Why Jazz Still Matters Today 爵士乐为何今天依旧重要

文/戴维·西尔弗伯格 译/肖颖

By David Silverberg

In a manufacturedcarbon-copy1 carbon-copy 相似的事物。pop landscape, only one true American art form is more important than ever to preserve.Jazz deserves our attention and it has the potential to bring much-needed spontaneity back to live music.当今的流行乐坛，千篇一律的音乐四处泛滥，唯有一种真正的美国艺术形式比以往更值得维护。爵士乐应当得到大家的关注，它能让现场演出迫切需要的即兴发挥回归舞台。

Last week, I was sitting with some friends at a barbecue and we were talking music.I told them I enjoy hard rock, hip-hop, lounge beats and jazz.They were nodding in agreement the whole way through until I dropped the j-bomb.

上周，我和一些朋友户外烧烤时谈到了音乐。我对他们说，我很喜欢硬摇滚、嘻哈、沙发音乐以及爵士乐。他们一开始还连连点头，表示赞同，直到我扔出了爵士乐这个“重磅炸弹”。

[2]“Jazz?”one friend asked.“Dave,are you 45 or something? No one listens to jazz anymore.”

[2]“爵士乐？”一位朋友问道，“戴夫，你有这么老吗，过了45了？现在哪儿还有人听爵士乐。”

[3]I blinked twice, couldn’t believe what I heard and replied,“Oh really?Then why are Oscar Peterson shows sold out.Why does theLincoln Centre2 位于纽约，全世界最大的艺术会场。sell tickets at $100 a pop andget awaywith3 get away with 做了让人接受不了的事情，而未受到干预。此处意译。it? Why are jazz festivals cramming audiences inside outdoor tents to catch a glimpse at a seemingly unknownquartet4 quartet 四人乐队。?”

[3]听到这话，我简直不敢相信自己的耳朵。我眨了眨眼回应道：“噢，是吗？那为什么奥斯卡·彼得森演出的门票总被抢购一空？为什么林肯艺术中心的演出票卖到每张100美元，购票者依然络绎不绝？为什么爵士音乐节上，户外帐篷里总是挤满观众，只为一睹看似籍籍无名的四人乐队？”

[4]My friend didn’t hesitate when he said,“Jazz islame5 lame 没落。.It’s all Kenny G and lounge singers.”

[4]朋友毫不犹豫地说：“爵士乐已经没落了。叫得上名的只有肯尼·基和一些沙发音乐歌手。”

[5]And that’s the problem right there.Jazz has beenmarginalized6 marginalize 边缘化。in today’s cultural landscape because it isn’t understood.Although jazz was born in the U.S., few Americans canrattle off7 rattle off 快速说出。the founders of the jazzscene8 scene 活动领域，……界。from the 1940s.In fact, I doubt many people could name the city where jazz was born (New Orleans).What amazes me to this day is how this vibrant musical formleaves an ugly taste in the mouths of9 源自leave a bad/nasty taste in the mouth 留下不好的印象。many music fans today.What shocks me even deeper is how thetalent pool10 talent pool 人才储备。in jazz music is still strong,but misconceptions about its meaning remain prevalent.

[5]这就是问题的关键所在。在当今文化圈，爵士乐已经被边缘化，因为它不为人所了解。尽管爵士乐诞生于美国，却没有几个美国人能不假思索地说出20世纪40年代爵士乐界的元老们。我甚至怀疑许多人是否知道爵士乐诞生于哪座城市（新奥尔良）。我至今惊讶不已的是，这种充满活力的音乐形式怎么会让今天的许多乐迷嗤之以鼻。更令我震惊的是，现在爵士乐坛依旧人才辈出，可大众对爵士乐的误解却大行其道。

[6]I’m reminded of an essay printed in theDetroit Free Pressin April.Music critic Mark Stryker wrote how jazz musicians can barely make a living today.It surprised me when he wrote:

[6]这让我想起《底特律自由报》4月刊登的一篇文章。该文作者是乐评人马克·斯特赖克，文中写到爵士音乐人如今如何艰难度日，仅能勉强糊口。他的一段评述让我颇感意外：

The fabric that once supported jazz musicians, fans, the club scene and recording industry has been torn apart.The challenge facing jazz today is to repair the cloth, to create a new infrastructure, to weave a new fabric.

