美国国家公共电台 NPR Jazz In The 21st Century Is All About 'Playing Changes'

 

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

The history of jazz in the 20th century is pretty well-documented, but what about its development in the 21st century? Well, writer Nate Chinen says the music has come a long way since he began covering it in the mid-'90s. He's a former New York Times critic who now works with member station WBGO and also Jazz Night In America. His new book is called "Playing Changes: Jazz For The New Century." And he spoke¹ with our co-host Rachel Martin.

RACHEL MARTIN, BYLINE²: Your book starts off with a look at this 37-year-old saxophone player from South Central LA named Kamasi Washington. It is 2015, and people are hailing him as some kind of jazz savior.

(SOUNDBITE OF KAMASI WASHINGTON SONG, "SHOW US THE WAY")

MARTIN: Why'd you want to introduce Kamasi Washington at the beginning of your book?

NATE CHINEN, BYLINE: Well, what do they say about stories? You know, one of the stories is that a hero comes to town.

MARTIN: (Laughter).

CHINEN: His emergence³ is just utterly⁴ remarkable⁵. He has this, like, intense physicality as a performer. His music strives for transcendence and I think, you know, often communicates that.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SHOW US THE WAY")

UNIDENTIFIED SINGERS: (Singing) Dear Lord...

CHINEN: This is a perennial⁶ question, this idea of a savior or a messiah figure in jazz, so I wanted to get to the heart of that question. Why do we need someone like that?

MARTIN: Right.

CHINEN: And, you know, what it comes down to, I think, is a base line insecurity about the art form's foothold in, you know, larger culture - you know, this idea that the music is just completely marginalized.

MARTIN: Kamasi Washington himself has weighed in on this. We've got a clip of him discussing it on PBS. Let's listen to this.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

KAMASI WASHINGTON: I think jazz has been trapped in a poor image, and I think that it's been trapped in this image of something that is a historic relic⁷ or something that is to serve some other purpose other than to just enjoy.

MARTIN: Do you agree with him that that is the struggle?

CHINEN: I think that's been a real problem. And I include that clip in the book to illustrate⁸ that there's a funny thing about saying that jazz is trapped in a poor image because what Kamasi's really implying there is actually kind of the inverse⁹. The image is too good.

MARTIN: What do you mean?

CHINEN: Jazz used to be disreputable. It used to grasp and scramble¹⁰ for respect. And we no longer have that problem.

MARTIN: Isn't that a good thing?

CHINEN: That's a good thing, but it can come at a certain cost. When the push for esteem¹¹ comes with such a strong veneration¹² for history and for a canon of recordings¹³, then you begin to see the music at large as a kind of museum piece.

(SOUNDBITE OF WYNTON MARSALIS' "SOON ALL WILL KNOW")

MARTIN: The music you're hearing now is by trumpeter Wynton Marsalis. He, too, was greeted as a savior when he arrived on the national scene in the 1980s. As a musician and spokesman for the music, Marsalis led a renaissance¹⁴ that raised public appreciation¹⁵ for jazz through a return to its traditional values. Chinen says that became polarizing when Marsalis became the head of New York's Jazz at Lincoln Center.

CHINEN: There was a really clear division between what you might call the traditionalist wing and the experimental wing. In New York City, it was sort of framed in geographical¹⁶ terms. You know, Jazz at Lincoln Center and the mainstream¹⁷ jazz clubs were uptown, and the Knitting Factory and places like Tonic¹⁸ were downtown.

(SOUNDBITE OF DAVE DOUGLAS' "INVASIVE PROCEDURE")

MARTIN: Not just metaphorically¹⁹ - literally²⁰ uptown and downtown.

CHINEN: Literally. Yeah, yes. So, you know, 14th Street was sort of a dividing line. There really was this division, and it was enforced not only by the jazz media but by musicians and listeners, and there was a kind of sorting into camps.

MARTIN: Why? Because the other side didn't want you?

CHINEN: You know, so much of the rhetoric²¹ around Wynton's project had to do with definitions and saying, well, this is what constitutes jazz. When you draw that line, there's an exclusion²². And so there were other musicians who were experimenting and taking a much less purist approach, and they felt like, well, who needs your definitions? I don't want to be a part of your club anyway, you know? One of the happiest outcomes of what has happened with the music in the last 20 years is that those divisions really no longer make sense, and most younger musicians don't feel the need to choose one side or the other.

