Frank Kofsky
Frank Kofsky
Rock and Jazz
From Ray Charles to Dylan
Talk to almost any parent with “teen aged” children and you can hear the same litany endlessly chanted: rock is tasteless (American society being so notable for its good taste!), rock is loud, the only thing that counts is the beat, why can’t they listen to good music (meaning Montovani), and more, always more, of that.
Oct 20, 2022 Read the whole text...
Frank Kofsky
No Rock-Jazz Merger Seen, but Close
In effect, rock has become the white man’s jazz. Bob Dylan, had he been born black, would surely have found a place somewhere in the jazz revolution; and a white Archie Shepp (the mind boggles!) would feel quite at home in a rock group like the Mothers of Invention (who have, by the way, a composition dedicated to Archie in their book). Not that the two musics are actually merging.
Feb 17, 2017 Read the whole text...
Frank Kofsky
Janis Joplin
Next Pop Superstar
Mark me words, Janis Joplin is fated to be the next American pop superstar.
If, that is, Janis and her fellow members of Big Brother and the Holding Company decide that stardom is their goal. Right now, they are properly ambivalent about that trip, because they are mindful of the way in which pop fame and fortune can erode the soul. Fearful of losing their own, they teeter on the brink.
Dec 17, 2022 Read the whole text...