I am a jazz fan for three decades and counting.
During that same period, I have also been a Police fan, long after the trio existed. I’ve followed the careers of Sting, Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland and the many turns their respective careers have taken.
In Copeland’s case, he has done incredibly diverse (mostly instrumental) work since the early 1980s when the Police more or less disbanded. In 1983 he wrote and recorded the music soundtrack for the movie Rumble Fish. In 1985 he took a journey to central Africa to trace the roots of modern music and recorded The Rhythmatist. In 1987 he wrote the music for the massively successful movie Wall Street and his music for the television show The Equalizer was an extravaganza of modern experimental electronic beats.
And if that’s not enough, Copeland went on to make electronic music for the computer game, Spyro the Dragon and now is very much involved in writing Operas!
One of Copeland’s other projects I followed back in 1989 was the band called Animal Logic. Formed with vocalist / composer Deborah Holland and jazz legend Stanley Clarke on bass. Their album was entitled Animal Logic and included stellar players form both the jazz and rock world including guitarist Steve Howe, trumpeter Freddie Hubbard and violinist L Shankar. The music could be very much described as AOR (album oriented rock or adult oriented rock, take your pick) and was noted for Copeland’s distinct drumming and Clarke’s nimble bass playing.
Animal Logic
This band intrigued me. Initially I was not aware of their long friendship but later that year discovered Copeland already played tracks on two Stanley Clarke albums from 1986 and 1988. It turned out they knew each other since the 1970s before the Police was formed. Clarke says they met when Copeland was playing with the alternative band Curved Air.
Intriguing because by this stage, Copeland’s bombastic and deliberately provocative remarks about jazz were becoming well known. So, on the face of it, seems strange he would form a band with who was already a jazz legend (although it was not a jazz band).
Stanley Clarke / Stewart Copeland band in 2012
Even more intriguing as Copeland’s band mates in the Police are well known jazz fans. Sting was part of a jazz fusion group called Last Exit based in Newcastle, while Andy Summers started off initially as a jazz guitar player before he moved on to other things (much like Jack Bruce in Cream). Post Police Summers made a string of new age and contemporary jazz records.
Copeland’s “beef” with jazz apparently centres around musicians overplaying to prove they can play. However, that’s not all! Copeland also has a problem with jazz which he thinks is too introspective. I recently saw this direct quote he made on a YouTube video “The problem with jazz musicians is that they all suck!”. He went on to elaborate his reasoning; it was more or less the same thing he has been saying for decades.
Personally, I have always taken Copeland’s comments with a grain of salt, even if he believes his utterings to some extent. I take it with a grain of salt mainly for these reasons:
- He’s played with jazz musicians
- He’s played with musicians who love jazz
- He is one of the very few pop / rock drummers who uses a traditional grip, like a jazz drummer
- He tunes his snare drum very tight, much more like a jazz drummer
On top of that, Copeland can improvise in the moment as well as anyone and not play in the metronomic way pop drummers are often required to do.
So, what’s up with Stewart Copeland, why is he so disparaging towards jazz? Does he actually have a point?
I have been fortunate to seen some of the best musicians in the 1990s on multiple occasions, when they were in the 30s and 40s and at their peaks. Herbie Hancock, Pat Metheny, Bela Fleck & The Flecktones, John Scofield, Micheal Brecker, Stanley Clarke, Jack DeJohnette, Bill Bruford and Barbara Dennerlein to name a few. The 1990s was an interesting period. Many of these players came through the fusion period of the 1970s, now playing what they wanted to play and making music they wanted to make. Knowing they built up a strong following and reputation. 1990s contemporary jazz albums were more about musicality and melodies than playing solos at one hundred miles an hour.
Some of the best gigs I saw were at the Forum in Kentish Town (formerly Town and Country Club), Jazz Café in Camden and Borderline in Charing Cross. All of those venues have a common denominator, they are standing room only. Audiences are much more raucous and dance to the music they are witnessing. The musicians in turn feed off the audience and love it; having fun.
I recall seeing the Zawinul Syndicate at the Jazz Café in 1991. Joe Zawinul always spoke about the Jazz Café in glowing terms. I also saw the Yellowjackets there in 1999 with Peter Ersking guesting on drums in place of Will Kennedy. Erskine sent the crowd in an absolute frenzy with his drumming! It was an amazing experience, saxophonist Bob Mintzer kept turning around in amazement. I think that is how a crowd who are up for it inspires great musicians to give more. Speaking of the Yellowjackets, in 1992 at the Forum, it’s the only time I have ever seen a band do four encores, the crowd would not let them leave!
Yellowjackets
In 1991 the Bob Berg / Mike Stern band were treated like rock musicians, even though they were playing contemporary jazz.
This is something I have always wondered about jazz and how it is presented to the world. Seeing John Scofield, Stanley Clarke and the George Duke Band at the Jazz Café is a unique experience. I have seen many of the same artists in sit down venues, and frankly it is just not the same for enjoyment value. Following on, there is a very large contingent of jazz which is too introspective, sometimes bordering on melancholy. There is a well-known label turning out album after album of melancholia and I often wonder why. Then there is also the avant garde contingent which produce a very discordant and angry sound. To the point where I have a hard time listening or enjoying.
One can argue that new age music (which I love) performed by the likes of Andreas Vollenweider and Enya is also introspective, but it has a lot of colour and dynamics, and doesn’t make me depressed listening to it.
Andreas Vollenweider
Jazz London Radio reflects this philosophy on music; there are a lot of different types of music out there. A lot of it upbeat. Yes, we play ballads, we play introspective / avant garde stuff now and again. But when I think about it, most of the music is indeed upbeat, and most of it is definitely not centred around overplaying. Jazz London Radio always has a mission of playing up to forty percent vocal music. It is difficult to have rampant overplaying when a vocalist is in the way. I read the great Horace Silver’s autobiography and he emphasised the importance of rhythm and melody in his music.
Horace Silver
I totally go along with this. This is something one my favourite trumpet players Tom Harrell understands, his compositions are always about the tunes, and not overplaying to show off, or wallow in dissonance and melancholy. Incidentally, Tom Harrell was part of Horace Silver’s quintet in the 1970s.
I interviewed guitarist Andrew Synowiec last September about his collaboration with Mitch Towne and John Robinson, and his solo album called Fun. That’s what it should be about, Fun for the performer and the listeners.
Mitch Towne
So maybe Stewart Copeland, in all of his deliberately provocative rants and ramblings does have a point. Jazz should not just be about showcasing your technical skills or showing how good you are at dissonance, it should be first and foremost about enjoying what you are making, and the audience in turn can enjoy. Writing music that has rhythm and melody, two vital ingredients to great music in any genre.
As for Copeland, it turns out his father was a jazz fan and trumpeter (not sure about his level) and wanted his son to be a jazz drummer! If he trained from a young age to be a bona fide jazz drummer, he would have been one of the greats. But I was right to take his comments with a grain of salt. He might not be the biggest jazz fan out there, but he doesn’t hate it as much as he proclaims 😉
Laurie Burnette
Owner and Programme Director for Jazz London Radio.
Tennis fan and writer https://burnstennis.blogspot.
