Editing Music

I always feel bad about editing music ... it seems like cheating somehow, or lying. Or like I'm butchering a work of art. But I'm getting over that, and here are the reasons why:

1. Jazz and blues are adaptive art forms. They are not meant to sound the same every time you play them. Therefore changing a recorded track does not seem like sacrilege.

2. My job as a DJ is to provide danceable and accessible music. I edit tracks in order to make them so, especially if the song is one I really want to share, but has a section that makes it hard to dance to. I also edit songs to remove overly offensive/taboo material. This does not happen often, as there are few things I choose to censor.

3. I only edit songs that can be edited. Read: a song is successfully edited if a casual listener or someone who does not already know the song cannot tell where the break is. Having said that, here's a challenge. This song has a section cut (36 seconds, to be exact). I challenge you to give me the timestamp of the break, without listening to the original:



*I realize retrospectively that my player doesn't have a timer on it. If you care enough, find a stopwatch. Or count phrases or 8-counts in. 

From a self-admitted traditionalist

Here is a response prompted directly by Justin Riley's thoughts, and indirectly by BFX being just around the corner. I have to admit, to me the dance scene is a fascinating anthropological bubble of a society, and this split between "fusion" and "traditional blues" is an interesting manifestation of a divergence of culture. Here are my two cents (I suggest you read Justin's note first):

You talk of traditional blues dancers doing historical reenactments, that it's virtually a Ren Fair. Though trad dancing does borrow much more heavily from a vintage aesthetic, the culture has indeed changed with the times. So has the dancing. And the type of blues music which is played. When I DJ, I DJ almost entirely blues music, but I make a point of playing a lot of contemporary (and local artists). Yes, it's still blues, and often because of that (or the specific style, such as New Orleans jazz or delta blues) can have an older feel to it - but the context is contemporary, and that makes a difference. Blues music is not a dead art we are reviving - it is a living, breathing art form with a rich history.

Another assumption I am inclined to disagree with: "In the 1920s, no one was looking at how they were dancing in the 1840s, or trying to dance to music created 80 years ago." What about argentine tango? What about ballet? Hell, what about the waltz - one of the oldest partnered social dances. And what do you know - it's still being danced today. Does that make it invalid? We identify a past age by the new things it brought into a culture, not by the ties it chose to keep to the past. When blues and swing first started appearing (in back rooms and jook joints), the majority of people were still doing other, more traditional dances.

You talk about an ongoing cultural, creative and artistic movement within a larger context (I assume you mean of this society, and potentially globally). That's awesome. I'm all for it. I realize I'm a minority who is more stuck in the past than I have any right to be. I can't help it - the music I grew up with, identify with and that moves me to my core happens to be blues. And jazz. It's where my heart is. But I feel like I'm an anomaly, and I'm grateful that there are enough anomalies out there for me to be able to indulge in that. At the same time, I'm glad there is progress, movement, new ideas and new inspirations, because indirectly (or directly) I will be inspired by that energy.

The statement that strikes me as most false is that we lack an all-american dance form. Lindy hop and blues dancing, born out of jazz, are the essence of the all-american dance. Jazz historian Frank Tirro says: "jazz is an American phenomenon. It was born here in the United Sates, and it has not renounced its citizenship. It was first performed by black Americans newly released from bondage who expressed their God-given talents and their beliefs about freedom, identity, and art through their music. Jazz is still a profound manifestation of freedom, talent, achievement and identity." Born out of this uniquely American music was a uniquely American form of movement, inherently tied to a culture that carried influences from many places, but melded them into something recognizable different - something in my opinion truly American.

There are complaints of elitism and exclusionism in the trad blues dance scene ... and I can't fault anyone for complaining. I think a lot of dancers take themselves way too seriously, and get personally offended when someone disagrees with them or their preferences. It's dancing, people. It's supposed to be fun, and create community. But on the flip side, don't get offended if an event decides to go for a certain type of aesthetic, and your music request was denied. Do your research, let your money and attendance speak for you. If you don't like the music played at an event, don't attend it.

We seem to agree that terminology is an issue. What you are talking about is, in my eyes, no longer blues dancing. But fusion is a misnomber too. I'm intrigued to see what people will come up with. I also have a feeling that it will grow organically ... most movements do, shaped by people's preferences. So in some ways, it doesn't make much sense to dictate too strong a path if you're only one person - people will make it into what they need it to be, which is great.

Here's where I'm at right now: neither traditional nor forward-moving dancers rooted in blues are "wrong." It's just a question of where their preferences lie. Arguing that seems silly, and counterproductive. In the end, we all just love to dance. It seems like there is a separation of a culture happening, a diversifying, if you will. That's not a bad thing. What we all need to realize is that one form or style of dance does not invalidate the other - both can exist. It's also possible to enjoy both. Though I am a traditionalist at heart (jazz and blues music is what speaks to me and makes me want to move), the creative forward motion of taking our culture in a new direction is healthy and energizing, and I can still draw inspiration from that. It just so happens that I am happier returning to the roots. Personal preference.



Thoughts? Opinions? Clarifications? Corrections?

