美国国家公共电台 NPR Art Blakey's Legacy: A Rallying Cry And A Gathering Place

Art Blakey's Legacy¹: A Rallying Cry And A Gathering² Place

MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:

Jazz might not sound quite like it does today without the influence of the late drummer Art Blakey. For more than half a century, he provided a pulse for the music. And for almost as long, he provided a laboratory in his band for younger musicians who went on to become stars in their own right. Art Blakey was born 100 years ago today, and Tom Vitale has this appreciation³.

TOM VITALE, BYLINE⁴: First and foremost, Art Blakey was an extraordinary drummer.

(SOUNDBITE OF BLAKEY'S "A NIGHT IN TUNISIA")

GIOVANNI RUSSONELLO: I would call Art Blakey's music the spine⁵ of the jazz tradition, post-World War II.

(SOUNDBITE OF BLAKEY'S "A NIGHT IN TUNISIA")

VITALE: Giovanni Russonello is a music critic for The New York Times. He says Art Blakey's rhythmic⁶ groove⁷ set the pace for jazz in the second half of the 20th century.

RUSSONELLO: He was playing music that was meant to pull people together. And that was why I think he became such a great mentor⁸ and such a great passer-on of the tradition because that beat was magnetic. That beat was a rallying cry, and it was also a gathering place.

VITALE: And that gathering place became his group, The Jazz Messengers...

(SOUNDBITE OF THE JAZZ MESSENGERS' "INFRA-RAE")

VITALE: ...Founded in 1954 with piano player Horace Silver.

(SOUNDBITE OF THE JAZZ MESSENGERS' "INFRA-RAE")

VITALE: From the beginning, Blakey sought out talented young musicians and encouraged them to compose for the group. It came to be called Blakey's University.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED NPR BROADCAST)

ART BLAKEY: They can call it what they want. I don't care, long as they spell my name right.

VITALE: In 1986, between sets at the Sweet Basil club in Greenwich Village, Art Blakey told me that he tutored the young musicians in his band in order to keep jazz alive.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED NPR BROADCAST)

BLAKEY: This is the place where their hone their arts. They got to have someplace to hone their arts. And all the musicians of my time should be nurturing⁹ the young cats. Got to let 'em play. Let 'em come along. Because that's the only way the art form is going to live in, and it's the only art form America has.

(SOUNDBITE OF THE JAZZ MESSENGERS' "MOANIN'")

VITALE: Blakey himself learned from his elders. He grew up in Pittsburgh and was playing in jazz clubs as a teenager. In his 20s, he made a name for himself with some of the biggest big bands and the early beboppers. Blakey passed on what he'd learned to the young cats.

WAYNE SHORTER: He said all musicians - opera singers, everybody - should listen to Louis Armstrong sing, tell a story.

VITALE: Saxophonist Wayne Shorter was 26 years old when he joined The Jazz Messengers in 1959. He says he did learn how to tell a story in music by listening to Armstrong and by working on the bandstand with Art Blakey.

SHORTER: He exemplified the curve in an evening of playing music. You have a curve. You go from ground zero, take off, and you reach a plateau, say what you have to say as a soloist¹⁰, and get out of the way. Art said, never overplay your hands and don't short-guess your audience.

VITALE: Wayne Shorter went on to become one of the most respected composers and saxophonists in jazz.

(SOUNDBITE OF THE JAZZ MESSENGERS' "LESTER LEFT TOWN")

VITALE: Over the years, graduates of Blakey's University included such future stars as Lee Morgan, Donald Byrd, Clifford Brown and Terence Blanchard.

TERENCE BLANCHARD: He gave us a lot of room to grow, man, all the time. He wanted us to try things. He would tell us, don't rest on what we did in the past, you guys have to create your own version and your own sound with this group.

VITALE: Blanchard was a 19-year-old trumpet¹¹ student at Rutgers University when he replaced Wynton Marsalis in The Jazz Messengers in 1982. He went on to lead his own bands and to compose music for Spike¹² Lee's films. In four years with Blakey's band, Blanchard said he learned as much from the drummer off the bandstand as he did on it.

BLANCHARD: He said, this is about music. It's about washing away the dust of everyday life for people who have been working all day and want to get away from all of the trials and tribulations¹³ of the day. You know, that's what he used to talk to us about, about the importance of being an artist and what our role is in society.

VITALE: And that role was making art that inspired, as Art Blakey said in 1986.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED NPR BROADCAST)

BLAKEY: You got to believe in it. You can't just think about making money 'cause you ain't never going to see a armored car following a hearse. The only thing that follow you to the cemetery¹⁴ is respect, and you must earn it. You know? So that's where I'm at. I chose respect.

VITALE: And Art Blakey got it from the musicians in his band and from his audiences.

For NPR News, I'm Tom Vitale in New York.

1 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

2 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

3 appreciation   

n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨

参考例句：

• I would like to express my appreciation and thanks to you all.我想对你们所有人表达我的感激和谢意。
• I'll be sending them a donation in appreciation of their help.我将送给他们一笔捐款以感谢他们的帮助。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 spine   

n.脊柱，脊椎；(动植物的)刺；书脊

参考例句：

• He broke his spine in a fall from a horse.他从马上跌下摔断了脊梁骨。
• His spine developed a slight curve.他的脊柱有点弯曲。

6 rhythmic   

adj.有节奏的，有韵律的

参考例句：

• Her breathing became more rhythmic.她的呼吸变得更有规律了。
• Good breathing is slow,rhythmic and deep.健康的呼吸方式缓慢深沉而有节奏。

7 groove   

n.沟，槽；凹线，（刻出的）线条，习惯

参考例句：

• They're happy to stay in the same old groove.他们乐于墨守成规。
• The cupboard door slides open along the groove.食橱门沿槽移开。

8 mentor   

n.指导者，良师益友；v.指导

参考例句：

• He fed on the great ideas of his mentor.他以他导师的伟大思想为支撑。
• He had mentored scores of younger doctors.他指导过许多更年轻的医生。

9 nurturing   

养育( nurture的现在分词 )； 培育； 滋长； 助长

参考例句：

• These delicate plants need careful nurturing. 这些幼嫩的植物需要精心培育。
• The modern conservatory is not an environment for nurturing plants. 这个现代化温室的环境不适合培育植物。

10 soloist   

n.独奏者，独唱者

参考例句：

• The soloist brought the house down with encore for his impressive voice.这位独唱家以他那感人的歌声博得全场喝彩。
• The soloist had never performed in London before.那位独唱者过去从未在伦敦演出过。

11 trumpet   

n.喇叭，喇叭声；v.吹喇叭，吹嘘

参考例句：

• He plays the violin, but I play the trumpet.他拉提琴，我吹喇叭。
• The trumpet sounded for battle.战斗的号角吹响了。

12 spike   

n.长钉，钉鞋；v.以大钉钉牢，使...失效

参考例句：

• The spike pierced the receipts and held them in order.那个钉子穿过那些收据并使之按顺序排列。
• They'll do anything to spike the guns of the opposition.他们会使出各种手段来挫败对手。

13 tribulations   

n.苦难( tribulation的名词复数 )；艰难；苦难的缘由；痛苦

参考例句：

• the tribulations of modern life 现代生活的苦恼
• The film is about the trials and tribulations of adolescence. 这部电影讲述了青春期的麻烦和苦恼。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 cemetery   

n.坟墓，墓地，坟场

参考例句：

• He was buried in the cemetery.他被葬在公墓。
• His remains were interred in the cemetery.他的遗体葬在墓地。