Imitation & flattery

Allbluev@aol.com
Sat, 23 Mar 1996 04:41:58 -0500


On the subject of the Tone Loc and the Donald Byrd album covers - It reminds
me of the Joe Jackson cover of Body and Soul which is almost a replica of
Sonny Rollins Blue Note Album Vol.2. They both made the Blue Note Album
cover art book on page 116 and 117. The caption under one says "All good
things which exist are the fruits of originality..." and the other caption
says "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery"

On the subject of cover tunes...isn't that what Jazz standards are? I've
been on this Stevie Wonder kick lately and have been marvelling on Nnenna
Freelon's version of Girl Blue compared to Stevie's...also Joshua Redman's
version of Make Sure You're Sure and Incognito's very happy version of Don't
You Worry Bout a Thing. In fact I've been admiring the versatility and
complexity of the tunes combined with the appeal so much so that I think
we're going to do a tribute to Stevie Wonder soon (4 AJ bands doing their own
stuff and a few of the wonder man's). I don't have a problem with people
doing covers...just do it with respect and don't pretend it's yours.

Deborah Brand
BlueVision