Courtney Pine

小簡介
20世紀(jì)初年，早期爵士樂一直是歌臺舞榭的娛樂音樂，從紐奧良紅燈區(qū)的小型樂隊到紐約、芝加哥夜總會里的搖擺大樂團(tuán)，在美國，乃至于全世界很多地方，有很長一段時間，最流行的舞曲，都是爵士樂。直到40年代之后，以咆勃爵士為代表的現(xiàn)代爵士樂興起，盡管百花齊放、百家爭鳴，大致上主流爵士樂卻是朝向嚴(yán)肅精致的方向前進(jìn)，60年代之后，搖滾樂大行其道，迪斯科興起之后，各大都會區(qū)的舞池里，也完全不再有爵士樂的聲音，狀況發(fā)展對爵士樂來說日趨不利，70、80年代，爵士樂衰退到谷底，樂手不是遠(yuǎn)赴歐洲、日本討生活，就是改行玩流行音樂、或者去幫電影作配樂，不然，只得離開音樂圈，這等慘狀，一直到80年代末期，才逐漸改善，爵士樂漸漸復(fù)興，重新取得美國真正原創(chuàng)藝術(shù)的定位，杰出的爵士樂手們，也成了文化明星，爵士樂似乎成了美國國寶。但是談到爵士樂與舞曲的關(guān)連，要等到這個世紀(jì)接近尾聲，才有另外一種所謂《酸性爵士》出現(xiàn)，把聽眾拉回舞池，或者說，讓舞池里的人們聽到一部份爵士樂，在此，我們先講這其中頂重要的一個人，寇特尼派恩。
1994那一年，爵士樂評論界喜歡講的是:《薩克斯風(fēng)手寇特尼派恩已經(jīng)三十歲了，應(yīng)該已經(jīng)達(dá)到成熟的音樂境地，派恩的技藝與視野，足以帶領(lǐng)爵士樂進(jìn)入下一個未知的世紀(jì)......》之類的話。
如果成熟意味著繼續(xù)焠煉固有的風(fēng)格直到爐火純青的境地，我只能說，這兩年來，英國佬寇特尼派恩是越來越《不成熟》了！
20歲出頭錄制了自己第一張個人專輯，派恩令人驚艷的表現(xiàn)，在短短的時間內(nèi)奪取了樂評與聽眾的喜愛，成為歐美媒體上眾所注目的《明日大師》，盡管身為當(dāng)今爵士樂界最好的幾個薩克斯風(fēng)手之一，遠(yuǎn)在英倫的派恩卻顯然對90年代風(fēng)行美國以復(fù)興爵士樂傳統(tǒng)為職志的新古典主義沒什么興趣，他要的是別的東西。這個英國黑人小伙子，打算在爵士樂五花八門的繽紛脈絡(luò)中，找出一條沒有人走過的道路。
1997年，派恩推出專輯《地下會社Underground》，網(wǎng)羅了尼可拉斯裴頓Nicholas Payton、賽洛卻斯納Cyrus Chestnut等等新生代一流爵士樂手，乍看之下，彷佛這音樂將是正統(tǒng)爵士樂的發(fā)揚，眼尖的爵士迷，卻會在樂手陣容里發(fā)現(xiàn)一個全然荒謬的人名和樂器: DJ Pogo / Turntables！
找來一個DJ搞特效混音？！派恩以為自己是Massive Attack還是4 Hero？！
派恩回憶當(dāng)時的錄音情況說:《裴頓、卻斯納等幾位樂手從來沒有在這樣的搭配下玩過音樂，DJ Pogo第一次磨起唱片的時候，他們都很受不了，要等聽到我如何跟DJ特效作互動即興之后，他們才有辦法接受這樣的音樂概念?！?
