The first sign of maturity reveals itself in our ability to assume responsibility for our actions. Usually between the ages of 12 and 16, we accept that our actions have direct consequences. It is also around this time we begin to understand what it means to be dependable, honest, trustworthy, and we learn about respect, the importance of self respect and respect for others and treating others as you would have them treat you. As our sense of responsibility grows, we are confronted with many situations throughout our lifetimes that try our resolve and commitment to being responsible. The more responsible we are the better we become and the more responsibilities we take on the more our awareness turns toward the greater good. This is the true measure of our character and our worth as honorable human beings.
Responsibility is the centrifugal force around which all of the other values spin. It is what fuels our character. In short, without a grounded sense of responsibility, our actions would be entirely thoughtless and self serving. Responsibility therefore demands that we think beyond our own desires and needs for gratification, instant or otherwise. Possessing a strong sense of responsibility distinguishes the wheat from the chafe, the men from the boys, the women from the girls, the willies from the nillies and those people who answer enthusiastically to a call for duty, to do the right thing, from those who don’t even bother to show up, especially if there’s nothing in it for them.
Responsibility demands that you give your very best; it is tantamount to strength of character. It is so tightly woven into everything we are and do it is absolutely integral to the very definition of greatness. Since most of us passed through the elementary testing ground of our formative years demonstrating some form of responsibility what changed once our independence was earned and we began dealing in the “real” world? Suddenly, responsibility to our higher selves went out the window and we adopted the code based on every man for himself, getting over on the other guy and winning at all costs. Ethics and core values such as integrity, honesty, courage, morality, justice and loyalty were lost or redefined to suit our personal agendas. Bad habits developed and replaced good habits. Our responsibility to our physical, mental and spiritual health was sacrificed willingly albeit oftentimes unknowingly to be a part of a system that controlled our lives in every way, including and particularly how we interact with one another and as inhabitants of this earth. As individuals we can quickly site those things for which we are personally and directly responsible but for some reason, there is a disconnect when it comes to our responsibility to each other as interdependent beings, to nature, the environment, and the planet.
Musicians have a responsibility to their art, their instrument, their health, their families, their audience, their careers, their students and to their fellow musicians to list the obvious. Music buyers have a responsibility to the music, the artists, the audiences and all those they interact with. Publicists have a responsibility to the artist, to truth, honesty, fairness, the reader, and their craft. Labels, promoters, any and all media, have a responsibility first and foremost to the artist, to integrity in their business dealings, honesty and always, the public. So much of what I have witnessed in the music business however has little to nothing to do with character or ethics and that is understood so it isn’t expected. What is expected is what has been the case forever and is part of learning how to deal in a world with ever changing and shifting rules of conduct - the main objective being, to make money. The emotional vulnerability it takes to play the music honestly and sincerely and the absolute stark harsh impersonal nature of the business that surrounds it is comparable to the lamb and lion successfully co-existing and transforms the definition of responsibility into a cold hard fact called survival. Values oftentimes out of necessity are sacrificed for the sake of money. I believe I’ve heard just about every excuse in the book for why someone thought it was acceptable to get over on their fellow musician or for not doing the honorable thing when confronted with a situation that involved employing integrity, scruples, good conscience or principles and it was always money related. Some musicians think nothing of undercutting another musician’s wages to beat him out of his gig, or to work for free or for unscrupulous club owners at the expense of their fellow musicians. The old joke that a musician would sell his own grandma for a gig is more fact than fiction. If there are musicians who are willing to give it away, without a second thought as to how that impacts all musicians, then of course they are not being responsible to the greater good. It is the lack of responsibility to each other that is at the core of why there are fewer and fewer opportunities for the jazz musician. Too many musicians feel no responsibility toward their fellow musicians even when they are homeless. I wonder why it never occurs to them that selfishness, lack of compassion, indifference, jealousy, competitiveness, arrogance, sense of entitlement, greed, and the lack of integrity, is at the root of all the problems facing the music business today and that they are contributing to their own demise, so ultimately it is hardly about survival at all....a very high price to pay for a nickel dime gig and/or a piece of the temporary illusory pie. And, it is reflective in the world around us because what affects the world politics also affects the music.
As musicians, we have a responsibility to the truth first and foremost then to courage. The courage to go against the flow, to not be a follower, or manipulated, or a sellout, to be true to our art and to respect ourselves, to nurture our business connections and friendships and to be grateful to be a musician and for any and all opportunities and kindnesses that come to us. How many of us know what it means to be a true friend to someone or what loyalty means? Because these qualities require selflessness, sacrifice, compassion and understanding which is the definition of what love is, hard qualities to find in a needy greedy world of haves and have nots. Don’t believe the hype that permeates and pollutes the many so called jazz scenes that disfigure the music ... the music doesn’t need us, we need it. It has supplied jobs, meaning, worth and identities to countless numbers of people. It has brought purpose, joy, happiness, peace and a sense of community to countless others and if we as jazz musicians would take more responsibility when it comes to making sure that the music we love survives and isn’t exploited out of existence due to greed and our lack of responsibility to one another then I believe we can affect a positive change in other aspects of our lives and in the world.
Nora McCarthy: Articles - By: Nora McCarthy
April’s Sing Into Spring Issue was very informative bringing to light several vocalists who are deserving of more recognition. Singers who know their craft, have an extensive repertoire and who continue to recreate themselves by keeping up the learning process which is essential for all of us. One such singer is Diane Hoffman who will be doing a tribute to the great Peggy Lee at the Metropolitan Room on May 6. Be sure to check her out.
