As I grow older I see myself becoming more interested in things my parents listened to when I was younger. This is not talking about the exciting stuff such as the Parliament Funkadelic or every single piece of Michael Jackson audio on tape. What I’m talking about is the music that bored me to tears and caused me to immediately switch the radio station whenever I got into the car. I know I wasn’t the only one, because jazz has been labeled the international “bore children to death music.” Now, decades after my first “torturing,” I see myself listening more and more to jazz and actually being interested in it.
Looking back, part of the blame in my hate of jazz lies in my introduction to it. In the age of hip-hop and r&b, smooth jazz just does not compute with the mind of a ‘90s kid. I wanted fast songs like Outkast – “B.O.B.” or catchy choruses along the lines of TLC – “What About Your Friends.” Sitting me in a room with the smooth jazz of Kenny G was not going to hold my attention, heighten my appreciation nor influence me in any way, shape or form. I can still remember the days of being trapped in the back seat of the car while Smooth Jazz 107.5 mindlessly streamed out of the radio while I measured how big a stick I would need to hit the channel changer.
Being the ‘90s, I also grew up around the explosion of anime and Japanese culture. This was the time when Pikachu was the nation symbol of Japan and Dragon Ball Z was the most influential thing after the original Power Rangers went off the air. Although it is a fact I won’t publicly admit at times, I was also victim to the afternoons rushing home to watch Toonami on Cartoon Network. What once began as a two-hour anime block with Dragon Ball Z, Sailor Moon, Tenchi Muyo and Gundam Wing soon expanded into the late night arena with the more adult shows being shown.
This late night arena was my entrance into jazz. One of the more popular shows at the time was Cowboy Bebop, a space bounty hunter show. As you can tell by the title, jazz had a heavy influence in the show from the way the characters lived their lives to their travels on the ship “Bebop.” For me, the magic of Cowboy Bebop lay in the soundtrack. From the time I saw the first episode I was hooked. The opening theme song, “Tank,” has since been recognized as one of the greatest anime theme songs of all time. The blazing horns and epic saxophone solo sum up the attitude of the series in one charged three-minute song.
The entire soundtrack, from the first episode to the last and including the movie, was perfection for me. Although the soundtrack did feature vocal performances, the most known being the ending theme song “The Real Folk Blues,” it was the instrumentals that held me. Perhaps it was do to my years being in the school band, but I spend hours pin-pointing every type of instrument used, from deciphering between the alto and tenor saxophones to listening in for the minute flute parts. The composer of the series, Yoko Kanno, crafted a space aged jazz masterpiece that drew the listener and watcher in.
It was after these restless nights staying up to watch Cowboy Bebop and the endless amounts of money spent on the soundtracks that I grew to appreciate jazz more. The bebop style used for Cowboy Bebop was upbeat enough to grab my attention and prove its staying power by offering up something new with each episode. From Cowboy Bebop I went back to the old albums of John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk and Miles Davis. Although not in the bebop genre that made me fall in love with the genre, listening to the original masters helped me understand the styling of Yoko Kanno. This simple beginning of listening to the theme song of a Japanese cartoon helped open up a world of music that I would soon become enthralled in. I doubt my love of jazz will ever eclipse hip-hop or r&b, but it is an alternative when I just need something to chill to.
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