer is trying to say. And if the singer cannot communicate, be it via the lyrics, emotion, or both, it just doesn’t work.