From: Russell Pearson <r.pearson-AT-art.derby.ac.uk>
Date: Mon, 19 Jan 1998 14:49:10 +0100
Subject: Re: M-TH: White Jazz



>We should remember that Miles Davis' closest collaborator for many years
>was the white bandleader and arranger Gil Evans, who got started in the
>1940 Claude Thornhill dance band, a hip version of the Dorsey brothers.
>Alumni of the Thornhill band, including Jerry Mulligan, collaborated with
>Miles in the seminal "Birth of the Cool" record of the early 1950s. It
>spawned the West Coast style all on its own.
>

Yep, I heard Gil Evans' orchestra in Nottingham UK shortly before he died-
quite an event to say the least, despite the fact that it was held in a
very mainstream theatre.

Point to note, and I don't know how this compares with the states, is the
continual resurgence of 'Acid Jazz' and its derivatives in the UK. Most the
stuff I own on vinyl is about eight years old now so I don't know the names
of current bands, but what I'm hearing at raves and clubs is an interesting
fusion of House, Jazz, Jungle and Drums n Bass. There aint any purity in
the music- it's geared for the drug enhanced clubbing generation and if the
sound cuts into the neural pathways it's mixed in!
The result is a very inventive, innovative 'new sound', with classic west
coast forms fused with house beats and vocals. This is made even more
confusing by the tendency for the DJ's to mix on the fly, for sampling to
be mixed with further sampling and a general loss of any origins. I suspect
that there are sound files available over the web- if anyone is especially
interested I'll do some searches.

Anyway Louis, enough of this banter, it's about time we swapped insults: as
Dizzie Gillespie says "Jazz is too good for Americans!"

=;-)


Russ







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