MARTIN: So the jazz wars are over.

CHINEN: The jazz wars are happily over.

MARTIN: There's been a detente (laughter).

(SOUNDBITE OF VIJAY IYER TRIO'S "GALANG")

MARTIN: You use the book to give some attention to particular artists who you say represent something about where jazz is in this moment. This is 46-year-old Vijay Iyer, and he's playing a cover of a rap song by M.I.A. This is called "Galang."

(SOUNDBITE OF VIJAY IYER TRIO'S "GALANG")

CHINEN: Vijay is, to me, a really important figure because he comes out of an avant-garde tradition. He's second-generation Indian-American. But really, he is able to appeal to a really broad base of listeners. He's become sort of a consensus²³ figure for the jazz establishment. You know, when I talked about how the uptown-downtown division is no longer enforced...

MARTIN: Yeah.

CHINEN: Vijay is someone who comes out of experimental protocols²⁴ and traditions, but he translates that into something that's really appealing.

(SOUNDBITE OF VIJAY IYER TRIO'S "GALANG")

MARTIN: All right. Let's close it all out with Cecile McLorin Salvant. She's 28 years old. Let's listen to a little bit.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "MONDAY")

CECILE MCLORIN SALVANT: (Singing) Oh, how the time seems to stop with your face in my hands, with such trickery. See how it's flying away. And there's nothing I can do.

MARTIN: I mean...

CHINEN: Yeah.

MARTIN: She's got an awesome²⁵ voice.

CHINEN: It's pretty awesome.

MARTIN: (Laughter).

CHINEN: I think she's the greatest new arrival on the jazz vocal²⁶ scene. She's also fascinating to me because if she had come up in the '90s, her interest in the past would have led a lot of people to kind of slot her in this idea, and it would've become a kind of trap. And Cecile is having none of that. And we aren't really expecting it from her. You know, that's how the culture has changed. Her interest in the past is so deep and so genuine, but she's not re-inhabiting something. She's actually sort of interrogating²⁷ it. And she really helps us to sort of see it anew.

MARTIN: So the hero that you're looking for could be a heroine.

CHINEN: That is absolutely true.

MARTIN: (Laughter) Nate Chinen's new book is called "Playing Changes." Nate, thanks so much for talking with us.

CHINEN: Thank you. This was fun.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "MONDAY")

SALVANT: (Singing) I lived a dream with you.

1 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 emergence   

n.浮现，显现，出现，（植物）突出体

参考例句：

• The last decade saw the emergence of a dynamic economy.最近10年见证了经济增长的姿态。
• Language emerges and develops with the emergence and development of society.语言是随着社会的产生而产生，随着社会的发展而发展的。

4 utterly   

adv.完全地，绝对地

参考例句：

• Utterly devoted to the people,he gave his life in saving his patients.他忠于人民，把毕生精力用于挽救患者的生命。
• I was utterly ravished by the way she smiled.她的微笑使我完全陶醉了。

5 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

6 perennial   

adj.终年的；长久的

参考例句：

• I wonder at her perennial youthfulness.我对她青春常驻感到惊讶。
• There's a perennial shortage of teachers with science qualifications.有理科教学资格的老师一直都很短缺。

7 relic   

n.神圣的遗物，遗迹，纪念物

参考例句：

• This stone axe is a relic of ancient times.这石斧是古代的遗物。
• He found himself thinking of the man as a relic from the past.他把这个男人看成是过去时代的人物。

8 illustrate   

v.举例说明，阐明；图解，加插图

参考例句：

• The company's bank statements illustrate its success.这家公司的银行报表说明了它的成功。
• This diagram will illustrate what I mean.这个图表可说明我的意思。

9 inverse   

adj.相反的，倒转的，反转的；n.相反之物；v.倒转

参考例句：

• Evil is the inverse of good.恶是善的反面。
• When the direct approach failed he tried the inverse.当直接方法失败时，他尝试相反的做法。

10 scramble   

v.爬行，攀爬，杂乱蔓延，碎片，片段，废料

参考例句：

• He broke his leg in his scramble down the wall.他爬墙摔断了腿。
• It was a long scramble to the top of the hill.到山顶须要爬登一段长路。

11 esteem   

n.尊敬，尊重；vt.尊重，敬重；把…看作

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• The veteran worker ranks high in public love and esteem.那位老工人深受大伙的爱戴。

