Standing in line at for a rockabilly show McCabe’s the other day, the person behind me asked a simple question, “Who’s your all time favorite jazz artist?” Without a nanosecond of hesitation, I blurted “Duke Ellington.” Immediately, the surrounding crowd of 30-50 somethings high fived me left and right. What is it about The Duke that causes such a visceral response? Gone to his reward over 30 years ago, his music, his sound and his attitude still casts a shadow over all music; not just jazz, but modern pop. Remember, when Ellington started out, his music WAS the pop music of the day.
Not lost on this fact is Joe Jackson, the singer/composer/pianist who spashed on the seeds back in the late 70s when the new wave of pop was exploding with the likes of Elvis Costello, Sting/The Police and Deborah Harry/Blondie. Throughout his full-bodied career, he’s dabbled on to the jazz side of life at times, most particularly on his tribute to Louis Jordan (Jumpin Jive) and his Body and Soul release that mimicked the famed Sonny Rollins Vol 2 cover to perfection. His most recent release, The Duke, delivers a unique tribute to Edward Kennedy Ellington in that he updates the music in a way that respects the original compositions, but with an extra modernity. Guest appearances by musicians Christian McBride, Steve Vai and Regina keep the tunes energized, while vocal showings by Persian singer Sussan Deyham (on “Caravan”), Iggy Pop (on “It Don’t Mean A Thing”) and R&B diva Sharon Jones(on “I Ain’t Got Nuthin But the Blues”)make you feel like you’re attending an updated night at The Cotton Club.
We caught up with Jackson, who’s touring in support of the fresh approach to timeless Ellingtonia
1) Throughout your career, you have always seemed to have one foot in the jazz field. What was your intro to jazz?
– I got interested in jazz around 15 or 16 years old. I don’t come from a musical background so apart from the obvious pop stuff on the radio, I had to discover music entirely by myself, using cheap secondhand records, books from the library, and sheet music. No one was telling me what I should or shouldn’t listen to, so it was my own personal adventure, which in retrospect I think was a good thing. If my parents were jazz musicians or something, I might never have become a musician at all.
2) Back in ’84, you put out that album that had the Blue Note type cover. What was your thought behind that?
– That was ‘Body And Soul’. I always liked the ‘Blue Note Look’ and wanted to do a ‘homage’ – specifically, to the cover of ‘Sonny Rollins Volume 2’. I thought it was obvious it was a homage, until some years later, Rolling Stone printed the two covers side by side, and boasted about how I had ‘ripped off’ the original and they had ‘caught me’ . . .
3) What were your favorite Blue Note records?
– Too many to mention, but anything by Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers.
4) When you first came on the scene, it was during the New Wave/Punk movement with Elvis Costello, Mink Deville and Nick Lowe. In retrospect, was that an advantage or disadvantage to your career to be linked with that genre? Why?
– Any time anyone is associated with a ‘movement’, it is both helpful when you’re getting started and a burden as time goes on.
5) What gave you the inspiration to do an album of Ellingtonia? What could you bring to the table that hadn’t been done before?
– Duke is an inspiration and role model to me and no one else has such a huge catalog of tunes ripe for re-invention – as he showed himself. Of course many people have covered them but I always felt they didn’t go far enough away from the originals. That’s why for instance, I made a rule of ‘no horns’, which forced me to be more imaginative. I think maybe what I bring to the table, is the perspective of a jazz fan who isn’t really a jazz musician.
6) What inspired you to pick the various singing partners? What was their attitudes about it?
– With the singers and the players, I was looking for charismatic musical personalities, who could shine within the overall framework and vision that I created. Exactly what Ellington did, in fact.
7) What was the first Ellington song you heard? What hit you about it? What album impressed you the most?
– I don’t remember the first song I heard and a lot of classic Ellington is from the pre-album era. Of the actual albums, I always liked ‘Uptown’, ‘The Far East Suite’ and ‘The New Orleans Suite’. And the Strayhorn tribute ‘And His Mother Called Him Bill’. My favourite compilation is probably ‘The Blanton/Webster Band’ (also issued as ‘Never No Lament’) – the 1940-42 band, possibly his greatest.
8) Did you ever see him or any of his alumni perform in concert? I think only Herb Jeffries is still alive.
– No, he played once in my home town (Portsmouth, England) but I was too young and ignorant to even know.
9) What is it about his music that has made it last?
– Richness, diversity, originality, soulfulness and depth, and some catchy tunes too.
10) How have the musicians in the band responded to the music? Do they think it’s “easy,” “old” “tricky” or timeless?
– There wasn’t a band as such on this record, but everyone who contributed seemed to have a great time!
11) How is the audience reacting?
– Since the record isn’t out yet and we’re not touring until the fall, I’m not sure how to answer that.
12) How do his songs feel on the piano? Especially compared to today’s music?
– I’m not sure how to answer that either. But clearly composers in popular music have lost interest in harmony and to some extent melody too. A lot of today’s music seems very one-dimensional compared to something like Ellington.
13) You didn’t do “Sophisticated Lady,” but the composer/personality Steve Allen once told me that the bridge to that song was something NO ONE ELSE could ever have come up with. Did some of the charts surprise you?
– Ellington always surprises me. I think there are many other examples of ‘no one else could have come up with that’. He had a unique sense of harmony, and putting melody against that harmony in a way that’s highly unusual but sounds very logical. And by the way, there is a little quote from ‘Sophisticated Lady’ on the album. No one seems to have spotted it yet!
So, the question has to be asked: do you want to hear retreads of Ellington that have been overplayed into oblivion, or would you prefer some new wine in the old wineskins? Which do you think Duke would choose? So, what’s keeping you from checking it out?!?