Who would have thought that the band that played the Super Bowl halftime show would next be in the news because a band member is trying to save the home of a mythical jazz legend?
It’s odd, and it’s a good thing. The Maroon 5 member is keyboard player PJ Morton. He announced this week that he is starting a drive to save the home of Buddy Bolden, the man credited with “inventing jazz.”
We’ll return to Morton in a moment. But, in the spirit of what he is trying to accomplish, let’s start with Bolden.
Charles Joseph Bolden was a New Orleans cornet player who lived from 1877 to 1931. His career coincided with the birth of sound recording. King Oliver was in the future. Louis Armstrong was in the future. Jelly Roll Morton was in the future. So were Miles, Dizzy and Duke. Adam Levine was (way) in the future. More than any one person – and to the extent that such a thing is possible – Bolden is credited with “inventing” jazz.
Wikipedia says he combined a more improvised version of ragtime with blues and gospel to form a genre originally referred to as “jass.” Mike Ballantyne provides some interesting context.
The mystical element of the story is that no known recordings and only one photograph of Bolden exist. There are rumors that he made at least cylinder, but it has not been found. There is nothing like a hint of mystery to cement an individual’s place in the popular imagination. It’s like the missing Shakespeare plays. It’s unlikely any of those plays was called “Funky Butt,” however. That is the name of one of Bolden’s most popular songs.
Usually, we present music choices along with the posts. That’s impossible in the case of Buddy Bolden. Don Maquis wrote a biography of the mythical giant that at least one expert called “outstanding.” Click here or on the link. For those interested in a broader view, check out “The Great Jazz Interviews: A 75th Anniversary Anthology” from Downbeat. I got it as a gift. It’s terrific. Click here to find out more. Bolden was mentally ill – experts today suspect schizophrenia – and committed to The Louisiana State Insane Asylum soon before he died.
Back to PJ Morton, who is a solo artist as well as a member of Maroon 5: The New Orleans Advocate quotes Morton describing his deep connection to the Bolden’s home, which is owned by The Greater St. Stephen Full Gospel Baptist Church. The irony is that pastors of the church are Morton’s parents:
“I literally grew up 10 steps from his (Bolden’s) house going to my Dad’s church, and I was there four times a week and had no idea…”
The church had not made necessary repairs requested by jazz historians and preservationists, probably due to lack of funds. Push came to shove when the city said it would fine the church $500 daily if work did not begin within a month of a March 26 hearing. The story details the plans to save the building by the non-profit Morton has created.
I was a bit off. The song sort of picks the parts of “Funky Butt” that could be recorded. Here are the first two verses of the original, according to Ballantyne:
I thought I heard Buddy Bolden say,
Funky butt funky butt, take it away,
Stinky butt funky butt, take it away,
I thought I heard him say.
I thought I heard Buddy Bolden shout,
Open up the window an’ let the bad air out,
Open up the window an’ let the bad air out,
I thought I heard him shout.
The song and the original “Funky Butt” aren’t ruminations on the birth of jazz. They are ruminations on the air quality late at night in a crowded dance hall.
The Daily Music Break’s theme is that far less separates music than meets the ear. Nothing could conceivably do a better job of illustrating that the point than a post that focuses on Buddy Bolden and Maroon 5.
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