曾经支持爵士音乐人、爵士乐迷、爵士现场乐队和爵士唱片业的组织构架已经分崩离析。爵士乐现今所面临的挑战是要修补系统，奠定新基础，创建新构架。

[7]He cites an obvious reason for the decline: jazz music sales account for 3 per cent of all music sales.It might not be a true shocker, in light of record companies hoping tolure11 lure 吸引，引诱。youth to their pop princes and princesses.

[7]对于爵士乐的衰落，他引述了一个显而易见的原因：爵士乐的销量在所有音乐销售中仅占百分之三。考虑到唱片公司都一心想吸引年轻人去追逐流行小天王和小天后，这一点也就不足为奇了。

[8]Pianist Ramsey Lewis points the finger squarely in the faces of the artists themselves.He told theSan Diego Tribune:

[8]钢琴家拉姆齐·刘易斯则将矛头直指爵士音乐人自身。他对《圣地亚哥联合论坛报》说：

Jazz people are passive people.They don’t spread the word.We don’t go to non-jazz people, and say ‘Have you heard this?’ We need to help ourselves,becauseMadison Avenue12 麦迪逊大街，指美国广告业。sees us, they watch us… And then they watch us go back into the world and just talk to each other.So we have to ask: What can we do to further the music? We musicians talk the talk, but how many of us walk the walk?

爵士乐圈的人都不主动，不会四处做宣传。我们不会走到不爱爵士乐的人面前，问他们：“这个你听过吗？”我们得自己帮自己，因为麦迪逊大街在看着我们，密切关注着我们……随后，在他们的注视下，我们又退回了自己的圈子，只是彼此惺惺相惜。所以，我们必须要问：为促进爵士乐发展，我们能做些什么？我们音乐人说起来都头头是道，可有多少人说到做到？

[9]Great questions, but they won’t be answered anytime soon.All I know is how the jazz scene is trying tolook out-side the box13 源自think outside the box 创造性地思考。.Take my localTD Canada Trust Toronto Jazz Festival14 多伦多爵士音乐节，由加拿大道明信托银行（TD Canada Trust）赞助。, going down in various venues from June 22 to July 1.More than 60 musicians will grace Toronto stages to offer a variety of the music, from traditional jazz to avantgarde experimental jazz to acid jazz to a blues-jazz hybrid.The fest will welcome artists like Dave Brubeck, Herbie Hancock, Mavis Staples, Roy Hargrove and Freddy Cole (brother of Nat Cole).But the lineup just doesn’t stop at thestalwarts15 stalwart忠实拥护者。; unusual inclusions like Sean Lennon, Antibalas, DJ Kid Koala and Nikki Yanovsky.It’s a genius move.

[9]问题问得好，可我们不会马上得到答案。我知道的只是现在爵士乐界正在想办法跳出束缚，创造性地思考问题。就拿我们当地的多伦多爵士音乐节来说，从6月22日一直持续到7月1日，在不同的场地举行活动。60余名音乐人将登台献艺，演出曲目种类繁多，有传统爵士乐、先锋爵士乐、迷幻爵士乐以及蓝调爵士乐，将为多伦多的舞台增光添彩。音乐节将邀请众多艺术家，比如戴夫·布鲁贝克、赫比·汉考克、梅维丝·斯特普尔斯、罗伊·哈格罗夫以及弗雷迪·科尔（耐特·科尔的弟弟）等。但表演阵容不仅限于这些老资历的爵士乐嘉宾，还会有一些特别来宾，包括西恩·列侬、防弹乐队、DJ树袋熊男孩，还有妮基·扬诺夫斯基。这真是一大创举。

[10]If a jazz fest is going to attract youth andold-schoolers16 源自old-school，传统的、老派的。alike, it needs to look beyond the traditional programming ideas.By inviting DJs and rock artists, Toronto’s jazzfest17is hoping to get people in the door so they can enjoy what jazz has to offer.It’s not justhighhats18 high-hat架子鼓中的带踏板的踩镲。andstand-up bass19 即double bass低音提琴，也称原声贝斯。lines; jazz is about emotion and sweat and pouring originality into every guitarlick20 lick 吉他演奏的小过门。, every swingingoutro21 outro 乐曲的结尾部分。.

