I can remember as a young-boy growing-up in East Harlem
detesting
jazz
music. I thought it was the most boring and
depressing music
that I ever
heard.
I can remember both my
father and stepfather’s
love for the music.
WRVR.FM was the
local jazz stations out of New
York, and it would
eventually
change
to
country-western music.
I also remember the build-
up
and my stepfather’s
anticipation
of Miles’ new release
"Bitches Brew," and
his disappointment after
he brought it
home and
listened to it.
It was hard to understand why anyone listened to this kind of
music
especially
when Motown, James Brown, and the Beatles
dominated
the
airwaves. I was
curious to understand my family
member’s
passion for
this
music. My dad
used to tell me stories
about the
local jazz spots that
he
frequented in the
fifties,
stories about sitting
at a bar, while Miles was
just
a few feet
away on
a small intimate
stage playing. The passion in
which
he told these stories
was fascinating.
So armed with both my personal dislike and my curiosity
to
under-
stand
others
passion for this music, I set out to
explore
and
under-
stand it, to
at least learn
to tolerate it. So
I forced
myself
to listen
to their collections.
At first it was
a struggle,
I started
with
Bill
Holiday’s "Lady in Satin" and
Wes
Montgomery’s "Goin’
Out of
My Head," not bad. Billie
a little
sad,
but alright.
Wes
played
con-
temporary music not
bad,
eventually. I would
grow
to
appreciate
the tune "Omorro." Miles "Round About
Midnight" made me doze
a little bit, but
there
was something
about this
guy named
John
Coltrane’s
and
his solos, and this
other guy
on Base, Paul Chambers
,
sounded kind of nice. One
day while
listening to Lee Morgan's
"Sidewinder" LP , I heard
a side called
"Totem Pole," I
was
blown
away. They were
really
jammin' on
this piece,
I listened
to it over
and over again, and
finally
I said
to myself, I get it!
And, after
discovering
Charlie
Parker, I was
hooked,
the solo
on
"Night in
Tunisia," still
blows
me away.
Of course this process took a number of years, but it
was well
worth
it. I’m
still
discovering the great artists
of the past and
present. I’ve
even had the
pleasure
to
share the music with
my
children, my
son
Joshua, at
the age
of five, enjoyed
the
repetitive
beat in Miles’ tune, "Milestone." I discovered
this
great music
and
an original
American
art form. The only thing
I enjoy
as much
as
the music
is the history
and sharing with
equal passion the
music
and stories
with my
older family
members who are still
enthusiastic
about
this music.
