BUSCANDO, ESTUDANDO E CONHECENDO JAZZ

O mundo do Jazz é muito amplo,e sempre haverá novas fontes para buscarmos aprimorar nossos conhecimentos, ainda mais num mundo onde a internet nos possibilita acesso interminável a inúmeros websites.

Nesta tarde de sábado, me dediquei a conhecer mais sobre o pensamento do guitarrista Barney Kessel, falecido em 2004, e considerado por muitos como um dos maiores guitarristas de Jazz de todos os tempos.

Uma das formas interessantes de conhecer o pensamento de uma pessoa é buscar entrevistas, onde as perguntas formuladas possam abranger diversos temas como influências, o que é o Jazz, improvisação x Jazz, etc...

Através de uma busca, cheguei ao website www.jazzprofessional.com, onde encontrei uma entrevista com Barney Kessel, feita em 1988, cuja parte relativa a Charlie Christian (considerado seu pai musical) reproduzo a seguir na integra:

BARNEY KESSEL - To me, the most alive jazz that is current today: although Bill Evans is no longer with us, his style of playing is fresh and beautiful; Stan Getz coming out of Lester Young; Phil Woods coming out of Charlie Parker. He's his own branch, but he's from the tree of Charlie Parker.

Entrevistador - Well, it's the same relationship as that between you and Charlie Christian.

BARNEY KESSEL - That's exactly right. A latterday person, expounding and influenced by those roots, and having been blessed to live long enough, because some of these people didn't live that long. As far as I'm concerned, Charlie Christian was my musical father but we have to keep in mind that we are our fathers' sons, and yet we are still ourselves; we are both at the same time. My idea of living life musically is not to perpetuate Charlie Christian; I respect him, because he's the one that I learned from and at times, in the right situation, if I'm playing the right kind of songs, in the right groove, I can go into that feeling, and I like it very much. But I have to remember that if I'm going to do anything in the world I've got to be Barney Kessel, because I have no choice. I have to be my own man, but it's subject to that. In a sense, you are very much your father's son. You may say things he said, you may walk like him, you may stroke your beard before you talk, the way he does, but at the same time you are yourself.

A opinião sobre a questão Inflûencia X Imitação fica para um próximo post...

Em tempo, o "codinome" BKESSEL muito me honra, pois além de termos o mesmo sobrenome, minha descoberta do Jazz se deu pela Bossa Nova, cujos principais nomes sempre mencionaram a histórica gravação de Cry Me a River, no LP Julie is her name, onde a cantora Julie London estava acompanhada pela guitarra de Barney Kessel.

Beto Kessel