Speaking of the Metropolitan Room, a wonderful discovery I made this past month was singer Tanya Holt ...the go to person who books the room and who also fills it night after night with her highly professional and positive energy. I knew from having worked with Tanya that she was a singer but never got the chance to hear her. While putting together my recent show for UK Jazz Radio, I asked Tanya to send me an mp3 of her music with the intention of including her in my New York Jazz Expressions show. Now is the time when I have to insert the following question, why is it that the singers who oftentimes have the most to offer the music by way of their God given talent, are behind the scenes and not center stage? Such is the case with Tanya Holt. This very unassuming, humble and hard working woman, who is a single parent with the enormous responsibility of raising her two daughters: Nicole 16 and Christina 10, in today’s brutal economy, is in possession of one of the finest voices I have heard in some time, reminiscent of a past era in the music that embodies what jazz singing is all about.. the best part is that her vocal styling is sincere, and unaffected by the pop-culture adornments and the mimicry that is often heard in today’s new singers. Speaking of which, I have another question.....
Will the real Billie Holiday please stand up? Since that is impossible in every respect, then will someone please tell me how it is possible then for almost every jazz singer who opens her mouth these days, certainly in the past several years of my closely following reviews, to be compared to the great, one and only, Billie Holiday? This observation is glaring and makes me wonder if reviewers and critics have even the slightest clue anymore of what jazz singing is all about. The pre-packaged formulaic and thoughtless reviews I’ve been reading of singers lately has provoked me to question what is the criteria for reviewing jazz vocals? The answer is absolutely none whatsoever. Just throw in a couple of Billie comparisons, perhaps a Carmen and Sarah for good measure, talk about the songs, the band, maybe the arrangements, say he or she stands out among all others to avoid an in depth assessment of the voice itself and there you have it. If they really don’t “get it” or can’t “fit it” into one of their stereotypical stock review templates where they only have to slug in the singer’s name and perhaps change the sequence of mindless remarks, then they give a lousy review. All you have to do to validate my observation is visit any on-line CD store and read the reviews of the jazz vocalists and count the Billie comparisons…I mean how is that possible that so many singers have the depth, the artistry, the sound of the Godmother of all jazz vocalists? Billie’s voice came out of the bane of her existence, her tragedies, her suffering, her life experience, and out of her Blackness. It is pure exploitation to compare singers who never experienced anything in life who just graduated from jazz singing school to this great artist. But what can you do? Imitation they say is the highest form of flattery but all it means to me is they haven’t found their own voice. Influence is one thing but direct comparisons? Chalk it up to the world we are living in now and take it with a grain of salt and don’t believe the hype, we all know, there was only one Billie Holiday and why would anyone want a substitute when you can hear the real deal?
It appears that some of the jazz magazines out there aren’t even paying attention to what they are publishing with all of the misinformation that is being passed on to their unassuming readers who rely on their expertise and knowledge of the music with these kinds of reviews. Not to mention the damage they are causing to the artist and ultimately themselves with their lack of good judgment when they publish bad reviews. Who will be the unlucky recipient this month to be trashed by a one-dimensional earless and clueless reviewer??? Well Lord knows not all reviews can be good reviews so then I ask why review the CD at all? Why not turn it down, what is the purpose behind these reviews? I’m certainly not interested in reading about what is bad out there, who cares? I don’t take delight in reading these reviews...and who does? Nor am I interested in a review based on an opinion from someone who doesn’t have the credentials to be a reviewer or someone who is simply mean-spirited or has an agenda...again, who cares, don’t waste my time or valuable space in the magazine. What if I already bought a CD and thought it was great and then read that so and so thought it sucked, does that mean that I don’t know what I like, that his/her opinion is worth more than mine? They are not educating anyone, only insulting. Because regardless of what they say, if a consumer liked the music then I say, mission accomplished. And truly, in this economy and given the current poor state of the “jazz business”, how does a bad review help the music or the artist whose income depends on selling CDs? Better not to review it then to trash it. I have listened to some CDs that got great reviews, but in my opinion weren’t worthy. But because their publicist had the connection or they had a record label behind them they were guaranteed a good review. But, that having been said and in all fairness, there are a few very conscientious and knowledgeable reviewers out there who know their craft and the music , who are deserving of respect and are not to be lumped in with the “others”. They will give a good review based on the truth and nothing else and wouldn’t review something they found unworthy or waste their time and expertise trashing it.
On that note...another remarkable new CD, Vocabularies, has just been released by the outstanding leader of song today, Bobby McFerrin. Bobby uses some of the best singers in the business to weave his vocal magic and just when you thought he couldn’t top himself or that there’s nothing new under the sun anymore this fearless visionary and extraordinarily creative and gifted maestro opens yet another window for us to peer through. Vocabularies is a masterpiece and a must hear from this exceptional artist.
I had the pleasure this month of catching tenor saxophonist Marc Mommas’ and drummer Tony Moreno’s group at the 55 Bar on Easter Sunday and listened for one inspiring set before having to head off to the train..it was all I could do to leave, the music was that good. The rest of the group, Gary Versace – pn, Dean Johnson – bs, and Glenn Horten – tpt, were superb and tastefully artistic. The room was comfortably full and attentive. They played a mixed set of originals contributed by Moreno and Mommas and standards. Tony’s dynamic ally sensitive drumming and intuitive playing interpreted the mood of every piece precisely and expertly embellished the underlying designs of all the solos. I especially enjoyed the virtuosity and power of bassist Dean Johnson who shined on “The Lamp Is Low” and the juxtaposing abstractions of Versace who sounded like a spider dancing in a web of open block chords. Marc Mommas, one of the most tastefully creative tenor saxophonists on the scene today with his warmly dark tone and modern lines performed one of the pieces off of his new CD, Landmarc, a lovely rubato ballad entitled “Folksong” which captivated this listener.
