[Dixielandjazz] Rock and Roll is Jazz - Duke Ellington

[Marek Boym]

I was around, Steve, and I did listen to Rock and Roll.  However, what
is played now under that designation is far cry from R'n'R of the
'60's, which was still very close to boogie woogie.  And those
"honking" saxophones certainly sounded closer to the "jump" music of
the 1940's than to the electric guitars of today.  Even Elvis' playing
sounded like boogie woogie (no, I was not a great fan; after risking
being kicked out of the boarding school where the Jewish Agency sent
me upon repatriating to Israel, in orde to see Elvis films, I realized
it was not MKOM, especially as he was already seguing into the more
romantic mood).  I remember walking from one juke box to another where
they played Rock Around the Clock, Shake, Rattle and Roll, and other,
mainly Bill Haley, hits (could not afford coins of my own).
And I remember the article being quoted in a jazz magazine (the Down Beat?).
Cheers

On 18/08/07, Steve Barbone <barbonestreet at earthlink.net> wrote:
> "Robert S. Ringwald" <robert at ringwald.com>
>
> > Steve Barbone wrote:
> >
> > (snip)
> >> Duke Ellington said more than once in the 1960s that rock & roll
> >> was the most updated form of jazz.
> > ()snip)
> >
> > Steve,
> >
> > Where did he say that?  In what context?
> >
> > I am sure he could have made a misstatement . . . . Or could you call it a
> > mistake???
> >
> > I made a mistake once and now I have a wife and 3 kids...
>
> No mistake on Ellington's part or mine, Bob.
>
> The source is a 2 page article that Duke Ellington wrote, in "Music Journal"
> March 1962 on pages 31 and 96. He was asked the question, "Where Is Jazz
> Going." which is the title of the article.
>
> The relevant part of that article says: (quoting Duke below)
>
> "Recently I 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."
>
> "I have written a number of Rock 'n' Roll things myself, but am saving them
> for possible use in a show." Etc., etc., etc.
>
> The article, while a bit rambling is certainly interesting and recommended
> reading. I believe it was also published in "The Duke Ellington Reader",
> Oxford University Press but have not checked to verify it. Too late in the
> evening.
>
> Of special interest to me were his closing statements: "If it sounds good it
> is successful; if it doesn't it has failed" . . . "And let's not worry about
> whether the result is jazz or this or that type of performance. Let's just
> say that what we're all trying to create, in one way or another, is music."
>
> That is my point in a nutshell. Jazz, ill defined as it may be, is in the
> ears of the individual listener.  "Jazz" does not reside exclusively in the
> brain of some academician or "knowledgeable fan" who thinks he/she knows,
> and can therefore tell others what jazz is, or is not, who plays it and who
> does not, what instruments should be used, etc.
>
> Cheers,
> Steve Barbone
>
> PS. Those who were around in 1962 will remember that all sorts of "jazz"
> segments were happening. Ornette Coleman, John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk,
> Eric Dolphy etc., etc., etc. Ellington never mentions them in his article,
> just Rock 'n' Roll. Interesting that he related R & R to folk jazz roots.
>
>
>
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