To Swing or not to Swing?

It is interesting one connotation of the word "swing" is swapping partners for sex. "Does he swing?" "Wanna swing?" That definition certainly could not have come from purist America, land of Mormons, Quakers, Anglicans and the rest. Could we dare to be that.... hip? What is hip? Do we dare be square in the name hippness? I would like to suggest the US is not a hip country. We are not old enough to be hip. A country a scant 200 years old doesn't have much room for anything. Well, there is jazz. Jazz is supposedly our ONLY native art form. Listening? Not Rock 'n' Roll, not Disco, not R&B, not Punk, not Techno. What is it about jazz music that puts it into that category? Improvisation comes to mind. Jazz music is one of the few musics that incorporates improvisation as one of its major traits. (that means playing something that is not written down) While improvisation certainly existed in Western forms of music, it is to the extent with which it is utilized that makes jazz artistic. There is usually a melody or tune that the jazz artist has to learn. There are chord symbols that accompany this melody. After their statement of this melody, the musician is then expected to "improvise" or spontaneously create new melodies in a series that fit together in symmetry to form a complete statement. An improvised solo could be akin to a miniature movement of a symphony or string quartet. (at its highest form) Improvisation started as a paraphrasing of the melody. The likes of Louis Armstrong and King Oliver weaved new melodies around pre-existing simplistic tunes. In early jazz, three instruments did this at the same time in perfect harmony. Clarinet, trumpet, and trombone found appropriate roles together in a group. Over time the solo of the individual became more pronounced and therefore important. Playing the perfect solo became the goal of the jazz musician. Whereas this is not the only requirement of a good jazz musician, it is one. Taste, phrasing, rhythmic feel, sound, and expression are all important aspects of being a good musician. A simple definition of jazz music could be: a swing-oriented, improvisational music based mostly on the 32 bar popular song and the 12 bar blues. This music was the music of America from the turn of the century up until the emergence of Rock 'n' Roll in the l950's. Examination of early pop music shows a marked influence of swing feel. Low and behold as popular, radio music moved away from the 50's, the swing feel began to disappear. No one can discount that the amazing popularity of the Beatles, Elvis Presley, the Rolling Stones, and Jerry Lee Lewis was because of their incorporation of swing feel. Whether they thought about it or not, these groups swung. Well, what exactly is swing? Cruise ship musicians for one have difficulty figuring this out. Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, John Coltrane, and Cannonball Adderly all were born in the American South. There was a musical feel in the Bible Belt that came predominantly from Gospel and church music that influenced these jazz artists. Although most of them transplanted to the north where it would be more likely to find success in a musical career, they all maintained the "feel" of that Southern music. Likewise Rock 'n' Roll bands such as the Allman Brothers, Lynard Skynard, and Marshall Tucker all used piano players which in certain ways created this unique feel. If the scholar would examine most musics based soly on the acoustic or electric guitar, they would find a slightly different "feel" in that music. Pop music as a genre could be categorized this way because the eighth note pulse is created by the strumming pattern of the guitar. Most of the music being broadcasted on today's airways is of this sort. Piano has fallen out of vogue. The MIDI decade of the 80's as well as the sample looped based Rap and Hip/Hop have also seemed to have lost their way. CMT is littered with guitar bands strumming away on those blasted boxes. As a piano player I do not prefer that feel. As a cruise ship musician I often have had to try to emulate that strumming pattern on the piano. It is next to impossible because the physical motion is unobtainable. There is no "up stroke" on the piano. Guitar bands like this basically establish a rhythmic feel where the eighth notes pulse is "laid back" and extremely close together. As a result it doesn't swing. Swing is rebound. Every hit must have an equal rebound most easily personified by the buoyant wrist motion of the upright bassist. The music "feel" in most 80's music does not swing. It is created by tightly compressing the eighth notes pulse with little or no rebound. A musician must ask the question, "How can music that does not recognize the one style of music considered America's art music, really be artistic and sustain the test of time?" My conclusion is, although there is a vast catalog of original, artistic-like music, non of it will stand the test of time without some kind of infusion of swing feel. Western orchestral music and American jazz both embrace a plethora of musical expression running the gamut in terms of mood. Neither would be satisfied utilizing only one emotion or feeling, such as pop music seems to do. Happy music has its place, but the human spirit is not happy all the time and requires a more diverse vessel from wince to drink. It is for these reasons I have never been interested in pop music. Only recently out of sheer boredom have I begun to explore some of this catalog. I would like to see popular music once again grow up and take the human condition seriously. Dispense with this vibe, I know its not real. The glam images on TV, the silly flat hair, the layers of make-up, making our women look like dolls. Is any real person going to buy this image? Also, music based on such superficial images are bound to come up short considering the United States seems to be on a path headed toward religious war. Surely such an subject merits more thoughtful scrutiny in the hands of America's musical artists. I think it is time for Simon to step down, surrender his self-serving record company, and leave the music in the hands of people that deserve to do it.