A quick reminder that the ongoing Evolving Voice series, hosted by vocalist Fay Victor and Arts for Art has been presenting some extremely interesting creative singers, poets and musicians on Monday nights at the Local 269 on the corner of East Houston and Suffolk Streets on the LES. To support diversity in the music and this superb series you can find the line-up of innovative artists on the web at artsforart.org .
See you next time with more Vocal Perspectives.
The Avant-Garde Jazz Singer In A Main Stream World
As more and more groups led by singers appear on the jazz landscape the image of the jazz singer, once portrayed in the big band era has all but faded into obscurity and its modern day counterpart has developed into an independent music business professional who wears many hats. Due to the increase of jazz vocal education programs in the major universities and music schools, there are many more degreed and multi-faceted jazz singers than ever before, who oftentimes are proficient on a second instrument, and are also composers, improvisers, lyricists, arrangers, producers, conductors, and poets.
While there have always been jazz singers who were much more than "singers" in the stereo-typical sense of the word in that they are first and foremost musicians whose instrument is the voice, most of them today fall into the categories of straight ahead, main stream and commercial, and the idea or belief that those jazz singers who are even slightly left of center of the main stream are not jazz singers at all is the argument that has been waged against them since the inception of avant-garde jazz by the proponents of tradition jazz and thus these singers as well as the music itself are still glaringly underrepresented in the media. They are the avant-garde singers and they also have deep roots in the music and are carrying on the tradition of a long line of visionaries who have been challenging and redefining the prototypical role of the jazz singer for many decades and have played an integral part in helping shape the direction of the music itself. But where are they? Still not being acknowledged or accepted into the jazz world's tightly knit infra-structure as viable entities to the extent that they should be at this point in time for their contributions to the art of jazz singing.
Some of the younger aspiring jazz vocalists today are looking to their cultural roots for inspiration and also to the folkloric music of other cultures and blending it with the traditional standard repertoire. In searching for new ideas and niches some modern day jazz singers have been for some time now crossing over into other genres such as hip hop, rap, r&b, folk, rock, even electronica with the use of gadgets such as looping devices, vocal pedals and lap top computers putting a contemporary spin on the classics which not only appeals to a younger generation of listeners but is a direct throwback to the days when jazz was considered dance music and is thus also being embraced in the media and featured more than the avant-garde which has been incorporating various other formats into the music for decades.
So while there are many changes taking place in terms of jazz vocal production and repertoire that is accepted and included under the umbrella of jazz, there remains the absence of the avant-garde musician and singer in the market place, the media and on the major record labels. The tired old argument continues to be waged against the validity of free, avant-garde jazz music which in reality is just another way of saying there is no money in the avant-garde because it can't be watered down, put it in a bell jar and sold to the masses so therefore it isn't jazz. Sadder still is that with the exception of privately run schools such as the Woodstock-based Creative Music Studio (CMS)founded by vibraphonist Dr. Karl Hans Berger and vocal artist Ingrid Sertso avant-garde music is also not being included in the curriculums of many of the so-called jazz institutions nor are its creators who are living legends afforded teaching opportunities in comparison to those who teach the standard jazz methodology.
The beginning of the avant-garde jazz movement in the early '50s ushered in a brand new breed of innovative jazz singers who were experimenting with atonality and dissonance influenced by the music of artists like Sun Ra, Cecil Taylor, and Ornette Coleman. These fearless vocal artists belonged to a highly elite subculture of jazz singers who were coming out of jazz, bebop, free jazz, modernism, and 20th century classical music and who remained for the most part, out of the reach of main stream audiences. Not much has changed since then.
One of the foremost exponents of free jazz singers was Jeanne Lee. Jeanne was a distinguished singer and educator who chose to devote her artistic energies to the challenging demands of the jazz avant-garde, rather than more mainstream forms. She established herself as one of the handful of genuinely original and creative vocal improvisers in that sphere, and was also a composer and teacher.
Another distinguished voice is that of Jay Clayton who has made it her life’s work to innovate and push the limits of her instrument. Jay is one of the most influential creative singers on the scene today. She is also an educator who teaches voice and improvisation and performs in New York City and elsewhere in the world.
Joan La Barbara is an inventive singer and sound artist, as well as a composer who explores the human voice as a multi-faceted instrument expanding traditional boundaries and garnering awards in the U.S. and Europe.
Some other notable avant-garde singers who pioneered the art form include: Lisa Sokolov, Patty Waters, Ingrid Sertso, Lauren Newton, Ellen Christie, and Linda Sherrock. Relative to the term avant-garde are the unique and original vocal stylings of the great Sheila Jordan and the one and only Abbey Lincoln whose work with Max Roach in the early '60s was revolutionary in influencing many of today's jazz and avant-garde singers.
Other singers in the realm of original, experimental and avant-garde music include: Judy Silvano, Miles Griffith, Mary La Rose, Fay Victor, Yuen Sun Choi, Odeya Nini, Dean Bowman, Alva Rogers, Theo Bleckman, Sarah James, Meredith Monk, Kiyoko Kitamura and the late Tina Marsh.
These jazz singers delve into the complexities and textures of the music on a very advanced and deeply sophisticated level. Their musical vocabulary is vast and their understanding of form, freedom, harmony, language, sound, and design are the tools they use to craft, sculpt, and shape their vocal structures. They weave abstract versions from the cloth of the familiar into new musical compositions.