12-27-10

Shades of Blues

-Trouble in Mind - Aretha Franklin
-Gimme A Pigfoot - Laverne Baker
-Real Gone - Sam Taylor & His All Star Jazz Band
-I Ain't Got Nuthin But the Blues - Meschiya Lake and the Little Big Horns
-You Shook Me - Etta James
-(Got Me Runnin') Where you Want Me to Go - Brother Yusef
-Come On In My Kitchen - Chris Thomas King
-Follow the Drinking Gourd - Linda Tillery & Cultural Heritage Choir, Eric Bibb
-Burn Down the Cornfield - Charlie Musselwhite
-Every Planet We Reach is Dead - Gorillaz
-Idlewild Blues - Outkast
-When the Lights Go Out - Black Keys
-Blues is My Wailin' Wall - Mighty Mo Rodgers
-Muddy Water Blues - Paul Rodgers
-Elijah Rock - Ollabelle
-Can't Stop Thinking About You - Martin Sexton
-Rosewood - Cassandra Wilson
-Tell Me More and More and Then Some - Nina Simone

12-16-10

Blues Union
I had very little prep time since I also taught the lesson that day, so I was kind of on autopilot. Maybe that explains all the repeats from my last set. I definitely tend to have default songs ...

-You Shook Me - Etta James
-Backlash Blues - Nina Simone
-All Over You - Jim Byrnes
-Love Me Like A Man - Bonnie Raitt
-Don't Ever Let Nobody Drag Your Spirit Down - Eric Bibb, Rory Block, Maria Muldaur
-I Ain't Got Nuthin But the Blues - Meschiya Lake and the Little Big Horns
-Kansas City Wrinkles - Count Basie
-Stormy Blues - Billie Holiday
-Lonely Avenue - Ray Charles
-Red Mud - Chris Thomas King
-Another Man Done Gone - Irma Thomas
-Dr Blues - Saffire - the Uppity Blues Women
-Gimme A Pigfoot - Laverne Baker
-How Come My Dog Don't Bark - Dr John
-Please Mr Jailer - Wynona Carr
-Harlem Nocturne - Sam Taylor & his All-Star Jazz Band

12-11-10

Mike and Reuel Workshop

The workshop went off pretty much without a hitch. We had two days of fantastic classes, and a dance which featured everything from up-and-coming DJs, old talents such as guest DJs Jenny Sowden and Dan Repsch, renditions of winning performances from recent blues events and a student performance. Oh, and lots of good dancing. All in all, a good weekend. Here is my set from that night:

-Gimme a Pigfoot - Laverne Baker
-Driving Wheel - Etta James
-Backlash Blues - Nina Simone
-Kansas City Wrinkles - Count Basie
-Sugar Blues - Preservation Hall Jazz Band
-I Ain't Got Nuthin But the Blues - Meschiya Lake and the Little Big Horns
-Saga of Bill Bailey - Nancy Wilson

Artist of the Week #4: Nina Simone

Nina Simone is hands down one of my favorite female blues artists, though her music covers much more than just blues. Her real name is actually Eunice Kathleen Waymon, and Nina Simone was a stage name she took on, I think partially to separate her actual identity from the secular music she was singing in clubs and thus to avoid disapproval. One of the reasons I love listening to Nina sing is because she is in my eyes one of the most emotive vocalists out there.  She spans the range from sultry to demure, defiant to submissive, angry to joyful ... and everything in between.  Nina has a tendency to sing very fluidly, not keeping strict time, which can sometimes make her music difficult to dance to. Personally, I find it inspiring as opposed to challenging. I've been listening to her much more recently, mainly because of the amount of routines that have been performed to her songs in the last year. And the variety in these performances is another reflection of Nina's range of emotion. Here are just the ones I know about:

In the Dark: by the students at NSS (and Shawn Hershey and Julie Brown performing it at Emerald City Blues Festival)
Do I Move You: Chris Mayer and Campbell Miller
I Put a Spell On You: Amanda Gruhl and Paul Mandel

However, I want to draw your attention to one particular song I just discovered. It's gritty, bluesy, honest and moving in all the best ways. Thoughts?

Backlash Blues - Nina Simone

Artist of the Week #3: Meschiya Lake and the Little Big Horns

It's been a while, but I've been frolicking in New Orleans for the last week, so I was understandably distracted. The music in NOLA is incredible - live music pretty much every day, and the musicians are fantastic. I went to Preservation Hall, checked out Bourbon St and Frenchman, and strolled around the French quarter to the sounds of jazz. Needless to say, I was in heaven. The coolest thing was that there was a much stronger connection between the dancers and the musicians than in most other scene's I'd been to. Part of that was due to the fact that most of the musicians were from a similar generation. One of my favorite bands to listen to was Meschiya Lake's (she rotated through musicians though some were pretty consistent). I love the vintage brass sound, and her voice suits the music perfectly. Check out "I Ain't Got Nuthin But the Blues" from her album Lucky Devil (for those interested, I think Peter Loggins plays the washboard on some of the tracks).

I Ain't Got Nuthin But the Blues - Meschiya Lake and the Little Big Horns (Lucky Devil)