[10]如果一场爵士音乐节想要同时吸引年轻人和守旧派，就需要突破传统的节目编排。通过邀请一些DJ和摇滚音乐人，多伦多爵士音乐节旨在将人们引入爵士乐的世界，享受其呈现的一切。爵士乐不仅仅只有踩镲和低音提琴的曲调，它是一种激情的迸发，是汗水的飞洒，它将创意融入吉他的每一个过门和每一段悠扬起伏的尾曲之中。

[11]And it’s about spontaneity.Watching a live jazz show is unlike attending a rock or hip-hop gig.Jazz musicians live and die by improv, so they’re constantlythrowing curveballs22 源自throw a curveball，指出其不意、捉摸不定的事物。at our earholes.You won’t find Herbie Hancockbanging23 bang 敲击。out the same piano sole night after night because hisvibe24 vibe 情绪，氛围。is constantly change from one show to the next.But I’ve been to lame rock shows where the band did the same set as two weeks ago,simply growing through routine because it was safe and easy.

[11]爵士乐还是一种内在冲动的自然生发。观看一场现场爵士表演不像听一场摇滚或者嘻哈演唱会。爵士乐手的成败取决于即兴表演，所以他们演绎的曲调总是出人意料。你会发现赫比·汉考克每晚的钢琴独奏都不一样，因为每一场表演他的心境都会有变化。我也去过几场无趣的摇滚音乐会，乐队演的还是两周前的几首曲子，整个现场只是按部就班地走过场，因为这样演出既保险又不费力。

[12]Anyone out there who doubt my theory that jazz music is an intellectual and emotional music (a strange combo,indeed), give a listen some artists who’ve inspired me to dive further into jazzcatalogues25 catalogue 一系列事物的列举。.Spend an afternoon with Miles Davis.Get acquainted with Oscar Peterson.Lounge on your deck with Django Reinhardt.Go on a road trip with Medeski Martin & Wood.Fall asleep to the soothing vocals of Count Basie.

[12]我以为爵士乐是一种兼具理性和感性的音乐（的确是种奇怪的结合），谁要是质疑我这一观点，只需听听那些爵士乐艺术家们的音乐，正是他们激发我一步步深入探寻爵士乐的奇妙世界。花一个下午的时间听听迈尔斯·戴维斯。用耳朵去结识奥斯卡·彼得森。在露台上惬意地聆听强哥·莱恩哈特。驾车旅行中与MMW爵士乐队相伴。在贝西伯爵的舒缓歌声中入眠。

[13]And most importantly, if you live in a major city, there’s likely a jazz festival in your neighbourhood, sometime in the summer.Why not give jazz a chance one evening? Maybe you don’t want to check out the elevator-musiclike“smooth jazz”so realize there’s more on the musical menu than just the clichéd forms.Take a risk and see some acid jazz, or put on your dancing shoes for a night of Latin jazz.

[13]最重要的是，如果你身处一个大城市，夏季的某个时候，你家附近可能会举办爵士音乐节。为什么不在某个夜晚试着去现场看看？或许你不想听到单调的背景音乐式的“柔和爵士乐”，请记住，曲目单上有很多选择，不仅仅是一些老调子。尝试一下迷幻爵士乐，或者换上舞鞋跳上一整晚的拉丁爵士吧。

[14]It’s the kind of music for spontaneous music lovers.And it will only survive if people turn off the radio drivel that all sounds the same and return to an art form that tells the story of America’s growth.

[14]爵士乐只属于自发音乐爱好者。只有当人们关上收音机，屏蔽里面大同小异的喋喋不休，重拾讲述美国成长故事的艺术形式，这种音乐才能得以延续。