爵士乐与《时代周刊》封面的背面故事
希望每天都收到一首好听的爵士?半年会员发售中，详情请点击会员计划。
Miles Davis？
John Coltrane？
Charlie Parker？
很遗憾，这三位都没有获得这个殊荣，在爵士乐的All Time Greats的老五位之中——Louis Armstrong、Duke Ellington、Charlie Parker、Miles Davis、John Coltrane，只有前两位登上过《时代周刊》的封面。
Louis Armstrong首登
1949年，Louis Armstrong成为第一位登上《时代周刊》封面的爵士音乐家，封面上烈焰红唇的老爹戴着用小号制成的皇冠，封面下方印着他那句著名的：“When you got to ask what it is, you never get to know.”
这首登的故事，按惯例似乎可说的很多，但反而没什么可聊的，因为——这实在太没有悬念了，不是他又能是谁呢？就像这一期封面报道的标题一样：
Louis the First
“In the five-and six-man combinations in which Armstrong has worked much of his life, he has had to earn that kind of praise—and without the carefully arranged six-and eight-horn brass choirs of the big bands to smother sour notes for him. Playing without written arrangements, bending the melody around on his own, then blending in with the others when the clarinet or trombone soars off on the lead, Louis has wrung raves even from longer-haired critics.”
—TIME
领先半个身位的Dave Brubeck
1954年，《时代周刊》打算在Dave Brubeck或Duke Ellington之中选择一人做一期爵士乐在美国的封面故事，这就意味着被选中的将成为继Louis Armstrong之后第二位登上《时代周刊》封面的爵士音乐家。
巧的是，当时Dave Brubeck正在和Duke一同巡演，一天早上7点钟，Duke敲开了Dave Brubeck的房门，递给他一本《时代周刊》，并对他说：“恭喜你，你登上了《时代周刊》封面。”
Dave Brubeck回忆说，那是他生命中最美妙也是最糟糕的一瞬间，他认为Duke比他重要太多，理应选择Duke。
至于这种选择的原因，也不难理解，Dave Brubeck在当时代表了新的一派白人爵士音乐家的形象，而且在高等院校的学生之中非常受欢迎，这是爵士乐这种原本“低俗粗野”的音乐第一次被大规模白人中产阶级接受的重要标志。
Music: The Man on Cloud No. 7
"Pianist David Brubeck, described by fans as a wigging cat with a far-out wail and by more conventional critics as probably the most exciting new jazz artist at work today, has strong ideas about how his audiences should behave while he plays. There should be no loud joking or talking; no table-hopping; no eating. Drinking, if absolutely necessary, should be done in moderation."
—TIME
Duke Ellington的转折点
好在两年后，同样烈焰红唇的Duke Ellington也出现在了《时代周刊》的封面之上。
而Duke Ellington之所以能够在摇摆乐早已式微的1956年登上《时代周刊》封面，还要感谢那一年的Newport Jazz Festival以及萨克斯风手Paul Gonsalves。
“请叫我雷锋”
在参加1956年的Newport Jazz Festival的时候，Duke Ellington的乐队已经处于失业的下坡，不管这事由风格决定的，还是由于新崛起的音乐风格决定的，这都是一个令人十分惋惜的现实。
但就在这次现场演出上，出现了爵士乐历史的一次壮举，这不仅鼓舞了当时已经不太景气的爵士乐及乐手，同时也让观众再次对爵士乐迸发出热情。
就是上图这位美女
在演奏Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue的时候，前面整体气氛还是比较平淡的，但在萨克司风手Paul Gonsalves吹奏solo的时候，观众中一位穿着黑色连衣裙的金发女郎开始跳舞，人群被她带动开始欢呼和舞动起来，乐队和观众开始互相激励，于是在这种气氛下，Paul Gonsalves持续不断地演奏了27个和弦，等Duke从他手中接过独奏的时候，他已经精疲力尽了。
“再加把劲，你可以的” / “哥我真不行了”
这次的演出过后，Duke Ellington在一夜之间重新收复了他的声望，他曾评价说自己在1956年的Newport Jazz Festival获得了重生。而这次爵士现场演奏的壮举也向人们证明了爵士乐伟大的魅力，Duke也在这一壮举的力挺之下，登上了当年《时代周刊》的封面。
Music: Mood Indigo & Beyond
"The Ellington band was once again the most exciting thing in the business. Ellington himself had emerged from a long period of quiescence, and was once again bursting with ideas and inspiration."
