美国国家公共电台 NPR More Than 'Kind Of Blue': In 1959, A Few Albums Changed Jazz Forever

 

(SOUNDBITE OF MILES DAVIS'S "FREDDIE FREELOADER")

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Sounds good, right? Sixty years ago this month, Miles Davis finished recording¹ one of the most iconic albums in jazz. "Kind Of Blue" is perhaps Davis's greatest masterpiece. But it wasn't the only milestone² recorded that year. John Coltrane, Dave Brubeck, Ornette Coleman and Charles Mingus all cut timeless classics, which is why many fans consider 1959 the best year in jazz ever.

There are all kinds of think pieces about this - a new blog devoted³ to the subject, even a documentary film titled "1959: The Year That Changed Jazz." So settle in. And let's listen to what 1959 sounded like. Our guide is Nate Chinen. He is editorial director at our member station WBGO. And he's with Jazz Night In America. Nate, thanks for being here.

NATE CHINEN, BYLINE⁴: Thank you, Rachel.

MARTIN: All right. Make the case. What makes 1959 so great?

CHINEN: You know, it's funny. 1959 began with a very special issue of Esquire magazine called "The Golden Age Of Jazz," a full issue devoted to this idea. And so the year really opens with this bold proclamation. And I think it was, in some ways, a self-fulfilling prophecy.

MARTIN: That's so interesting. They were prophesying⁵ that it was going to happen.

CHINEN: Right, you know. And remember that albums were still a fairly new development. People were really thinking about these albums as, like, major artistic⁶ statements.

MARTIN: Let's listen to another piece from "Kind Of Blue." This is called "So What."

(SOUNDBITE OF MILES DAVIS'S "SO WHAT")

MARTIN: People who know this work can almost anticipate the trumpet⁷ coming in.

(SOUNDBITE OF MILES DAVIS'S "SO WHAT")

MARTIN: What makes it such an important recording, Nate?

CHINEN: What's the word that comes to your mind when I say Miles Davis?

MARTIN: Blue. I mean, (laughter) is that lame⁸? I mean...

CHINEN: No. Not at all. And I think there's this aura to this album. And it is about blue. And it's also about the other word I was thinking of, which is cool. You know, when we talk about the 1950s - bebop, which had come out of the '40s, has really reached a sort of maturity⁹. And bebop is all about frenetic tempos¹⁰ and, you know, this real sort of virtuosic¹¹ mastery. Miles Davis cut his teeth on bebop. But with this album, he really makes a concerted effort to move in a different direction. And so he brings all this space and openness and these kind of languid tempos and creates a mood. It's no secret why people love it. It just feels good.

(SOUNDBITE OF JOHN COLTRANE'S "GIANT STEPS")

MARTIN: All right. One of those guys who played on that album was John Coltrane. He also put out a classic album in 1959. Let's listen to a little bit of the title track from "Giant Steps."

(SOUNDBITE OF JOHN COLTRANE'S "GIANT STEPS")

MARTIN: He's doing his own thing there, isn't he?

CHINEN: Yeah. You know, what a contrast. It's really interesting to me that Coltrane plays on "Kind Of Blue," but his mind is in this other place.

MARTIN: (Laughter).

CHINEN: And, you know, I mentioned how bebop was all about complexity¹² and quickening tempos. "Giant Steps" is this landmark¹³ recording. And it's as if Coltrane took the complex algebra¹⁴ of bebop and turned it into quantum physics.

MARTIN: (Laughter).

CHINEN: He's just taking everything and ratcheting it up.

(SOUNDBITE OF JOHN COLTRANE'S "GIANT STEPS")

CHINEN: This song in particular has become a kind of proving ground for generations of musicians.

MARTIN: What about the listener experience, though? Does it have the same emotive quality that "Kind Of Blue" has?

CHINEN: I feel like there's emotion in "Giant Steps." But it is certainly - you know, if you want to talk about "Kind Of Blue" as sort of relaxing-into-your-armchair-with-a-cocktail¹⁵ vibe...

MARTIN: Yeah.

CHINEN: ..."Giant Steps" is more like leaning forward in the passenger seat of a speeding racecar, (laughter) you know?

(SOUNDBITE OF DAVE BRUBECK'S "TAKE FIVE")

MARTIN: All right. Let's listen to another good album from 1959. This is "Take Five" from Dave Brubeck, his album "Time Out."

