Like most musicians who have come up through the ranks of jazz, John Brown remains impressed with the stamp that Art Blakey put on jazz music. “Even though his band frequently changed personnel, there were steady factors in the music and the way that his music was presented. You can tell by his level of seriousness and dedication that he made sure the music swung and felt good. The intensity with which he played, and the standards that he held for all of his bands, really reached out and spoke to me. We all cut our teeth on certain tunes and listened to certain people. Most of the people that we listened to played with Art at one point in time. If I look back, at the things that influenced me in my career, it would be Art Blakey the musician and the Art Blakey organization that had so many people coming through it.”
“People have asked, ‘Why are you doing these tunes over again? If I want to hear this song I might as well listen to Art play it.’ I am not trying to recreate anything that Art Blakey and The Jazz Messengers did. It is a tribute and just like everybody can report on their individual experiences no matter what the topic is, these tunes are intended to be just that. It is a tribute,” notes Brown.
“Moanin’,” a song written by Bobby Timmons is one of the most widely appreciated tunes that Blakey’s bands performed, and therefore it is fitting that Brown included it on his current CD. “Moanin’ is one of those tunes that you start playing when you first get into jazz. It is a very soulful, spirited song that is filled with emotion. It is meant to make you feel good and to evoke emotions. When I play “Moanin,” I think about the fact I have listened to Art’s groups play it and I watched a video of him playing it. It feels so good, and the harmony speaks to the core of people, with the right tempo and the right intent. “Moanin’,” is a song (that we included), to bring people back home to the roots of the music,” says Brown.
Not all of the songs on Terms of Art, are directly associated with Art Blakey. Brown has included songs which he often refers to as pure, getting to the roots of the music, or reflecting the essence of Blakey’s music. One of the tunes that falls into that category is Quincy Jones’ “Lady Bop.” Brown says that he hopes through his quintet’s the listener will sense the blues progression throughout the song, and feel the emotion that was evoked within him as he performed his solo.
Terms of Art also includes the Dizzy Gillespie song, “A Night In Tunisia,” a song that Brown discovered when he first started to play jazz. He recalls that the cool opening line was what first drew him in.
You can catch the John Brown Quartet at Artsplosure in Raleigh, North Carolina on May 17th and the John Brown Jazz Orchestra at the Taste of Durham in North Carolina on May 24th.
Hey John, how do I order one of those action figures of you? I have a spot already picked out for it.
April 2008
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