—TIME
意料之外情理之中的Thelonious Monk
1964年，爵士历史上最古怪的钢琴手Thelonious Monk居然登上了《时代周刊》的封面，这几乎是大家都没有预料到的。首先，1964年初民权运动正值高潮，举世瞩目的《民权法案》在这之后5个月才签订，肤色还是一个很敏感的词汇，其次是即使选择黑人爵士音乐家，论名气，半仙儿附体Thelonious Monk当时也完全不如Miles Davis等人。
再次祭出这张神图
而这恰巧反过来成为了Monk被选择的原因：撰写这篇封面报道的记者Barry Farrell从一开始几乎就认定了要选择Monk，因为相对于过于有争议性的Ray Charles以及对于种族议题一碰就爆炸的Mile Davis，闲云野鹤似的Thelonious Monk显得没有那么强的政治性。
当然，当时签了Columbia公司之后，Monk获得了更多的资源和市场注意力，他的Monk's Dream成为了他一生中销量最好的专辑。不管怎么说，这对于大半生都被忽视和误解的Monk来说，也算是一个慰藉，而这次封面报道的标题更是玩了个一语双关的文字游戏：
Jazz: The Loneliest Monk
"Monk has arrived at the summit of serious recognition he deserved all along, and his name is spoken with the quiet reverence that jazz itself has come to demand. His music is discussed in composition courses at Juilliard, sophisticates find in it affinities with Webern, and French Critic Andre Hodeir hails him as the first jazzman to have “a feeling for specifically modern esthetic values.” "
—TIME
符号化的Wynton Marsalis
在Monk之后，时隔26年，1990年，至今为止最后一位爵士音乐家Wynton Marsalis，登上了《时代周刊》的封面，这里面可被解读的含义就更多了。
与那些衣着随意的先锋爵士乐手不一样的是，Wynton Marsalis与他的追随者——“the young lions”，却穿着考究，定制的套装、精致的领带以及做工精良的鞋子，这种对外貌的注重当然不是只从时尚角度出发，据其所说，更是为了显示其音乐的严肃性。
Wynton Marsalis
“150年前，我可能是一个奴隶；50年前，我可能不得不像我父亲当时那样坐在巴士的后排座位，今天，我再也不需要那样做了。”Wynton Marsalis这样说。
看懂了吗？
如果说60年代的黑人音乐家以一种攻击的姿态在夺回失去的种族权益，那么90年代的Wynton Marsalis就是在以一种讨巧的方式来歌颂这些已经被争取到了的种族权益。
这还用说吗？如果我是白人主流媒体决策者，我他妈也想让他上封面好么！
Archie Shepp
Nina Simone在最激进的时候，曾在集会上问观众：“Are you prepared to kill?”
当然少不了老明
Max Roach的抗议作品
相对于那些满脑子抗议思想的，难搞的葛逼先锋和自由爵士乐手，白色主流舆论多么想让黑人音乐家都回到温顺喜人无害的新奥尔良时代啊。
放眼望去，一片片量产的笑嘻嘻的老爹复制品，多棒啊！
Louis Armstrong的经典形象
何况，这家伙小号吹得好倒不是假的。
Wynton Marsalis: Horns of Plenty
"Miles Davis is onstage, but the young man in the dark blue Versace jacket couldn't care less. He is concentrating on the one thing other than a trumpet mouthpiece that is capable of riveting his attention to the point of near obsession: a basketball hoop. "
—TIME
一点尾声……
按理来说，这个主题的故事到此就应该结束了。但是，经过操师傅刻苦的探寻，发现以下这三位爵士歌手，确实也是登上过《时代周刊》封面的，而且有一位还上了两次。
1941年，Bing Crosby
Cinema: The Groaner
"Casual, talented and loaded with Irish luck, the Crosby career is also notable for making a bum out of Horatio Alger. For in 37 years, Bing Crosby has shed a confusing new light on the problem of how to be a success. He has never studied music or voice or pounded the pavements looking for work; yet jobs kept turning up—each a little better than the last. He always falls uphill. Year after year he just sings, and people pay fortunes to hear him. Over the radio, Bing’s voice is worth $7,500 for one hour’s broadcast a week."
—TIME
1953年，Rosemary Clooney（乔治克鲁尼的姑妈）
Music: Girl in the Groove
"The words & music might have been a mild shock to turn-of-the-century parishioners, but they were everyday business—and mighty good business—to Columbia Records, which leased old Adams Presbyterian five years ago for a recording studio. And for Rosemary Clooney, the long-legged blonde at the microphone, it was nothing more or less than her millions of fans have come to expect. Clooney and Columbia are partners in a booming U.S. business which can best be described as the manufacture and sale of the American ballad."
—TIME
1955年&1998年，Frank Sinatra
Cinema: The Kid from Hoboken
&
Put Your Dreams Away: FRANK SINATRA, 1915-1998
“Frank Sinatra,” says an agent who wishes he had Frank’s account, “is just about the hottest item in show business today.” Sinatra, who in Who’s Who lists himself as “baritone” by occupation, has offers of more work than he could do in 20 years, and seems pleasantly certain to pay income tax for 1955 on something close to $1,000,000. Moreover, his new success spreads like a Hoboken cargo net across almost every area of show business.
—TIME
至于为什么这三位没有被“正史”算在内，我想最主要的原因可能是：他们三个的身份都比较复合，除了唱爵士歌曲，也唱其他风格的歌曲，而且有的还是演员，与爵士乐的关联没有那么纯粹。
另外一个可能就是，这里“jazz musician”这个词可能特指乐手，而不包含歌手……
心疼某人一秒钟。
-The End-
阅遍趣文人未老，秃顶这边独好
丨 良币阿布 丨 Chet Baker罗生门 丨
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