"Pop" Goes the Banjo

Chick Corea and Bela Fleck were on the Tavis Smiley show last night. I remember Bela when his group the Flecktones first had major exposure in the music industry. It was a little strange to hear a banjo playing jazz-oriented music, but it worked. The group did telling versions of a variety of tunes including songs by the Beatles. The music had a lot of soul, which was evidenced by Bela’s playing last night with Chick. It also raised a somewhat startling realization about an issue of which I have been raving. Suddenly the tables were turned, and the evil banjo-based rhythmic concept of “pop” music was displayed by non other than Mr. Corea himself. How funny, the perfect pairing of dueling rhythmic concepts, or so it would seem. Ironically the traditional roles of each instrument were switched. Chick, as he has done since Light as a Feather, played piano in “pop’ style, and Bela took on the role as soul-giver. His rhythmic “pocket” was fat and moving, much like original Appalachian folk and bluegrass music. One has only to hear Dolly Parton sing a tune from the hills of Appalachia to understand the depth of feeling represented here. Chick on the other hand, while playing amazinging tasty and interesting “licks,” failed to MOVE the listener. That is because his rhythmic concept is based on “pop." It must be Chick made a conscious decision years ago to exploit this particular feel. I’ll never forget the first time I heard “Spain” on Light as a Feather. I couldn’t decipher rhythmically what was going on between him and Stanley Clarke. Their playing seemed rushed and unsettled with no solid “bottom.” After years of doing cruise ship work I have discovered this is a valid rhythmic concept chosen consciously by its purveyors. Upon reading reviews of Light as a Feather it was meant to reach broader audiences than just jazz aficionados. Much like how Sergio Mendez became a “pop” sensation with the release of Brazil ’66, Chick must have been attempting to bridge the jazz/pop chasm. That attempt and therefore musical concept was exhibited clearly last night on Tavis’s show. Chick is still using this rhythmic concept, while Bela left the “ricky tick” style of banjo playing on someone’s knee in Alabama. Bela was a trendsetter, because he brought the banjo to the forefront as an expressive instrument in styles of music other than Country and Bluegrass. He improvised jazz music on the banjo much like a guitar player. Never once did he base the band's music on the stilted and commercial aspect of banjo "strumming." He effortlessly fused traditional picking with intricate jazz lines to produce a new style of jazz fusion. This must be why his playing was interesting to Chick, since Chick was a major component in the original jazz fusion movement. While Weather Report, a jazz fusion band led by keyboardist Joe Zawinul, was often cited as the original jazz fusion band, it was really Miles Davis who created this movement. Miles created three distinct styles in the evolution of jazz. Cool Jazz, Modal Jazz, and Jazz Fusion. Bitches Brew and In a Silent Way were the seminal recordings that created this genre. It is interesting that Chick chose to use “pop” rhythm in his own recordings. I liked his lines, his 20th century-based classical oriented harmony, and his tunes. His touch and sound on the piano weren't jazz oriented. I guess it is because they were not meant to be. Thirty seven years later Chick is still playing this way, and it was a starting to see this role reversal.