The maestro of the contemporary jazz voice who has redefined the term jazz singer and who has gone far beyond any preconception of the term however is indisputably Bobby McFerrin who is in a category all his own and is perhaps the most well known jazz vocal instrumentalist in the world today. He is the exception to the rule in that he virtually does it all and has managed to break down all the walls of conformity but to my point, he gained notoriety first through his pop classic, Don't Worry Be Happy, and not his creative, free, jazz and beyond vocal stylings. Bobby McFerrin's ongoing contribution to shaping and evolving the voice is unmatched.
The reality though is that the avant-garde singers do not and have not received equal exposure in the media and if you didn't know better, you would think that there were at best only a handful of jazz singers out there singing today and while some may have roots in the avant-garde they do not cross the threshold into fame, fortune or notoriety until they put out something more in keeping with what the main stream accepts as jazz. The virtually impenetrable structure of the music business simply doesn't acknowledge or support the avant-garde singer. The belief that a legitimate jazz singer is one who adheres without deviation to the tradition is espoused by those who stand the most to gain by keeping the music frozen in time. Their very understanding of the music is biased, limited and closed minded. So regardless of the spirit, authenticity, creativity, musicality, originality, or improvisational ability of those singers that are even slightly "left of center", the truth is, they aren't getting the gigs, or the exposure.
Personally if I had a choice of listening to Ella Fitzgerald sing How High The Moon or an Ella impersonator, let it suffice to say, there would be no contest. Does that mean singers shouldn't learn from Ella...absolutely not, and quite the contrary. There is a need to carry on her legacy for future Ella's to come. Just as there is a need to carry on the legacy of singers like Jeanne Lee and to give equal time at the very least to the avant-garde singer. It is also important to contrast and compare them. To see how they are interdependent and to give creative license to future jazz singers who are in the stages of developing their instrument and finding their voices for the advancement of the music.
I remember when I first came to New York 17 years ago and learned about the "blowin" sessions for musicians only and the other sessions that were singer friendly and never the twains to meet. I was really surprised and dismayed to see that singers were viewed as separate from musicians seeing as how the voice is the first instrument upon which all other instruments were patterned. It would almost be comical if it wasn't so tragically true that these kinds of sessions still exist as does the mindset that would differentiate and segregate singers from the players and more importantly the avant-garde singers who wouldn't even be tolerated in any main stream situation much less understood. However, that was just the tip of the iceberg as I was soon to discover that the politics behind that exclusionary thinking, also crossed over into the music itself and ran so deeply as to perpetuate discrimination between the various genres of jazz as well, in order to maintain a sense of superiority, ownership and control over the ever diminishing market of jazz music.
While there have certainly been some important strides made over the recent years, I'm referring to Ornette Coleman's life time achievement award at the 2007 Grammy Award pre-telecast ceremony, many of those in attendance by their own admission, didn't even know who he was and it is mind boggling that we have come so far in the music and are still up against the wall of discrimination, confusion, and controversy when it comes to the avant-garde.
If it wasn't for the fact that it is so pervasive in the business today and so instrumental in determining the success or failure of a creative artist it would just simply be pathetic. But when it fails to tell the whole truth about the music itself, by excluding the singers who are very much a part of the history and the advancement of jazz music then it is flat out wrong. The fact that there are divisive political issues within the jazz industry itself that negatively impacts the future and the development of the music is what is at the core of the many problems plaguing jazz today and why it is fighting to stay alive. Think about it. We are still not there and it's 2009. It won't even begin to right itself until avant-garde music gets prime time status in the media and the genius musicians and singers who created it are acknowledged for their immeasurable contribution to the advancement of jazz.
Arts for Art, INC (AFA) and The Local 269 have started a Vocal Series called The Evolving Voice. The series aims to put left-of-center vocal music on the map and intends to showcase creative and conceptual vocalists performing original and improvised music including standards with a twist. The weekly series takes place on Tuesdays at the Local 269 and features two vocalists per night, performing one set each. This series is the brainchild of dancer Patricia Parker, whose tireless advocacy for avant-garde music also produced the nonprofit arts organization Arts For Art (www.artsforart.org)which in turn spawned the annual Vision Festival(www.visionfestival.org).
Carl “Ace” Carter
IT’S NOT WHERE YOU START BUT WHERE YOU FINISH
By: Nora McCarthy
My lifetime mantra came from the wisdom of my good friend and mentor, pianist Carl Ace Carter who passed it on to me thirty years ago and I in turn have given it to all who would benefit from it. Whenever I needed to remind myself to stay positive, to be confident in my abilities to accomplish anything I wanted regardless of age and in the face of all adverse deterrents self imposed, real, imagined or otherwise, I’d remember and recite those words. “IT’S NOT WHERE YOU START BUT WHERE YOU FINISH.”
Ace was full of such enlightening aphorisms, which is why I believe he chose the pseudonym “Master of the Empire”. He knew a lot of things and had an incredible imagination and playful sense of humor. He loved nothing better than to get your goat, so to speak, or engage you in one of his stories that he told with such description it was like watching a movie and since so much of what he spoke about was his personal escapades he went to great lengths to make them as entertaining as possible and always hilarious. You never knew where the truth ended and the fantasy began, so much of how he looked at life was a mixture of both but coming from a stark reality and an intellectual savvy that was absolute pure wit.
Ace was smooth, slick, sharp, wise, a brilliant musician, good friend, mysterious, and always one step ahead of the game – in short, complicated, and abundantly gifted. He loved to play and he loved to please the audience. He was a class act. His knowledge and repertoire was vast and endless. He embodied the era of jazz music that he grew up in – he was one of those rare human vessels that comes by maybe only once in your lifetime, that personifies greatness, has all the elements of the music, and is part of the history of jazz – they are time capsules – keepers of the flame and Ace Carter was all of that and then some.
