For me, when I hear a piece of music for the first time, one of the tests of whether it is really good is whether it transcends the time in which it was recorded – or ideally, if I cannot even tell when it was recorded. Trolling the murky depths of the internet a while back, I came across an mp3 of a tune called “Spadina Bus” by a group called The Shuffle Demons. Never heard of them. Really great tune, though, so I added it to the CD of “assorted artists” I was compiling, and went on my way. Later I found out it referred to a bus route in Toronto, while planning a vacation to the big TO. Today I had a shocker while noodling around on line looking for something to write about tonight – turns out the recording is 20 years old! Well, that passes the test with flying colors (colours).
At this point I’m sure my Canadian friends are all shaking their heads and saying “Yet another example of how hopelessly clueless the Yanks are, eh?”
So, here’s a little bit more about the band and the album that included “Spadina Bus”:
While most people were convinced that comatose grooves such as Kenny G’s “Songbird” passed for great jazz, a force had emerged. Five garishly dressed -pajamas?- young men resembling fifties-era beatniks laid out great chops while singing about a Toronto bus run, “Spadina Bus”. Although they looked goofy and sang songs such as “Get out of My House, Roach” and “The Puker,” they were amazing players who translated their love of jazz into some of the most original music of the eighties.
[snip]
With their debut Streetniks, Toronto’s The Shuffle Demons changed the way a whole new generation looked at jazz, in much the same way DJ Spooky has in the nineties. Led by Mike Murley (now with Metalwood), Rich Underhill and Dave Parker on saxes, the group was rounded out with Stich Wynston on percussion and Jim Vivian on bass. The Demons built a huge following on the street corners of Toronto, leading to both a video of “Spadina Bus” and the release of the independent Streetniks. They mixed a quirky groove with fun rap style lyrics (which they called bop rap), blazing solos and a sound that remained every bit true to the pioneers of be-bop.
Although aimed at a jazz audience, Streetniks gathered a new group of listeners through their hipster/clown style. With the thumping bass opening of “Spadina Bus,” which recalls layouts by both Mingus and Carter, followed by a downbeat that leads into a horn chop that etches itself into your brain. It is hard to imagine even today that serious playing like this will lead to lyrics such as “I reached deep down in my pocket to try and find some coin/ But much to chagrin all I found was my groin”. Even though Dizzy was certainly the clown prince of bop, he would never have spilled such words before an audience.
[snip]
… it became a hit single on MuchMusic’s [apparently the Canadian equivalent of MTV at the time] video singles chart! The idea that people who were listening to synthetic divas such as Madonna would groove to skillfully played jazz with ripping free solos is still hard to imagine. Opening with squeaks and squeals that owe influence far more to Ornette Coleman and Albert Ayler than the be-bop pioneers.
[snip]
Although they would never reach the success of Streekniks again, the Demons’ other records held a tightly glued cult following that still exists. Even today their mixture of contemporary styles with bop is still fresh. The ideas and originality laid out on Streetniks still lie unmatched …
OK, so I fire up Google, and find the band has a website, and learn that these guys give whole new layers of meaning to “Still Crazy After All These Years.” How else to explain breaking the Guinness Book record by having 900 saxophones playing the same tune at once? What a clever publicity stunt for their 2004 reunion tour! I love it!! Since then, they’ve toured India (Why? Probably because they wanted to see India! They’ve toured Europe 15 times, after all…) and will be releasing a DVD in 2006 including tracks going all the way back to 1984. So if you’re quicker on the uptake than me (like by 20 years or so) you can relive all those great moments.
And as for me, any day I learn something new is a good day, and now I have another CD (and DVD!) to try and track down…
Shifting gears completely:
The Smithsonian marked its latest success in preserving the nation’s musical heritage as the “soundtrack of America’s history” in a ceremony Thursday celebrating the acquisition of photographs, manuscripts and other artifacts from jazz legends Thelonious Monk and Miles Davis.
Among the items acquired by the National Museum of American History are a black-and-white portrait of a pensive Monk poring over a musical score; one of Monk’s iconic skullcaps featuring a white cross on a red shield; a flamboyant, blue Versace suit worn by Davis; and Davis’ experimental electronic wind instrument, an Akai EWV 2000.
Museum director Brent D. Glass talked about the importance of preserving America’s musical heritage.
“In order to understand American history, to understand the American dream, to understand the American identity … people have to understand the history of American music,” Glass said. “And jazz, made in America, is especially interwoven into this country’s history and has become one of the great ambassadors of America to the rest of the world.
[snip]
While the museum boasts extensive musical exhibits from various genres, the Smithsonian’s jazz exhibit is exceptional.
“The museum preserves the world’s largest … collection of jazz history,” said John Edward Hasse, the museum’s curator of American music.
“And the Smithsonian Institution altogether operates the world’s most comprehensive set of jazz programs, and collections of artifacts, oral histories, archive materials, exhibits, traveling exhibits, published recordings,” Hasse said.
[snip]
Despite such projects as Jazz Appreciation Month, Hasse acknowledged that more needs to be done. “Jazz has still not reached its peak of appreciation where it should be. It ought to be taught in every single school.”
Just as children are routinely taught Shakespeare in school, they should also be taught Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong, he said.
Just as children are routinely taught Shakespeare in school, they should also be taught Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong …Add Miles Davis and I’m all about this!
You know, every time I think I’m tired of doing this gig and have to drag myself to the keyboard to pull something together (OK, that’s an exaggeration), I run across a pleasant surprise that makes me glad I did it yet again. I hope it’s the same for you reading them! 🙂
So tell me: What other great music have I missed out on in the last 20 years?
One other thing: I need a guest host for next weekend, if anyone wants to volunteer (please don’t all run away at once), as I’ll be going with Dr. Mrs. K. P., DVM, to Atlanta. She’s taking a class there in veterinary ultrasound. And I’m not. 🙂
Any suggestions as to what we should do or see while there?