豈止和DJ互動即興，以爵士樂的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)來看，這張專輯搞怪的地方多了，第一曲《Inhale》，竟然是把專輯里其它十一首歌的片段Mix在一起，來個試聽目錄。而且，即使找來杰夫瓦特Jeff "Tain" Watts這樣一等一的爵士鼓手，整張專輯里仍然充斥drum machine的聲音。派恩也在專輯里大量使用取樣機，把各式各樣的人聲、環(huán)境聲，甚至電動玩具《快打旋風(fēng)》的音效都sampled進(jìn)來，大搞其聲音游戲。
可是這張唱片里的音樂好聽嗎？
好聽，應(yīng)該說，好聽的不得了，派恩不愧是當(dāng)今最具旋律性的爵士樂手，每一段旋律都美得讓人心神激蕩，如果把他的聲音獨立出來，會得到不遜于當(dāng)今任何樂手的精彩薩克斯風(fēng)吹奏，旋律、節(jié)奏、音色，甚至與樂曲中千奇百怪的聲音之間的搭配，都無懈可擊，把他的聲音放在這樣現(xiàn)代感十足的結(jié)構(gòu)中，似乎提醒了我們，生活中隨處可以找到聲音的天堂，就好象他自己說的:《尋找音樂靈感，就像是紅燈時停在車陣中，左右車輛的音響會傳來不同的音樂，所有的聲音都會對我有影響，如果我只是把車窗關(guān)起來，在車子里大聲唱自己的歌，豈不是太脫離現(xiàn)實了？！》
到了他的最新專輯《另一個故事Another Story》，派恩先生越玩越過火，所有爵士樂迷簡直無言以對，12首曲子里，派恩沒有重新演奏任何音樂，就把以前《地下會社》和《現(xiàn)代爵士故事Modern Day Jazz Story》專輯里的曲子拿來重新混音，4 Hero、Roni Size、Flytronix等等玩Drum'n'Bass、Rave/Hardcore......的電子音樂工作者為派恩跨刀混音，每一位DJ都做出了屬于他們自己的獨特風(fēng)格，就這樣，問題來了，我們該把這張唱片當(dāng)成電子舞曲，還是爵士樂？這是4 Hero他們的音樂？還是派恩的作品？
如果這是別人的創(chuàng)作，比如說90年代初期以一首《Cantaloop》大受歡迎的US3樂團(tuán)，大概還沒有什么關(guān)系，畢竟，US3他們一出道就采用這種酸性爵士的手法，聽眾大都能以欣賞舞曲的態(tài)度輕松欣賞。派恩可不一樣，他出道江湖之初，被視為薩克斯風(fēng)傳統(tǒng)的大師接班人，在爵士樂界的份量與知名的青年小喇叭手溫頓馬沙利斯Wynton Marsalis并駕齊驅(qū)，這樣說好了，馬沙利斯被評論界認(rèn)定是新古典爵士的領(lǐng)航旗手，早已榮任紐約林肯中心爵士樂總監(jiān)，成為官方版的美國爵士樂祭酒，與他同級的派恩，居然一頭栽進(jìn)年輕人放浪玩樂的電子舞曲里！
我覺得，這，也什么不可以的！
黑膠唱盤只是一項樂器，DJ是演奏這項樂器的人，Drum Machine、取樣器、計算機也都是樂器，Trip-Hop、Techno......等等等只是不同的音樂風(fēng)格，從爵士樂歷史上看來，不同樂風(fēng)元素的混合交流本來就是天經(jīng)地義，只是爵士樂迷一時之間還轉(zhuǎn)不過來罷了。先不講電子舞曲與爵士樂融合的這所謂酸性爵士，爵士樂由歐洲古典樂與非洲音樂融合發(fā)軔，一百年來，在不同的過程階段里，融合了藍(lán)調(diào)、福音歌曲、靈魂、拉丁、放克、搖滾、現(xiàn)代音樂、印度以及世界各地民族音樂、......，一部爵士樂歷史，就是不斷的融合變化，走出自己的風(fēng)格，爵士樂既然曾經(jīng)吸收過吉米漢醉克斯Jimi Hendrix的狂暴風(fēng)格，今天又何必?fù)?dān)心4 Hero等人會有什么不良影響?等著看吧，說不定這才是一條新的康莊大道！
《另一個故事》這張專輯，其實真的敘述了另一個故事:電子音樂經(jīng)過十多年的發(fā)展，已經(jīng)漸漸受到廣大聽眾的歡迎，從某種角度看來，電子音樂是一種更平民化，更解放的音樂，你不再需要苦練幾十年吉他或鋼琴才有可能成為偉大的音樂家，只要有混音器加上計算機，自家的臥室也可以成就了不起的音樂。比如說，根據(jù)傳統(tǒng)的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)，Roni Size沒有能耐和派恩、杰夫瓦特這些人一起玩爵士樂，但是事實上，他卻以混音師、DJ的身分，以他自己的概念，主導(dǎo)了音樂的構(gòu)成，這不是很有趣嗎？
by Thom Jurek
Courtney Pine is perhaps the most enigmatic of late 20th century British jazzmen; he has consistently fascinated and frustrated critics with a restless and adventurous musical vision that has brought world music, pop, reggae, electronica, funk, and soul to sit in with the jazz tradition on his recordings. Born in March 1964, Pine spent his youth in London, learning to play multiple instruments, including saxophone (he is proficient on tenor, soprano, and baritone), clarinet, flute, and a host of keyboard instruments. He cut his jazz teeth with the hard bopping Dwarf Steps, before leaving to tour and record with reggae stars General Saint and Clint Eastwood. Pine went back to the jazz root, studying Sonny Rollins and John Coltranes improvising styles while participating in drummer John Stevens jazz workshops before he became a part-time member of the Charlie Watts Orchestra. Pine left to tour with both George Russell and Art Blakeys Jazz Messengers before recording his debut album, Journey to the Urge Within for Antilles. That disc propelled Pine into the public consciousness with its U.K. Top Ten smash Children of the Ghetto. The album was also reviewed favorably in the U.S. and sold respectably.