I met Ace in 1978 and having him as a friend and mentor when I first started singing back in Cleveland, Ohio was a blessing. His daily input of wisdom with regard to life and the music and the business of music was priceless to me. Like when he told me, “you don’t really have a gig, until you’re counting the money on the way home”, or, when he pointed out one of my strengths as a singer, his endorsement and praise meant the world to me because I knew Ace knew and that strength he pointed out then belonged to me and I could trust it would be there for me always. That made him a great teacher. You learned by being around him. You learned from his countless stories about his musical experiences. You learned from how he wrote his charts. You learned to never lose your pitch when he changed keys in the middle of the song and he didn’t tell you because working with Ace was more than doing a gig, it was about being the best musician you could be and you could count on his trying you every time, many times but the other thing you could always count on was that he was going to play the daylights out of the music. It was guaranteed you would be immersed in lush chords, beautiful on-the-spot arrangements, perfect tempos and always the history, he was the history. Because Ace was the master of many things, he was a gem to those of us who had the opportunity to work with him.
To this day, I think of him often. I still have and use the charts he wrote for me. I’ll remember something he said and smile at his timeless wisdom, or laugh aloud when I remember one of his crazy stories or how he’d figure out ways to weave names like “Lottie Linia and Lucy Brown” into the conversation and then tell you how they were real people or that he knew them and would tell you all about their lives, and the gangsters and the excitement that surrounded the music back in the day. His house was a treasure chest of memorabilia from all the gigs and clubs he’d played, to newspaper clippings from decades prior to current day, and I might add, he knew where everything was so don’t even try to tell him he needed to organize his things because he took great offense and could lay his hand on whatever he needed in a heartbeat and would show you. I think about those crazy cut out white pointed-toe dress shoes he’d wear with the black socks every summer….he was always dapper and always the gentleman and extremely eloquent. I also remember the day he brought me a bottle of “white lightening” from his trip down south, the same day he pulled a Little Jimmy Scott album out of the trunk of his car for me to listen to because he had just finished a recording session with Jimmy, I would later read about in Jimmy’s book, Faith In Time some twenty-five years later.
Ace Carter was a one and only. To hear him play was an unforgettable experience to play with him was even more so. He was a monster musician who had complete independence - he could do it all and swing harder than anyone and then turn around and play the most beautiful sentimental ballad harmonically lush and poignant. You knew you were in the good competent hands of a maestro and he let you know too that you had the freedom to go wherever you wanted to explore in the music, because he’d always be there to bring you back in. He’d often say to me, “I hear where you’re going”. For a singer, who loved to take chances, knowing I had a safety net like Ace beneath me, gave me all the confidence in the world and allowed me to develop my ears by following the music rather than someone else’s path.
People often compared him to Errol Garner, Oscar Peterson and Nat King Cole. Ace could sing too and he had a similar tone to Nat. He had massive hands that easily spanned an octave and a half and he never ran out of ideas when it came to his famous turn-around tags that went on endlessly until you thought he’d never end the song but you also didn’t want him to. He frequently used a technique of striking the keys that came out of the “old school” style of playing called “splanking”, Garner did it and so did Basie, but Ace was the one who taught me what it was.
I often questioned why someone of Ace’s caliber didn’t find the fame and fortune he deserved, I think that was about to happen when he got the Basie gig, but his health gave out. Ace was a diabetic and he battled alcoholism in his lifetime, and with diabetes he shouldn’t have drank at all and that no doubt contributed to his poor health in his later years and also interfered with his career. I personally however, never knew him to be anything but a real pro.
Those who knew and worked with Ace, loved him and all those who heard him loved him too, we were all extremely lucky. Though he liked to tell funny stories about his life, he was also a very private person and kept a lot of his failings to himself and played down or refuted any and all gossip. He clearly had two lives though to those who were close to him, one very personal and mysterious and his public persona and sometimes when they intersected or overlapped he’d make something up that was basically preposterous to explain it all away. He was a true character in his own novel.
I wasn’t around when Ace passed; I was in New York and didn’t get back to Cleveland in time. I spoke to him perhaps several months before that occurred and he hadn’t been playing and couldn’t drive anymore. He was having problems that he shared with me, though in typical Ace fashion, he didn’t give in to worrying – so I know he was only dealing in the moment and playing it as only he could, realistically with endless possibility.
The legacy that Ace has left behind plays out in the lives of the many people, musicians, and singers he touched with his genius and spirit. He left behind a piece of himself in all of us. His stamp is on everything I sing, because I learned from him - the very best – his wisdom is forever ingrained in my wisdom and I give it away as freely as he gave it to me keeping Ace alive in the hearts and minds of people who never got the chance to meet him or hear him. He was part of an era in the music that will never come again, it was in him, it was of him and it was who he was. He was the real deal.
VOCAL PERSPECTIVES
By Vocal Artist, Composer and Poet, Nora McCarthy
Founder of The Zen of Singing™
http://www.thezenofsinging.com
BENEVOLENCE, A LOVE SUPREME
Have you thought lately about the true meaning of giving, of absolute love, of loving kindness, of generosity of spirit as well as of material possessions and money? In answer to the emptiness and the utter near absence of benevolence in our world today and the all pervasive despair that follows: poverty, hunger, war, hatred, anger, amorality, disloyalty, and lack of values comes the concept of expansion or manifest destiny to the rescue. Not in the political sense, but in the spiritual sense. The current deficit we are experiencing is the direct result of absence of benevolence in what we do. We are not living in keeping with our higher selves if our motivation for success doesn’t include the success of others. According to Mark Twain, “We do no benevolences whose first benefit is not for ourselves”. But some theologians, such as Thomas Jay Oord, have argued that love involves both giving and receiving. A loving person must, then, be both benevolent and open to receiving good gifts from others, the principle behind the universal law of abundance.
