Steve Catanzaro (stevencatanzaro@sprintmail.com)
Wed, 15 Dec 1999 11:45:39 -0700
Hey all, I was just choppin' beats in the studio and thinking about Mos
Def's "Rock & Roll." Pretty controversial, I'd say... (for those of you
unfamiliar with this most illest of new hip hop releases, the lyric goes
something like)
"Elvis Presley ain't got no soul
Bo Diddley is rock and roll
You may dig the Rolling Stones
but they didn't come up with that shit on they own"
And it's got me thinkin' (just for fun, since we're all afrophiles here),
can I think of just 5 white boys who can rock as hard in Afroamerican styles
as the originators? Well, I've got to reach way back for...
5. Bix Biderbecke. This was a great early jazz trumpeter with a very unique
sound. Funny the role reversal. He was overshadowed by Louis Armstrong who
was much more loved by the public, and much more academically trained than
Biderbecke, a self-taught, poorly paid musician who never got his true due.
He drunk himself to death, so I imagine he's knew what the "blues" were all
about. If you're into really old jazz, check him out, he swings mightily.
4. Lalo Schifrin... well, I don't know what his nationality is, but who can
think of a mid 20th century piece that rocks harder than "Mission:
Impossible?" (And, don't forget that other 5/4 white boy classic, "Take
Five" by Dave Brubeck.)
3. Medeski, Martin, & Wood. Well, I don't here much of Jimmy Smith in
Medeski's organ playing, frankly... sounds more like a funky, amped up Cecil
Taylor. I don't know of any true brothers ever doing exactly what MMW is
doing, and even if they are, or did, MMW is still funky (especially live.)
2. Keith Jarrett. Yeah. You thought he was black! But, I don't think he is,
at least not from skimming through Ian Carr's biography. Any way, he is the
Wynton Marsalis of the piano, jumping back and forth between Classical and
jazz. Some consider him a pompous wanker, but he does get a nice sound out
of the piano, AND most importantly he played with Miles.
And finally...... we have, er, uhm, well,... Oh Yeah. Thank goodness for DJ
Shadow, who, as the ultimate afrophile, has become one of the most well
respected and critically acclaimed beat choppers. He's taken micro-editing
to a new level of obsessiveness, and has done (probably by virtue of his
race) quite a lot to bring the new techniques of hip hop to the major
university music programs (which are always at least 30 years behind.)
There ya have it. 5 white (or non-black) outfits that deserve at least a
little credit from genius cats like Mos!
(honorable mention; Donald Fagen, Bill Evans, and Elson, only 'cuz he met
Stevie Wonder.)
(by the way, this post is tongue-in-cheek, ya know...)
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.0b3 on Wed Dec 15 1999 - 19:45:55 MET