55 Fiction

A story in exactly 55 words - Flash fiction - Etc.
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The Big Apple

Adam does not feel the woman’s eyes upon him. As he sprints towards the mercurial railcar, whose great engine begins to wind, all he can feel are the planks of the platform beneath him, rumbling like distant thunder.
The woman presses her face against the cold plexiglass, exhales, and Adam fades into the tainted distance.

"Rebop: The Savoy Remixes" - It's All in the Family

Dabbling in the realm of the music critic . . .

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I first caught wind of "Rebop: The Savoy Remixes" from a good friend of mine, whose musical taste I generally hold in the highest regard. He pitched the album as 1940's jazz meets 21st century hip-hop, and swore to me that he’d never heard anything like it before. I took a selected listen from his copy of the album, with the music in one ear and him talking up his favorite tracks in the other, and believed in his interpretation of what I was hearing. Wow, I thought, jazz and hip-hop, what a novel concept. But then a few days later I gave Rebop a second, more thorough listen, and I discovered something. I discovered that while some tracks put forth a successful blend of the two genres, which did result in a new sound, a larger number of the tracks seemed painfully juxtaposed - with either hip-hop completely dominating the jazz, or the jazz and the hip-hop clashing in a battle of stylistic opposites. And then I had to sit back and wonder: What happens when hip-hop and jazz take a spin around the four-poster?
For the answer, first a short family history. The term rebop comes, appropriately, from bebop, a form of jazz characterized by fast tempos and an improvisation based on harmonic structures - harmonic structures that refrain to anchor a song. Bebop was first recorded in Newark in the 1940s, before the arts vacated New Jersey, at a little place called Savoy Records. Now, hip-hop was spawned in the Bronx in the 1970s, and relies heavily on improvisational lyrics and the sampling of previously recorded songs, that repeat or refrain behind these lyrics. Sampling is done, of course, by a DJ, who takes previously recorded material, cuts it, and splices it into a remix of the original. It would seem then that hip-hop and bebop are geographically close neighbors, and being thirty years apart the two genres might very well be second cousins.
What "Rebop" tries to do is bring these distant relatives together for a family dinner - and there are definitely some heavyweights on both sides of the table. Representing for the bebop legends are Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Curtis Fuller, Dizzy Gillespie, and Cannonball Adderley. The original recordings of these jazz greats are offered up by the powers that be at Savoy and handed off to some 21st century DJs. These spinsters include the likes of King Brit, DJ Logic, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Basement Boys, and Ali Shaheed Muhammad of A Tribe Called Quest. Individually they cut, fade, blend and break-beat the original compositions to varying degrees of success. But why stitch these two genres together? Could these estranged relatives ever make sweet, sweet music?
Diehard fans of Charlie Parker and Miles Davis could rest easy upon hearing Quantic’s remix of "Moose the Mooche," which takes a rather minimalist approach to the composition. There are touches of the DJ in a rebuilt drum track, emphasizing the high-hat. He also takes the liberty of phrasing one of Parker’s sax sections as a refrain. But between these refrains, Quantic leaves Miles and Charlie to solo, more often than not, over the original rolling snare track. But, where Quantic makes minimalism shine, other DJs fail in their light strokes. The most notable flop would be Large Professor’s take on "Minority," by Cal Tjader. This track is nothing more than Tjader’s smooth vibraphone being assaulted by an overly bright drum track and the periodic, quick scratching of a turntable.
Then there are songs on "Rebop" that sound more like DJ compositions built from the ground up, as the bebop artist is barely noticeable. Like the minimalist approach, this overly liberal artistic approach to the original recording can have both triumphs as well as faults. One such track that succeeds in overshadowing its origins is DJ Smash’s work on Dizzy Gillespie’s "Caravan." Smash employs drum programming, new backup keys, a sitar and a guitar. Using these instruments he builds a wall of sound evocative of the Persian sands, and concocts a very danceable track. The only problem being that he uses samples of Dizzy’s horn as more of an accent than a centerpiece. If you’re looking for some straight Dizzy Gillespie, this ain’t the track - but it’s a good one none the less.
As for those DJs who took their creative liberties in the wrong direction, there are a few lowlights. Over, Under, Sideways, Down Treatment’s interpretation of "Yardbird Suite," by Herbie Mann, takes a beautiful airy piece of bebop fluting and reduces it to a videogame soundtrack with sporadic laser sounds and an overly dynamic 1980s synthesizer. Also, Boots Riley’s remix of Gillespie’s "Shaw ’Nuff" has an overly electronic techno beat to it and absolutely no sign of Dizzy at all- his horn has been replaced with the synthetic distortion of a guitar that would be lucky to find its way onto a Jefferson Starship album.
But between these highs and lows, these minimalist and liberal approaches, lies a unique middle ground - a place where the cool untamable entity that is jazz comes into a perfect union with the rigid, ass-shaking fundamentals of hip-hop. This middle ground is what "Rebop" is all about. Two tracks fall squarely in this place: Basement Boy’s adaptation of Curtis Fuller’s "Minor Vamp," and King Brit’s mix of "Lover Man," by Dizzy Gillespie ft. Sarah Vaughn.
The already cooking bass and drums of "Minor Vamp" leaves the Basement Boys little for improving in rhythm, so they add a simple drum track on the upbeat to accent. A sample of Fuller’s trombone serves as the refrain for "Vamp". In between these refrains Fuller trades solos with Lafayette Gilchrist, a modern jazz pianist recording himself into the song by the aid of the Basement Boys. Phrasing of Fuller is then thrown in overtop of the solos, creating the effect of a backup horn section. As the song winds down, leaving only the original bass, drum, and overdubbed drum track, the voices of the Basement Boys come in, urging the music on in a style reminiscent of a bebop houseman.
King Brit’s go at "Lover Man" is just plain sexy. Brit adds an ensemble cast of musicians including guitar, backbeat, upright bass, keyboard, and background vocals. Aside from the new backbeat, which gives Gillespie’s original a more consistent, driving pulse, all of the new elements blend in seamlessly - so much so that they sound like part of the original. The guitar is smooth and cascading, complementing Sarah Vaughn’s smokey, classic voice. She comes through under the soft filtered sound of a sixty years old recording, singing, "Got a moon above me, but no one to love me," with a timeless elegance, only further supported by Dizzy’s muted brass solos and fills.
"Rebop: The Savoy Remixes" takes a bold step in uniting the close relatives hip-hop and bebop. By crossbreeding these genres the album strives to unite two different classes of music afficionados, educating while entertaining them along the way. It further breaks down the already relaxing labels on musical genre. The ultimate success or failure of "Rebop" will not be known for quite some time, as the album must first work its way into the hands of all the hip-hoppers, beboppers, and musically bicurious folks of the world, like myself. But so far as I’m concerned, these musical cousins can keep rubbing up on each other; who knows, something really cool might just pop out. So while you ponder the moral dilemma that is incest, pick up a copy of "Rebop: The Savoy Remixes," share it with a friend - or a relative - and get loose. AI