17th Century English poet, essayist, moralist, literary critic, Samuel Johnson wrote, “Human benevolence is mingled with vanity, interest, or some other motive”. In taking stock of our lives and our work, how much of what we are currently doing is being done purely for the love of the music and for the benefit and the good will of others? Are we being true to ourselves as artists and not compromising our musical integrity for money? Do we have integrity in our dealings with one another and in the workplace? Are we devoting as much time to doing what we love as opposed to what we don’t just to survive? How much of what we do is selfishly motivated? Are we helping others through our musical efforts? There is a direct correlation between the amount of expansion that is present in our thinking and our level of success as we define it in our lives and careers. The following quotes from the late alto saxophonist, Luther Thomas reveals his loving and generous spirit and pure commitment to the music as an artist, but also the limited thinking shared by many musicians with regard to the business of music.
...”Musicians want to play all the time we can live all over the world. The battlefront is everywhere, and we are on the frontline. We are like NATO, but it’s not a weapon it’s an instrument, it’s all about love. We’re ready to go, have a ticket, have a gig, have horn, will travel.”
...“I am a musician first, that’s what I live for and that’s what gives me the satisfaction. I’m pleased when I learn a composition, because then I can begin to work on the music. Business is one thing - music another. Let the businessmen do business, and let me make music. People ask me: "Luther, who is your agent?" My answer is: "God is my agent and Jesus is my manager." But Jesus is a little harder to get hold of so that part can be a hassle. My music is almost free, I play and I’m happy, as long as my expenses are covered.”
Musicians like Luther were no strangers to the difficulty of earning a living in jazz. Their dedication to the music and uncompromising steadfastness is humbling, encouraging and inspiring to those of us who are now feeling the pains of fewer performances and teaching opportunities. But there is another extremely important lesson to be learned from his words, the need to think more expansively with regard to the business and its direct impact on the greater good. We must be more pro-active with our careers... that is the reality now.
For quite some time the unfavorable changes in the jazz industry have been felt in the motherland but it is now being clearly felt around the world as our economic recession has reached global proportions. I talk with musicians who tell me about the collapse of the industry and the lack of paying gigs in Europe and the increasing number of door gigs. Everything seems to be going down the rabbit hole en suite which is where limited thinking ultimately takes us.
Examples of the need for more benevolence in our business dealings are everywhere. Festival opportunities in Europe for American musicians who are not “big names” are scarce and hard to get. Booking agents and promoters want to make the "sure" money so they deny the lesser known artists because it's easier for them to continue to recycle the same big names and pay the extra bucks than it is to invest some of those extra bucks into promoting the music by stimulating interest in a broader roster of artists and thus creating more opportunities.
By contrast, if you look at the pop music, hip hop or alternative music industry, year after year there is an influx of new faces that are being promoted and marketed to the public. The industry can't keep up with the demand for new sounds, new ideas, new blood. It’s not that there isn’t an abundant and diverse supply of great Jazz musicians and singers out there, there’s no demand because one isn’t being created.
Desperate times call for desperate measures and the current state of the music business for jazz is indeed desperately suffering for many other reasons other than the economy. But what happens when we act out of desperation? Usually not the positive results we were looking for because desperation is a by-product of lack and not expansion. Limited thinking is rampant throughout the jazz world, especially among the festival promoters, labels, critics and clubs but also with the musicians themselves who don’t invest in their own success and/or who play the politics. So much of what we are programmed to believe and accept is coming from a place of lack, want, need, craving, and emptiness, not fulfillment, abundance, prosperity and the desire to share. Jazz is designed, packaged and sold as a controlled substance that benefits the dealers and suppliers and the average musician is just a junkie for the music. Decades of exploitation and egotism within the jazz infrastructure has resulted in fewer and fewer opportunities for many resulting in the slow steady decline of jazz itself. So into that dark abyss that grows wider and deeper every day is where many musicians are falling these days. Without gigs, without the resources of a label, how do these musicians get the exposure necessary to get the opportunities? The answer is they don’t. They don’t know how, or, like Luther, they leave the business up to someone else which is tantamount to allowing the fox to guard the henhouse.
While most of us simply want to play and keep our heads above water, we are at a loss as to what direction we are headed with our careers. If necessity is the mother of invention then the need for reinvention is paramount. The concept of self development is not new. We’ve been gathering the information for over 7 decades and if you’ve been tuned in, you are probably embracing the current challenges and turning them into opportunities. By cultivating the virtue of benevolence into our mission we magnetize abundance and manifest destiny which is to expand. If we approach our careers from this perspective, individually and collectively, think of the possibilities for the music. Since musical vibrations are of the highest frequency, that is, pure love, it is the most transforming powerful force on earth. A love supreme.
THE PASSING OF AN AMERICAN JAZZ LEGEND
REMEMBERING LENA HORNE
(June 30, 1917 – May 9, 2010)
By: Nora McCarthy
There was no one like Lena Horne. Born in Bedford-Stuyvesant Brooklyn, NY on June 30, 1917, she came from an ethnically mixed background of African-American, European and Native American, was raised by her grandmother and became a significant figure in our country’s history … a beautiful golden thread stunningly woven into the tapestry of American culture. An original song stylist and entertainer, who deservedly holds a position of high honor in the history of jazz, was also an outspoken supporter of the Civil Rights Movement who worked with Eleanor Roosevelt to pass anti-lynching laws. She refused to perform in front of segregated audiences while on tour with the USO, and, in 1963, attended the March on Washington. During the 60s and 70s she graced every variety show on television. Even if you didn’t know every detail about her life, I was a child then, you knew Lena was a queen, an awesomely gorgeous woman who seemed to never age, she had an incredible presence and a brilliantly enticing smile. She was elegant, poised and sensual, her singing powerful and moving. She hid her lack of confidence, innocence and vulnerability behind a seeming impenetrable veneer. She was a complex and dichotomous woman.
