Jazz for aficionados

You actually asked how many rock musicians played Jazz and then the last question implies the question was about Jazz players playing Rock?

Very few rock musicians wanted to change to jazz, nor were most capable of the change if they did want to. Ginger Baker comes to mind as a rock player who actually wanted to play Jazz.

Jazz players played rock because it was the current trend. Maybe about money though, as nobody wants to go hungry. Did Shorter sell his soul with Weather Report? As the different trends go by young players who grew up listening to that trend will pick it up in their music. Lots of hip hop and Rap beats in the current Jazz. Classical always has an effect on the musicians. I remember Parker picking up on Stravinsky.

Jazz has never been stationary.

Dave Douglas - Gifts

Listening to Alliance - Alliance and so far it’s right up my alley.

@acman3 

I don’t know if he sold his soul or not, but Wayne Shorter was excellent in Weather Report.😁

**** Jazz has never been stationary. ****

Exactly! It evolves. It builds on what came before and the lineage is always there to be heard.

(Given the topic at hand (Rock/Jazz), I can hear coming the footsteps of our contributor with the appropriate handle 😊)

@acman3 describes the Jazz/Rock divide well. Not a put down of Rock music or musicians, but very very few have been able to play Jazz at anywhere near the level of good Jazz players; even when they wanted to. Even the mentioned Ginger Baker was not on the level of good Jazz drummers. Obviously, two very different disciplines.

I don’t think that Shorter “sold out” . If one follows his career it is easy to hear how his involvement with Weather Report was a logical step in his evolution as an artist. While WR’s music was not always my cup of tea it certainly was innovative and influential and a logical step toward what Shorter did in more recent years as a solo artist.

For me, Shorter is on the short(ish) list of true giants of the music. Fantastic composer as well as player and adherent to one of tenets of Jazz: “say what you have to say without unnecessary notes”. His playing became more and more economical as his career progressed. One of those players who could express so much with few notes.

Re Sonny Rollins and the “hoofbeats” on “I’m An Old Cowhand”. Not really that surprising. There was always a certain element of humor in Sonny’s playing.

Speaking of humor and Jazz. Cannonball Adderly was another player that could bring an element of humor to his playing. He certainly had a sense of humor as exemplified by this clip that I recently sent a friend who didn’t believe me it existed when I told him about it. Just for chuckles: