Detroit, Philadelphia keep Jazz history hip

Detroit and Philadelphia have shared a brotherly connection of jazz bass players that lengthens, enriches, and makes jazz's history that much hipper.

Excerpt:

The historically rich jazz traditions in both Detroit and Philadelphia were the result of a complex weave of factors, including a vibrant black middle class at midcentury, thriving nightlife and entertainment industries, first-class music programs in the schools and the presence of key mentors within the jazz community who took well-trained young musicians and whipped them into shape on the bandstand.

The nourishing fee of formal and informal education paid especially big dividends for bassists because a comprehensive grasp of technique, harmony and structure is so essential.

“I think the most thoroughly trained musicians have come from Detroit and Philly,” McBride says. “Because of a bass player’s role in jazz, we need to know more than anyone else. We’re the navigators of the ship, like a catcher on the baseball diamond. We have to know what everybody else is doing.”

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