[Dixielandjazz] Rock & Roll is Jazz - Duke Ellington

[Steve Barbone]

"Robert S. Ringwald" <robert at ringwald.com> wrote about an Ellington
statement  below:

>> "Recently I (Ellington) was asked whether I felt jazz had moved a great
>> distance away from its folk origins. With the present state of Rock 'n' Roll
>> music I don't know how anyone can even consider asking such a question! Rock
>> 'n' Roll is the most raucous form of jazz, beyond a doubt; it maintains a
>> link with the folk origins, and I believe that no other form of jazz has ever
>> been accepted so enthusiastically by so many."

>> "This is probably an easy medium of musical semantics for the people to
>> assimilate. I'm not trying to imply by this that Rock 'n' Roll shows any
>> single trend, or indicates the only direction in which things are moving.
>> it is simply one aspect of many."


> Thanks for the info Steve.
> 
> Just goes to show you, nobody is perfect.  Boy did Ellington have it
> wrong...
> 
> He certainly was not around long enough to hear what is being passed off as
> music these days.
> 
> I'll bet if he had lived so long, he would certainly recant that statement.

Maybe, maybe not Bob. We, in the OKOM world, lead sheltered musical lives.
Outside it, one finds that there are millions of people who consider Rock
'n' Roll as a jazz form. Not only that, but they worship guys like Jimi
Hendrix as jazz, or soul jazz, or jazz funk heroes. (Don't disrespect Jimi
too much, he was a US Army paratrooper when others were avoiding military
service)

Whether we, or they are right or wrong doesn't matters. They are the
audience, as Miles Davis found out.

Sources for their views are all over the internet, on guitar chat lists,
etc. For a treat google <Miles Davis & Jimi Hendrix>

Cheers,
Steve Barbone

> "This is probably an easy medium of musical semantics for the people to
> assimilate. I'm not trying to imply by this that Rock 'n' Roll shows any
> single trend, or indicates the only direction in which things are moving.
> it
> is simply one aspect of many."