Well, not hate exactly, but, certainly Mr. H, Mr. C, and myself were all "Jazzed out" by the end of my Thursday night gig/birthday party/jazz-athon. Mr. M on the other hand thoroughly enjoyed himself, as per usual, and dug the staggeringly good Jazzers, Salsa Dancers, Flamenco Dancers and Russian Dancers. This probably says more about Mr. M's enviable ability to soak up any experience, new or old, than it does about my problem with Jazz. 'Tis true, I do have certain issues with Jazz. Firstly, I am secretly in awe of their superior musical knowledge/ability. "They know the rules" as Mr. M so succinctly put it. Secondly, I was born and raised, hand-reared if you like, on Pop music and, therefore, after an hour of listening to these cats blowing up a storm, I start "Jonesing" for the safety of the verse/chorus/verse/chorus/middle eight/chorus structure of Pop.
Thursday's gig was to be a double cause for celebration. I was meeting up with and, hopefully, playing with my old band mate, Paul Anderson, for the first time in 25 years. It was also Paul's sax playing friend, Renato's 50th birthday. Now, the night took the form of Jazz (lots of it), special guests (musical and not so musical) and a few songs each from Paul and myself. The one snag was that those Jazz Saxophone cats love to honk and being told that you will be going on "a bit later" or "in a few songs time" in the Jazz world is a hell of a lot longer wait than it would be in the Pop world. So, after arriving at about a quarter past eight, I finally got to sing a few songs at just gone midnight and my old pal, Paul, followed straight after me. The evening turned out to be completely different to my preconceived notion of a semi-band reunion. but, I enjoyed my slot and Renato is a top man, who you just can't help but like. The Jazzers, it has to be said, were all at the very top of their game and really did swing like a suburban married couple, but, the evening, and my relationship with jazz, in particular, is probably best summed up by Mr. H's comment on my performance;
Mr. H: "Michael, When you started singing, I thought to myself, ahh yes, there's the verse, the hook and a chorus too - thank fuck for that!"
3 comments:
I too used to hate jazz, but as I've aged (mellowed), I've come to appreciate it. Well, some of it.
Actually, the older I've got, the wider my musical tastes have expanded. Still don't like folky stuff though.
Jazz or no, it sounds like you had a good time.
Oh, and a belated: Happy Birthday!
Longest backhanded comment ever...
Since I see you have Mr Yardbird in your picture, whay not go with him saying "Bop is no love-child of Jazz".
On related issues: I remember and old friend and journalist in Canada having to be very tight with his editing whilst interviewing Miles and he was mostly talking about taking cocaine while banging two girls at once.
Interested now???
"as", not "and". Best make that clear in case of defamation as my mate is still alive...
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