12 veneration   

n.尊敬，崇拜

参考例句：

• I acquired lasting respect for tradition and veneration for the past.我开始对传统和历史产生了持久的敬慕。
• My father venerated General Eisenhower.我父亲十分敬仰艾森豪威尔将军。

13 recordings   

n.记录( recording的名词复数 )；录音；录像；唱片

参考例句：

• a boxed set of original recordings 一套盒装原声录音带
• old jazz recordings reissued on CD 以激光唱片重新发行的老爵士乐

14 renaissance   

n.复活，复兴，文艺复兴

参考例句：

• The Renaissance was an epoch of unparalleled cultural achievement.文艺复兴是一个文化上取得空前成就的时代。
• The theme of the conference is renaissance Europe.大会的主题是文艺复兴时期的欧洲。

15 appreciation   

n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨

参考例句：

• I would like to express my appreciation and thanks to you all.我想对你们所有人表达我的感激和谢意。
• I'll be sending them a donation in appreciation of their help.我将送给他们一笔捐款以感谢他们的帮助。

16 geographical   

adj.地理的；地区(性)的

参考例句：

• The current survey will have a wider geographical spread.当前的调查将在更广泛的地域范围內进行。
• These birds have a wide geographical distribution.这些鸟的地理分布很广。

17 mainstream   

n.（思想或行为的）主流；adj.主流的

参考例句：

• Their views lie outside the mainstream of current medical opinion.他们的观点不属于当今医学界观点的主流。
• Polls are still largely reflects the mainstream sentiment.民调还在很大程度上反映了社会主流情绪。

18 tonic   

n./adj.滋补品，补药，强身的，健体的

参考例句：

• It will be marketed as a tonic for the elderly.这将作为老年人滋补品在市场上销售。
• Sea air is Nature's best tonic for mind and body.海上的空气是大自然赋予的对人们身心的最佳补品。

19 metaphorically   

adv. 用比喻地

参考例句：

• It is context and convention that determine whether a term will be interpreted literally or metaphorically. 对一个词的理解是按字面意思还是隐喻的意思要视乎上下文和习惯。
• Metaphorically it implied a sort of admirable energy. 从比喻来讲，它含有一种令人赞许的能量的意思。

20 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

21 rhetoric   

n.修辞学，浮夸之言语

参考例句：

• Do you know something about rhetoric?你懂点修辞学吗？
• Behind all the rhetoric,his relations with the army are dangerously poised.在冠冕堂皇的言辞背后，他和军队的关系岌岌可危。

22 exclusion   

n.拒绝，排除，排斥，远足，远途旅行

参考例句：

• Don't revise a few topics to the exclusion of all others.不要修改少数论题以致排除所有其他的。
• He plays golf to the exclusion of all other sports.他专打高尔夫球，其他运动一概不参加。

23 consensus   

n.(意见等的)一致，一致同意，共识

参考例句：

• Can we reach a consensus on this issue?我们能在这个问题上取得一致意见吗？
• What is the consensus of opinion at the afternoon meeting?下午会议上一致的意见是什么？

24 protocols   

n.礼仪( protocol的名词复数 )；（外交条约的）草案；（数据传递的）协议；科学实验报告（或计划）

参考例句：

• There are also protocols on the testing of nuclear weapons. 也有关于核武器试验的协议。 来自辞典例句
• Hardware components and software design of network transport protocols are separately introduced. 介绍系统硬件组成及网络传输协议的软件设计。 来自互联网

25 awesome   

adj.令人惊叹的，难得吓人的，很好的

参考例句：

• The church in Ireland has always exercised an awesome power.爱尔兰的教堂一直掌握着令人敬畏的权力。
• That new white convertible is totally awesome.那辆新的白色折篷汽车简直棒极了.

26 vocal   

adj.直言不讳的；嗓音的；n.[pl.]声乐节目

参考例句：

• The tongue is a vocal organ.舌头是一个发音器官。
• Public opinion at last became vocal.终于舆论哗然。

27 interrogating   

n.询问技术v.询问( interrogate的现在分词 )；审问；（在计算机或其他机器上）查询

参考例句：

• She was no longer interrogating but lecturing. 她已经不是在审问而是在教训人了。 来自辞典例句
• His face remained blank, interrogating, slightly helpless. 他的面部仍然没有表情，只带有询问的意思，还有点无可奈何。 来自辞典例句