Pine remained with Antilles through 1992, issuing four more albums with the label, 1987s Destinys Song + the Image of Pursuance, 1989s The Visions Tale, Within the Realms of Our Dreams in 1990, and his first reggae outing, Closer to Home, in 1992. Throughout the early 90s Pine also guested with U.K. soul chanteuse Mica Paris. Also during 1992, Pine signed with the 4th and Broadway label and issued the revolutionary To the Eyes of Creation, which fully engaged his myriad interests in African and East and West Indian musics and melded them with jazz improvisation. Eyes of Creation, Pines live album, was released by Island in 1995, just prior to his signing with Verve.
While with Verve, Pine issued his first complete jazz outing in Modern Day Jazz Stories, recorded with an American band that included Geri Allen, Mark Whitfield, Eddie Henderson, and Charnett Moffett, and featured vocals by Cassandra Wilson and the Angelic Voices of Faith. Jazz purists were almost delighted, and hoped Pine would now stay put in the bosom of tradition so they could laud him as the new Coltrane. Pine frustrated them by employing hip-hop turntablism on 1997s Underground, which included drum and soundscape programming alongside DJs and a band that included Jeff Watts, Whitfield, Reggie Veal, Nicholas Payton, and Cyrus Chestnut. Pine pulled another rabbit out of the hat for 1998s Another Story, issued by Talkin Loud, wherein he invited a host of electronicas finest DJs — Roni Size and Attica Blues among them — to remix tracks from Modern Day Jazz Stories and Underground as drumnbass crossovers. It was his last record of the 20th century.
Pine issued another award winner with Back in the Day in 2000; it was a modern tribute to the funky soul-jazz and Afro-funk sounds of Gary Bartz, Fela, Manu Dibango, Eddie Harris, Idris Muhammad, and Bernard Purdie, all of whom were a big part of his musical development in the 1970s. His all-British band was augmented by guests and DJ Pogo. It was his first recording not to be simultaneously released in the United States. Pine scored the two-part BBC documentary Nelson Mandela: The Living Legend, which aired in 2003, and released Devotion at the end of the year in Great Britain and in July 2004 on the Telarc label in the U.S. Once more Pine nailed together disparate harmonic, rhythmic, and dynamic elements from Africa, the Caribbean, jazz, soul, and Indian musics, taking his adventurous discourse into new and previously uncharted territory on his most satisfying project to date.