A Very Sexy Lady and Great Tunes Tina Turner graces this year's Grammy Album of the Year by Herbie Hancock; Rivers-the Joanie Letters. Tina exudes sexiness from her pores on the cut Edith and the Kingpin. The contrast of her earthy voice and the ethereal instrumentation makes this a worthwhile listen over and over again. Wayne Shorter and Dave Holland enhance the overall project with their very special skills. Tina defies her stereotype with this effort by singing jazz in the tradition of Billy Holiday. Her voice is distinctly Tina, but her understanding of how to phrase a lyric with the music matches that of Dinah Washington. This is a rare and special opportunity that makes one wish she had been able to sing earlier in her career with the likes of Herbie Hancock or McCoy Tyner. But we are not crying over spilled milk at all, when you listen to this tune you also value even more her achievements as a rock and blues singer over the five decades of her life as an entertainer. Tina is a Very Sexy lady we love, beauty, skill, and ohh so sexy. 

The are many definitions of Jazz. But start to start things off I define Jazz as the only truly American musical art form created totally by indigenous Americans regardless of race, creed, etc. etc. It is the fusion of African/European/Hispanic/Latino American immigrant experiences after their arrival in this country. All American originated music that follows from its birth at the turn of the 20th century is a variation of Jazz. In essence a tree with many branches but only one trunk and set of roots that pull from our diverse American culture. Or as Cannonball Adderly says "It is not the same thing , it is out of the same thig". The first definition shown below is the one I most agree with but what follows are definitions I found on the web that we will debate from time to time:

1. Wikipedia - Jazz is a musical art form which originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States from a confluence of African and European music traditions. The style's West African pedigree is evident in its use of blue notes, improvisation, polyrhythms, syncopation, and the swung note.^[1]

   From its early development until the present, jazz has also incorporated music from 19th and 20th century American popular music.^[2] The word jazz began as a West Coast slang term of uncertain derivation and was first used to refer to music in Chicago in about 1915; for the origin and history, see Jazz (word).

   Jazz has, from its early 20th century inception, spawned a variety of subgenres, from New Orleans Dixieland dating from the early 1910s, big band-style swing from the 1930s and 1940s, bebop from the mid-1940s, a variety of Latin jazz fusions such as Afro-Cuban and Brazilian jazz from the 1950s and 1960s, jazz-rock fusion from the 1970s and late 1980s developments such as acid jazz, which blended jazz influences into funk and hip-hop. As the music has spread around the world it has drawn on local national and regional musical cultures, its aesthetics being adapted to its varied environments and giving rise to many distinctive styles.

2. SimthsonianJazz.org What is Jazz?
   Jazz is a kind of music in which improvisation is typically an important part. In most jazz performances, players play solos which they make up on the spot, which requires considerable skill.

   There is tremendous variety in jazz, but most jazz is very rhythmic, has a forward momentum called "swing," and uses "bent" or "blue" notes. You can often hear "call--and--response" patterns in jazz, in which one instrument, voice, or part of the band answers another. (You can hear Ella Fitzgerald and Roy Eldridge do "call and response" in "Ella's Singing Class.")

   Jazz can express many different emotions, from pain to sheer joy. In jazz, you may hear the sounds of freedom-for the music has been a powerful voice for people suffering unfair treatment because of the color of the skin, or because they lived in a country run by a cruel dictator.

3. What is Jazz? Good question...
   Published: December 9, 2004
   
   What is jazz? According Wynton Marsalis jazz is music that swings. According to Pat Metheny jazz is not the music of Kenny G. According to Webster's jazz is characterized by propulsive syncopated rhythms, polyphonic ensemble playing, varying degrees of improvisation, and often deliberate distortions of pitch and timbre. Personally, I prefer the definition found in the old musician's joke about jazz being "better than sex, and it lasts longer."

   Certainly, the question is a highly subjective one. Ask 100 different people "What is jazz?" and you're likely to get 100 different answers. The debate becomes even more confusing given the fact that the history of jazz is relatively well documented.

   It's no secret that jazz music started in the black ghettos of New Orleans at the end of the 19th century. In the 1920s jazz moved up river to Chicago and New York as African Americans migrated north in search of a better life. The 1930s saw the evolution of swing bands like those lead by Duke Ellington and Count Basie. At the same time great soloists emerged, virtuosi like Louis Armstrong, Coleman Hawkins and Lester Young. In the 1940s be bop hit, personified in the music of Charlie Parker. The Mozart of his day, Bird took all of the melodic and harmonic information available and crystallized it into bebop. But, even in 1955, at the time of Bird's death, most people could answer with confidence when asked, "What is jazz?"

   Why then, less than half a century later, can't we agree on a working definition? Part of the reason is because jazz has always been and remains today a living art form, ever changing and ever growing. Subsequently, after Bird took bebop to its logical conclusion, musicians like Miles Davis and Ornette Coleman invented new forms like modal playing and "free" jazz. In the 1960s musicians began incorporating R&B, rock and new electric instruments into their jazz. John Coltrane gave us "sheets of sound." The Modern Jazz Quartet mixed jazz and classical music. Everything exploded and suddenly jazz was all over the place.

   In their effort to market these musical voyages, major record companies have added to the mystification, bombarding us with labels to ponder: Contemporary jazz, mainstream jazz, smooth jazz, alternative jazz, avant-garde jazz, Latin jazz, fusion, etc. At present, it seems that there are almost as many names for jazz as there are jazz groups. Still puzzled? Me too.

   But not worried. Once again, each one of us is left with our own purely subjective views on jazz. My guess is that, if asked, even musicians - the men and women who are currently dedicating their life to creating this music - would likely disagree on the meaning of jazz.

   So perhaps a better question is: What do you like? From Jelly Roll Morton to Lee Morgan, from James P. Johnson to John Zorn, the answer is out there, preserved on record for our learning and listening pleasure. Yes, experiencing all the different styles of jazz is a daunting task, but the rewards are great; and the more you listen, the more you'll find similarities within the styles. What's more, jazz elements can be heard outside of its own genre - in rock, R&B, Latin music, African music - the list is endless.

   Yet, one thing is sure: Jazz remains America's only original living art form. Today, its influence envelops the globe. It's expressive. It's enriching. Call it what you like - jazz is here to stay.