One Influence Becomes Another and So On

          There are many claims as to what was the first rock and roll record.  One thing is pretty certain--Rock and Roll didn't just suddenly come into existence, it was a melding of many forms. Now Rock and Roll is not just any one type of music, it has diverged into many styles of rock.  All music continually grows, merges, diverges, and becomes old and new, and at times, becomes almost unclassifiable.

          The simplistic early rock eventually took on the attributes of other types of music such as classical and jazz.  When the term "fusion" is used we often think jazz, but in reality rock and roll was a fusion of blues, swing, and country with doses of jazz thrown in.  Once the mix was brewed,  the sound was fairly distinct.  But from there rock didn't just stagnate into a same ol' same ol' style, instead rock artists started absorbing other styles and musicians who had specialized in other genres began experimenting with rock.  Musicians are often like that.

           Horns, especially saxophone, had been a staple of rock and roll since the beginning. But in the mid sixties horn driven rock and roll began a surge of popularity with groups such as the Buckinghams, the Grass Roots, and the rock and soul revues like James Brown's horn driven band.   The latter 60's saw the emergence of the brass rock bands like Blood, Sweat, and Tears and Chicago, which started a huge popularity swing in the direction of jazz influenced rock.

            In the seventies, the fusion of rock and jazz began to explode.  Carlos Santana and Ian Anderson are but a couple of the musicians who freely jazzed up their rock.  Some of the many artists who leaned toward jazz with a strong rock influence were John McLaughlin and the Mahavishnu Orchestra, Weather Report, and Jean Luc Ponty.  Lines were crossed and criss-crossed as music styles were combined.

            Musicians are typically pretty open to jazz.  It's just another musical style and a skilled musician is often receptive to playing, or at least listening to jazz.  However, sometimes the music fan is turned off by the thought of jazz.  They often seem to think jazz is some obscure musical style reserved for smoky clubs or snooty cocktail lounges.  The fact is that jazz influences many styles of music and is something we hear everyday in commercials, soundtracks, and the songs of our favorite artists.  Give it up. You're already listening to it so it's not that complicated.  Take a musical adventure and explore jazz.

            Do you have any favorite contemporary jazz artists?  Can you think of an example of a popular song that you like or a favorite artist that has incorporated jazz into a performance?  Do you think jazz is snooty, pretentious, or just plain difficult to understand?