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Arts Commentary |
June 2004 |
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By Alidė Kohlhaas Now and then something catches the eye that causes a bit of amusement. It is a line, a phrase, or a concept that is somehow misplaced or misunderstood. In the arts, a generational gap can cause all sorts of misunderstandings that are, on the one hand, very funny, and on the other rather sad. Twice now the phrase "smooth Rat Pack style" has caught our attention. For some reason this is always associated with Jazz, and with Swing. All sorts of new "jazz" recordings, under the label of "smooth jazz" are popping up as a new generation discovers music created before the 1970s. Anything that cannot be clearly identified as Rock music is now being called Jazz, or Swing, even if neither label applies. But, how has the Rat Pack made its way into these classifications? From what we know of the Rat Pack, not a single member can be classified as having been a jazz musician. Dean Martin was a crooner of popular music, Peter Lawford was an actor, Joey Bishop was a comedian and talk show host, Sammy Davis Jr. a song and dance man with a touch of the comedian, whose background included a bit of jazz, mostly as imitation of the likes of Billy Eckstein (he did a perfect imitation). Frank Sinatra was a crooner with rough edges, though he got his start with a swing band led by trumpeter Harry James, and then with the Tommy Dorsey Band. So it can be said that he had his start in jazz. But he soon switched over to crooning mode and none of the five can be said to be truly associated with jazz. In fact the Rat Pack came into its fullest when jazz was beginning to wane. One wonders from where the current generation gets its information. How does a writer in a review (Food & Drink, Early Summer 2004) for a jazz vocal CD of Peter Cincotti get the idea that jazz is to be identified with The Rat Pack? While at a recent CD launch for the release of a new recording featuring jazz renditions, the name Billy Eckstein drew a blank star from a singer, who somehow managed to sound a teensy-weensy bit like him. So did the singer June Christie. No one had ever heard of her. Most of the young singers of today, who appear to lean toward the jazz idiom, seem to know only a very few performers from the past. They have not yet found the heart and soul of jazz, only its surface. One hopes that this will change. And where did the media rep of a well known symphony orchestra pick up this phrase to promote a program of mixed music that was aimed at a younger generation? This one came out before Food & Drink, just so you don't think it was picked up from there. Please, please, check your facts before writing releases, dear media persons. Here I am going to step way out and probably annoy a few people. Those so called "smooth" jazz stations floating around the ether play very little true jazz. What they play is pap, plain and simple. Real jazz stations, like 91.1 CJRT, or Rex Porter's late night program on CBC Radio 2 wouldn't be found dead playing that sort of "smooth" jazz. And further more, those who revere Ray Charles — I am not putting the late musician down, by any means, he had great talent in his own way — as a jazz musician better check their facts. Charles sang soul music, which is a very different animal from jazz. Rest in peace Ray, you deserve it. |
