I figured I could do "It's A Man's, Man's, Man's World" because I believe it's the truth.
Etta JamesRead
Jazz took too much discipline. You have to come in at the right place, which is different than me singing the blues, where I can sing, 'Oh, baby,' if there's a pause in the melody. With jazz, you better leave that space open, or put in something real cool.
Interpretation
Jazz requires precision and discipline compared to other forms of music.
Etta James emphasizes the structured nature of jazz music, highlighting that it demands precise timing and skills from musicians. Unlike more freeform styles like the blues, jazz requires a careful consideration of silence and space, along with the addition of cool improvisations to create a compelling performance.
In practice
When discussing the intricacies of music theory in a classroom setting.
I figured I could do "It's A Man's, Man's, Man's World" because I believe it's the truth.
It's not about battling the original artists when I record these songs, it's about paying tribute to them.
I wanna show that gospel, country, blues, rhythm and blues, jazz, rock 'n' roll are all just really one thing. Those are the American music and that is the American culture.
The only time that I am really truly happy—when I feel at my best—is when I'm on the stage.
When I'm singing the blues, I'm singing life.
People always say 'Etta, you know what your problem is? You're neither fish nor fowl. There is no place to rack you.' When I would go in a record shop, you might find one or two records by me in different stacks.
When I go to a gig and I hear a song that I really like, a song that hits home to me or hits an emotional nerve, if I could ever recreate that for someone, that would be the ultimate goal.
I'd bite off the Beatles, or anybody else. It's all one world, one planet and one groove. You're supposed to learn from each other, blend from each other, and it moves around like that.
I grew up with the Grand Ole Opry, Dottie West, Conway Twitty, Buck Owens... not realizing it was influencing me as much as it was.
In hindsight, if I could go back in time and relay a message to my younger self, I would tell him to work on his time keeping, and that the job of a drummer is not to be the one that gets noticed the most on stage, or to be the fastest, or the loudest. Above all, it is to be the timekeeper.
Just because you're not a drummer doesn't mean you don't have to keep time.
It (jazz) isn't like it used to be. The guys aren't together. They're all separated. Individuals now. Bird was a symbol. It was a clique, a clique of people. Who all believed in one thing: gettin' high. And playin'.
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