Black History Month

(Ken Burns Jazz is streaming on Netflix. It is an excellent series that will change how you view the world.) 

Oh yeah can ya dig it? If ya didn't know that early African spirituals and slave songs gave way to the blues which then in turn gave way to Jazz and every thing else under the sun that you like to listen to, you know now. The basic 1 4 5 blues chord progression is a staple in rock and jazz, Louis Armstrong isn't just a horn player, he reinvented how people sing!  he showed how you could take the most basic run of the mill standard and turn it into a hit with a little arranging. Duke Ellington was one of the first to show how important and how grand not playing any thing at all here and there could be. People like Fats Waller were taking the piano to new levels every day. People after the turn of the century in 1906 were starting to take out dated background instruments and transforming them into shining solo instruments. All the boundaries and rules of standard music were starting to be rewritten and i know your thankful... So get into it learn something this month. There is a whole race of people out there that once had to fight the oppression of the system to have a good time and the good time they were having changed every thing the world was about to hear form that moment on till the end of time!