Jookeyman wrote:DP- you've perked my interest w/ your post. What evidence does Burns present to dispute Jelly Roll's claims? I see Jelly Roll as the 'Josephus Flavius' of the jazz world. A bit of a flamboyant braggart and very non self-effacing.
You're asking me to recount everything in a ~15-16 episode series, w/ each episode running ~90 mins. or more. That's a lot to account for. Only wish my recall was that good...
But your point re: "I see Jelly Roll as...a bit of a flamboyant braggart and very non self-effacing" says a lot, and it's a fair assessment. That being the case, of course he would try to take credit for a significant musical form/genre. It's true he was a significant figure, and Burns does discuss his contribution in the series--but more in the context of contemporary jazz as it developed in the 1930s. But claiming to be the 'inventor' is quite a stretch--the sort of thing a "flamboyant braggart" might say.
While I can't recall all of it, I do remember in Burns' series, they discuss how blacks--the sole practitioners of this musical style in the early days--were generally not permitted to play in 'white' clubs (or much of anywhere else) in part because this style of music was known as "jass"--a pejorative w/ a sexual connotation (and not a positive one). (Sorta like how Elvis was viewed in his early days: a sexual degenerate who shouldn't be given air time.) We're talking turn-of-the-century--a number of years before JR hit his stride, altho he first claimed to be the 'inventor' in the early 1900s--when he was barely a teen. More accurately, it was an outgrowth of a style--"black music"--that originated in the Congo Square (in NOLA), one the few places where it was permitted throughout the 19th century, which featured heavy syncopation and relied on improvisation. But it wasn't published until the 1890s, so it's difficult to quantify who, exactly, wrote the first tune(s). Since JR wasn't even born until 1890...
Which brings us to Miles. Was he the first jazz practitioner to ever play w/ someone from a diff. genre? Doubtful; I can see a jazzman going into a session, and the only drummer available is, say, a rockabilly drummer, or maybe R&B, and rolling w/ it as a matter of expedience. But did they consider they were creating a new genre? Just as doubtful. It's true that Miles did it mostly as a way to generate a wider audience--now there's a musician who was acutely aware of the biz side--but it's also true he was the first to promote it as "fusion" and offer it as a distinct genre. Still, Miles was nowhere near the "flamboyant braggart" JR was; flamboyant, yes, but...
I'd recommend the Burns series to anyone who has an interest in the roots/history of jazz. There's also a site--appropriately called jass.com--that has considerable info, but it's not nearly as comprehensive as Burns. Burns is able to garner large sums of money for the production of his series, and as a result, they all display an unparalleled degree of historical accuracy.