(SOUNDBITE OF DAVE BRUBECK'S "TAKE FIVE")

MARTIN: If "Kind Of Blue" is sitting in an armchair with a martini or a cocktail, this - speaking of vices¹⁶ - feels like smoking in an alley¹⁷ to me.

CHINEN: (Laughter) And so much of that attitude comes from the sound of the alto saxophonist, Paul Desmond, who - actually, his tone was once described by a jazz critic in terms of a dry martini.

MARTIN: (Laughter).

(SOUNDBITE OF DAVE BRUBECK'S "TAKE FIVE")

CHINEN: This album was hugely popular. It was much more popular in its day than "Kind Of Blue" or "Giant Steps." And some of that has to do with how stylish¹⁸ it is. It's a very appealing sound. And I think you can trace this album and its intentions to what we know as fusion¹⁹ and then, you know, the stuff that later would kind of morph into smooth jazz. It's easy on the ears, even as it has a point to make.

MARTIN: Right. But there's still, like, a melody, you know?

CHINEN: Yes. Yes. It's highly melodic²⁰, for sure.

MARTIN: All right. We've got time for one more track. This is called "Eventually" from Ornette Coleman's album titled "The Shape Of Jazz To Come."

(SOUNDBITE OF ORNETTE COLEMAN'S "EVENTUALLY")

MARTIN: I love that. They're talking to each other - right? - it's like a call and response.

CHINEN: Absolutely. You totally get it. So Ornette is this incredible alto saxophonist and composer. And as quickly as you grasped what this track is about, a lot of people were really incensed²¹ by it. It was kind of scandalous in its day.

MARTIN: Why?

CHINEN: Because there was this way in which Ornette was breaking apart the sort of usual, formal signposts. You know, he wasn't heeding²² the usual sort of bebop rules. You know, there's this sense of something bursting out.

(SOUNDBITE OF ORNETTE COLEMAN'S "EVENTUALLY")

CHINEN: And so this becomes the sort of shot across the bow that really kicks off what we now refer to often as free jazz or, you know, the avant-garde.

MARTIN: So is Ornette Coleman right? Was this the shape of jazz to come?

CHINEN: It was definitely one shape, you know? And this really gets at the heart of what fascinates me about 1959. It's not only a year that produces all these great albums. It's this pivotal moment because every one of these points in a different direction. And lots of people have followed those directions in the, you know, 60 years since. You can go out to a club in, you know, most American cities, and you can hear someone who is evoking²³ any one of these ideas. And so this notion of jazz having a shape in the future, it actually - for me, there's not one shape of jazz to come. There's actually many.

MARTIN: In 1959. Very cool, Nate. Thank you so much for taking us back to that year.

CHINEN: My pleasure.

(SOUNDBITE OF CHARLES MINGUS'S "BETTER GIT IT IN YOUR SOUL")

MARTIN: Nate Chinen, from member station WBGO and Jazz Night In America, talking about 1959 - the year some have called the greatest year in jazz.

(SOUNDBITE OF CHARLES MINGUS'S "BETTER GIT IT IN YOUR SOUL")

1 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

2 milestone   

n.里程碑；划时代的事件

参考例句：

• The film proved to be a milestone in the history of cinema.事实证明这部影片是电影史上的一个里程碑。
• I think this is a very important milestone in the relations between our two countries.我认为这是我们两国关系中一个十分重要的里程碑。

3 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

4 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。

5 prophesying   

v.预告，预言( prophesy的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonoureth his head. 凡男人祷告或是讲道（道或作说预言下同）若蒙着头，就是羞辱自己的头。 来自互联网
• Prophesying was the only human art that couldn't be improved by practice. 预言是唯一的一项无法经由练习而改善的人类技术。 来自互联网

6 artistic   

adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的

参考例句：

• The picture on this screen is a good artistic work.这屏风上的画是件很好的艺术品。
• These artistic handicrafts are very popular with foreign friends.外国朋友很喜欢这些美术工艺品。

7 trumpet   

n.喇叭，喇叭声；v.吹喇叭，吹嘘

参考例句：

• He plays the violin, but I play the trumpet.他拉提琴，我吹喇叭。
• The trumpet sounded for battle.战斗的号角吹响了。

8 lame   

adj.跛的，(辩解、论据等)无说服力的

参考例句：

• The lame man needs a stick when he walks.那跛脚男子走路时需借助拐棍。
• I don't believe his story.It'sounds a bit lame.我不信他讲的那一套。他的话听起来有些靠不住。

9 maturity   

n.成熟；完成；(支票、债券等)到期

参考例句：

• These plants ought to reach maturity after five years.这些植物五年后就该长成了。
• This is the period at which the body attains maturity.这是身体发育成熟的时期。

10 tempos   

乐曲的速度或拍子( tempo的名词复数 )； （运动或活动的）速度，进度

参考例句：

• The tempos of income refer to real tempo, The price factor is taken out. 收入发展速度为扣除物价因素后的实际发展速度。
• Contrasting tempos and the restraining influence of synchronism serve to produce effects of scattering and tightening. 不尽相同的曲调形成调式、速度上的对比，它们由“合头”拉扯着，形成分散、聚合的效果。

11 virtuosic   

adj.艺术名家的，艺术品收藏家的；乐器演奏能手的

参考例句：

12 complexity   

n.复杂(性)，复杂的事物

参考例句：

• Only now did he understand the full complexity of the problem.直到现在他才明白这一问题的全部复杂性。
• The complexity of the road map puzzled me.错综复杂的公路图把我搞糊涂了。

13 landmark   

n.陆标，划时代的事，地界标

参考例句：

• The Russian Revolution represents a landmark in world history.俄国革命是世界历史上的一个里程碑。
• The tower was once a landmark for ships.这座塔曾是船只的陆标。

14 algebra   

n.代数学

参考例句：

• He was not good at algebra in middle school.他中学时不擅长代数。
• The boy can't figure out the algebra problems.这个男孩做不出这道代数题。

15 cocktail   

n.鸡尾酒；餐前开胃小吃；混合物

参考例句：

• We invited some foreign friends for a cocktail party.我们邀请了一些外国朋友参加鸡尾酒会。
• At a cocktail party in Hollywood,I was introduced to Charlie Chaplin.在好莱坞的一次鸡尾酒会上，人家把我介绍给查理·卓别林。

16 vices   

缺陷( vice的名词复数 )； 恶习； 不道德行为； 台钳

参考例句：

• In spite of his vices, he was loved by all. 尽管他有缺点，还是受到大家的爱戴。
• He vituperated from the pulpit the vices of the court. 他在教堂的讲坛上责骂宫廷的罪恶。

17 alley   

n.小巷，胡同；小径，小路

参考例句：

• We live in the same alley.我们住在同一条小巷里。
• The blind alley ended in a brick wall.这条死胡同的尽头是砖墙。

18 stylish   

adj.流行的，时髦的；漂亮的，气派的

参考例句：

• He's a stylish dresser.他是个穿着很有格调的人。
• What stylish women are wearing in Paris will be worn by women all over the world.巴黎女性时装往往会引导世界时装潮流。

19 fusion   

n.溶化；熔解；熔化状态，熔和；熔接

参考例句：

• Brass is formed by the fusion of copper and zinc. 黄铜是通过铜和锌的熔合而成的。
• This alloy is formed by the fusion of two types of metal.这种合金是用两种金属熔合而成的。

20 melodic   

adj.有旋律的，调子美妙的

参考例句：

• His voice had a rich melodic quality.他的音色浑厚而优美。
• He spoke with a soft husky voice in a melodic accent.他微微沙哑的声音带着一种悠扬的口音。

21 incensed   

盛怒的

参考例句：

• The decision incensed the workforce. 这个决定激怒了劳工大众。
• They were incensed at the decision. 他们被这个决定激怒了。

22 heeding   

v.听某人的劝告，听从( heed的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• This come of heeding people who say one thing and mean another! 有些人嘴里一回事，心里又是一回事，今天这个下场都是听信了这种人的话的结果。 来自辞典例句
• Her dwarfish spouse still smoked his cigar and drank his rum without heeding her. 她那矮老公还在吸他的雪茄，喝他的蔗酒，睬也不睬她。 来自辞典例句

23 evoking   

产生，引起，唤起( evoke的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Some occur in organisms without evoking symptoms. 一些存在于生物体中，但不发生症状。
• Nowadays, the protection of traditional knowledge is evoking heat discussion worldwide. 目前，全球都掀起了保护传统知识的热潮。