I could fill this article with adjectives describing her beauty, talent, struggle, strength of character, generosity of spirit, her fierce advocacy against racism, her social and human rights activism … her attributes were many. Her life story reads like the who’s who of the entertainment world and the political world, she knew them all, she made history, from the Cotton Club and Café Society, to Carnegie Hall, Hollywood, Broadway and the world stage, she was pioneer who paved the way for her race. She was there and left an indelible mark on our culture. One might misconstrue that Lena led a charmed life but that simply wasn’t the case. Hers was a life that was simultaneously plagued with racism, laced with pain and tragedy as well as incredible good fortune, because Lena was not only a pioneer, she was a survivor.
The undeniable fact is that there was so much to this woman, nothing I could ever say, or anyone else for that matter, would quite scrape the surface of her remarkable life. As with many legendary bigger-than-life icons, there are multiple perspectives one can view Lena Horne from but I look at Lena, the singer, because at the end of the day, that is who she was…she was a singer, a glorious and unique songbird, a singer whose message was so important that it changed history. A singer who never thought of herself as a singer, who struggled with her own abilities to deliver a song, in a way that was acceptable to her and to the bigoted society she grew up in. With so many critics and racial filters she had to sing her way through, the one editor she fought against the most was her own. This is where Lena’s work took place; with self. This was her classroom where she hammered out her lessons that would be her blessings. A hard worker, a perfectionist, beyond ambitious, Lena Horne was someone who never allowed herself to get comfortable or rest on her laurels. She was an artist who continued to reach beyond her own grasp, who continued to fight against impossible odds; she did this for herself and for her race. She fought valiantly against a social system and poisonous mindset whose sole purpose was to prevent, limit and stop her and those of her race in their tracks. She opened many impenetrable doors with her Hellenic beauty, but even her beautiful physical perfection could not completely surmount the iron wall of racism that prevented her from obtaining lead roles in Hollywood and at one point, she was blacklisted for her leftist political views. But she did manage to make history with films like The Duke is Tops (1938), Panama Hattie (1942), Till the Clouds Roll By (1946), Cabin in the Sky (1943) and, Stormy Weather (1943) among many others. Ironically, “Stormy Weather” would become her signature song and would forever draw comparisons to the version originally delivered by the great Ethel Waters who Ms. Horn first heard when she was 16 years old as a chorus girl at the Cotton Club. By her own admittance, Ms. Horne felt she could never reach the depths of emotion that Ms. Waters did in her version and is quoted giving respect to Waters as “the mother of us all.” Yet the comparisons were brutal and unfair saying she was not a great singer, soulless in her delivery and lacking in range, and basically getting by on her beauty. Her singing was considered too “White” for her to be Black. Even the legendary clarinetist and bandleader Artie Shaw called her a “White” singer. The kinds of prejudices from both sides of the racial fence would be at the very heart of the pain that Ms. Horne endured and where her feelings of insecurities and uncertainties originated and ultimately what led her on her journey as an artist. Relating to the songs that she sung, making them her own and ultimately touching everyone who heard her was the outcome of her life’s work. And her version of “Stormy Weather” at the end of her life owes no apologies to anyone and is a masterpiece.
Listening to the young Lena Horne’s first version of Stormy Weather from the 1943 film, made me question why anyone could negatively criticize her performance or waste their time comparing it to Ethel Water’s performance in the first place. You can’t compare the two, and there is no useful purpose in doing so. Her voice was clear with a bell like tone. Her pitch was good and her delivery while innocent is wistful but reflects a deeper side albeit masked behind her youthful inexperience. I often say that people hear with their eyes and her beauty stood in the way of her credibility. Today, beauty is a necessary component in our American-Idol-world where it pays to have the whole package and given our obsession with beauty, that is more often than not the whole package. But in Lena Horne’s case, she had the talent but it was grossly overshadowed by her disarming beauty. Whites believed that “she was too beautiful to be Black”, yet that never spared her from their discrimination. And, the Blacks thought she looked too White and didn’t sing “Black” enough. Yet and still, anyone who saw her wanted to see more of her, and the demand for her grew. Her elegant presence, beauty and poise defied the stereotypes of African Americans that prevailed then and thus, she paved the way for all those who would follow, guided by her dreams of a life in show business and motivated by her desire to represent her race in the best way possible.
The truth was that Lena Horne was simply different. She was in a league of her own and that blew everyone’s mind. She was a Black woman but didn’t have a strong connection to her musical heritage, due to her grandmother’s musical preferences and prejudices. Bandleader Skitch Henderson noted that Horne was an astute improviser…no doubt coming out of the mother of invention, because she had to create her own style out of necessity and drew from the complex diversities of her multi-racial ethnicity, her upbringing, and her influences which happened to be the best in the business. I can only imagine during a time when stereotyping wouldn’t allow Blacks to step outside the confines of their imposed limitations how difficult it must have been to be an “original” anything. But Lena found her way, being the first at many things. She was the first black performer to be signed to a long-term studio contract by a major Hollywood studio and therefore became a trail blazer, not only breaking color barriers in Hollywood, but on Broadway as well. There is something extra that stars like Lena Horne possessed that made them beyond special … that gave them the grit to succeed to the heights she did despite the adversity that was put on her back like a ton of bricks. That something extra is called “spirit”. Ms. Horne had a spirit that wouldn’t let her quit combined with a talent that couldn’t be denied and it made her a warrior and formidable contender in the entertainment world.
