Mozart not hip enough for jazz?
Although my main passion is for jazz, I got into Classical music through the work of Gil Evans which made me want to search out for the compositions of Debussy and Ravel who provided the arranger with much inspiration. As I read more about jazz composers it was fascinating to learn that many were very heavily influenced by the classical tradition whether it was J S Bach or Olivier Messaien.
What I think is intriguing is that the Classical composer who many would consider to be the greatest has effectively had little appeal to jazz musicians. Seeing as Radio 3 will be dedicating all of it's programming to Mozart, I though it might be interesting to read other people's opinions as to why Mozart has lacked the appeal of (to take the three most obvious examples) Bach, Chopin and Debussy. When I had piano lessons I was often given the task of sight reading classical music but Mozart was very, very rarely chosen and Bach dominated. My teacher (who actually studied at The Guidhall (I think) with Tovey at who actually edited the Bach Preludes & Fugues) and was an acquaitance of such diverse people as Colin Davis, Arnold Bax and George Shearing, was extremely disparaging about Mozart and once said (in exageration) that Mozart only had two ideas.
I can only think of one example of a jazz musician using Mozart's music as a vehicle for improvisation and that is Uri Caine and having once met him after a gig, would suggest that there is very little music he does not know about or if enthusiastic enough to extoll it's virtues. It was probably obvious that Mozart would fall under his scrutiny at some time. I cannot recall reading any interview by any jazz musician saying that he acquired his harmonic concept from Mozart or that his music was in any way an inspiration. Maybe this is to do with the rather "square" harmony of the late Eighteenth Century which wasn't as colourful or as exotic as Scarlatti or or Bach? Mozart does seem extremely primative from a harmonic point of view and personally I think that the harmonic language employed by Classical composers went into limbo between the Baroque era and the emergence of Fields and Chopin. Their use of harmony was just so much "sexier." As far as jazz musicians are concerned, I get the impression that Mozart almost didn't exist!
It seems odd that someone who is alleged to have been so great and radical has generated so little interest from jazz musicians.
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Originally Posted by Jonathan Swain
