User talk:Niles Henessy

Jazz, The Universal Language

Niles Henessy

Jazz, what began as a uniquely American language, because people used it to communicate to the world their ideas or their problems, has become a universal language throughout the world. Besides being a language, jazz has been used as an aid, or a way, which people used to console themselves. Early on, Americans and African/Americans alike sang the blues to speak of their troubles, African/Americans played gospel in their church meetings as a way to praise their lord, and poor people played jazz in the streets to earn a couple coins. But everyone played jazz for the feeling of this wonderful language. “I found that when I went to Europe that the jazz form is universally understood,” says trombonist, John Gove, who teaches Laney College’s jazz ensembles in Oakland, “I could just sit down at any jam session and we could go straight through a tune. And when playing, everybody knew that you would be in this certain key, you would play the chords in this certain way, and you would solo on this certain scale. We all didn’t even, at times, speak the same language.” In 1962, at the ever-so famous Birdland, alto saxophonist, Cannonball Adderley had a group of South Americans who introduced themselves as the Bossa Rio Sextet of Brazil. Leading them was pianist Sergio Mendes. They were very excited when Adderley offered to make a record with them. They recorded the record: Cannonball Adderley’s Bossa Nova, with the Bossa Rio Sextet of Brazil. The original record was recorded in 1963, and, later, a newly released record was issued in 1985, and then another newly released record was issued in 1999. The tunes selected for this record are absolutely wonderful tunes, and Adderley plays them all beautifully, from the very beginning to the end. Reading the linear notes told me that Adderley wanted to play just bossa nova, and no jazz. He wasn’t keen on the idea of taking a jazz or a pop tune and turning it into a bossa nova tune. With that in mind, Adderley chose some of the best bossa nova tunes, mostly written by the members of the Bossa Rio Sextet, such as the beautiful melody “Clouds,” by guitarist Durval Ferreira, the light “Corcovado,” by Antonio Carlos Jobim, and the funky tune of Sergio Mendes called “Groovy Sambas.” From the original record, Adderley and the producers, took “Corcovado” and “Clouds,” and put them on the re-released record, advertising “Corcovado” as an alternate take, and “Clouds” as a singles version. Of all the other records Adderley has recorded, no record compares to “Cannonballs Bossa Nova,” from the soaring melody of “Clouds,” to the exquisite “Corcovado.”