By the time Lena Horne recorded The Lady And Her Music, in 1981, she was well into her 60s and the self-proclaimed “late bloomer” was no longer the “butterfly pinned to a column” but instead she was “The Horn” … a singing force to be reckoned with, powerful, masterful, fully in touch with her emotions and the songs she sang delivered the story of her life with an impact that garnered her 4 Grammy Awards, a Tony Award, an Emmy Award nomination, A Sammy Cahn Lifetime Achievement Award, an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Jazz Artist, The ASCAP Pied Piper Award, a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical, such tremendous accomplishments from someone who started her career, “hating the sound of her own singing voice.”
Ms. Horne’s discography includes some 32 albums all of which should be required listening to singers of all stripes. While, I love all things Lena, the following 4 albums recorded in Ms. Horne’s later years are among my favorites.
Lena Horne: the Lady and Her Music (1981; Quest) won her a Grammy for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance and a Special Tony award. She holds the record for longest running solo performance on Broadway. The 34 song Live On Broadway album tells the star’s life story in a collection of Pop songs, Broadway and Great American Songbook gems from the show by the same title that ran on Broadway for 333 performances and for more than one year followed by a National tour of one and one half years and an International tour. The album captures the artist in a performance of unparalleled fervor peppered with her biting and humorous dialogue that cuts to the bone…she tells it like it is. Her singing is rich and rife with wisdom and experience. She has a gilded edge to her voice, which at times simmers then erupts in volcanic strength. All her former repression now flowing freely.….she is the butterfly in full regalia holding court over her spell bound audience who hang on to her every word suspended by her magic, responding with abundant applause, raptly listening to her pour out her heart in every song. Oh yes, HER songs…..the lady has some fierce chops in this live recording. You get a taste of the real Lena. If what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, here is the proof that Lena is a goddess of goliath proportions…no more excuses made for her light hue or the genuineness of her Blackness, or for her sweetness or her proper diction, not her past discretions or her losses, no sir, she is no longer holding back, she is OUT in full bloom and she is telling her story with every song and putting every drop of who she is into a very powerful performance.
We’ll Be Together (1994; Blue Note), a personal favorite. The 76 year old Horne is singing with complete control and focus, more tempered than usual and very reflective, polished and accomplished. She interprets the lyrics with a confident surety and grace that reminds one of a fine wine at the peak of its bouquet. Her voice is rich and right on point, comfortable and settled. Johnny Mathis makes a guest appearance in duo with Horne which is very enjoyable and the haunting sound of Toots Thielman’s harmonica is heard on “Prelude To A Kiss”. 7 of the 16 songs were written by her dear friend Billy Strayhorn and/or Duke Ellington. Horne cites Strayhorn as the “only man she ever loved”. Every song in the collection is given a tasty sophisticated treatment as she swings, cries, laments and grooves throughout. The arrangements are exquisite. “My Buddy” is a heartbreaker and at times throughout the album her voice has the same depth of emotion reminiscent of another original jazz icon, Jimmy Scott. The title track is beautifully heartfelt. Her tone is lush, warm, precise and unaffected – totally Lena, some of her best work.
Being Myself (1998; Blue Note) was the final complete album that Ms. Horne recorded. The stellar personnel includes: George Benson – guitar, Donald Harrison – saxophone, Milt Jackson – vibraphone, Mike Renzi – piano, Rodney Jones – guitar, Benjamin Brown - double bass and, Akira Tana – drums. At the age of 80, Lena is singing the Blues, something she shied away from early on in her career and refused to do, saying she couldn’t. Well, in true Horne fashion, she leaves no stone unturned. On the opening cut “Some Of My Best Friends Are The Blues” she not only sings the Blues, she owns them. She swings hard on “As Long As I Live” and handles “Autumn in New York” with elegantly styled silken notes. Her sex appeal comes through so strongly on “It’s All Right With Me”, that one forgets she is an 80 year old woman …still busting myths and defying stereotypes.
Seasons of a Life (2006; Blue Note), is a collection of unreleased performances by Horne recorded from 1994 to 2000, three of which were released on the album Classic Ellington, conducted by Simon Rattle and was the last album made by Lena Horne. The personnel: Herbie Hancock – piano, Benjamin Brown - double bass, Bobby Forrester – organ, and Donald Harrison – saxophone. Herbie Hancock accompanies Horne on "Chelsea Bridge" and "Willow Weep for Me". There are 10 cuts on the album that are all well done and she sounds excellent on each one. She demonstrates what a class act she is on “I’ll Always Leave the Door a Little Open” – with her ability to tell a story in the tradition of the kind of greatness that she once ascribed to other singers. Her voice is clear and strong and wrought with emotion. “Chelsea Bridge”, the Strayhorn classic, is a beauty and there is no doubt who she is singing to, her voice is poignant and filled with love. Her hallmark phrasing is ever present throughout and her sense of rhythm swings, whether she’s singing a ballad or an up tempo. The feel good spin she puts on “Singing In The Rain” is an example of how she knows how to expertly adorn a song by draping the lyrics and dressing up the melody with her astute musicality. The history behind these songs make them all the more meaningful when you realize what you’re hearing. Ms. Horne gives us a priceless work of art on this album.
Lena Horne was timeless, she is a legend. She was our goddess. Her beauty was an unwitting weapon used to fight racism. Her talent was our entertainment, our joy, our heartache and our inspiration. There’s been much said about her and her contribution to our culture. So therefore, everyone, every singer for sure, should take the time to read about her life because it was a work of art but because it was also, as Paul Robeson so eloquently said, “A sad mirror of the nation”. The only way to really know who Lena Horne truly was however, is to listen to her sing, it’s all there.