When There’s a Spark..
- An introduction to the music of Berlioz and the fusion of new and old genres.
I’d never actually listened to much, or any, jazz music as my music taste grew and developed. Well, I’m sure I did, even if I just didn’t know it. My dad is a big time lover of soul, funk and Motown, so it’s pretty likely that I was super familiar with elements of Jazz but had just never sought the genre out, personally, within its rawest form.
I think a lot of people, even today, still refer to the stereotype that Jazz music, subconsciously maybe, is lift or hold music; A tune to fill the spaces before something important or time sensitive occurs.
Last year, I took a class on the history of modern jazz and it entirely changed my perspective on the genre. I had taken a slightly different approach to the module, by writing an essay talking about how Nina Simone carried out racial activism through the medium of her music; me, composition, and Sibelius have never really seen eye to eye…
But, my point being that my research and learning in that class revolutionised my outlook on the style. I think it’s maddening that somehow we have reduced a genre that is engulfed by history and was created out of community, life experience and stories to ‘lift and hold music’.
Anyway, ever since then I have been actively seeking out artists that are reinventing and I suppose ‘refurbishing’ what I am dubbing as ‘forgotten genres’. Whether that be in really elegant ways, where the music feels like it is an ode to the artists and composers who came before it, prevalent in the work of Laufey; Or, in a way that feels new and fresh.
Berlioz, a British jazz house DJ, is easily one of my greatest music discoveries of the last year. Heavily influenced by art, jazz, classical and house music, Berlioz labels his music as ‘if Matisse made house music’ and that simple statement gives you the perfect insight into their discography. Berlioz, assumed to be taken from the romantic composer Henry Berlioz, seamlessly blends together jazz and house music to the point where I have often wondered that the two styles were secretly made for each other.
Jazz, assumed to be derivative from the African American slang term ‘jasm’ meaning ‘spirit’ or ‘energy’, features complex harmonies, poly-rhythms, and places huge significance on forms of improvisation. First heard and experimented within 1920’s New Orleans, following on from the beginning of The Great Migration in the 1910’s; Artists like Armstrong borrowed musical elements from Blues and Ragtime in order to create the new style and genre. Throughout the subsequent decades, Jazz evolved into many forms, with big bands becoming increasingly popular in the club scenes in the northern cities and later with musicians like Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie establishing the sub genre of ‘Bebop’.
House music, on the other hand, stems from disco. First popularised within the late night club scene of Chicago & New York, the genre was created as DJ’s experimented with new ways to mix as the technological advancements of the decade flourished. It is to be said that house music was ‘born out of the ashes of disco’, with DJ’s of the time, Frankie Knuckles often referred to as the ‘Godfather of house’, blending disco classics with other genres; creating mixes to keep people dancing.
I love the concept that, music ‘capitalises on connection’. Music succeeds when the people making the music are united and this feeling is then generated within the fans and listeners too. This is exactly the case when it comes to both Jazz and House, and why the two genres compliment each other so well. In addition to being fostered within big northern american cities like Chicago and New York, the success of the music depends on the people. Some suggest that The Great Migration could have hindered the development of Jazz, as musicians were so dependent on the local network of talent and the generated feeling of community for the ‘flow’ of their playing. Equally, house music was developed in late night clubs that were giving the urban gay culture of the time, a safe space to escape everyday life, demonstrating how both styles were nurtured and found their initial success, in bustling crowds of people all sharing in experience.
The historical connection and fusion of these two genres compliment each other brilliantly, with the balance between the distinctive elements of both styles, being almost entirely equal. Berlioz crafts the music to give each genre a moment to shine, and unites two very different music tastes admirably. (luckily, I have tickets to the London show later this year and if your wondering whether I’m excited, you severely underestimate my love for jazzy house boogie.)
Artists like Berlioz, I feel, are reinventing the music scene. Taking styles and genres that have been swept under current, by the sea of artists and music that is available to us, given it a new look and reintroduced it to the world. This way, we get to relive all the rich history and memories the music has to offer but we digest and perceive it in a way that feels more familiar and up to date. Think of it as reworked jeans but for jazz standards!
If you
A) hadn’t heard of Berlioz before reading this dashing piece of literature…
or
B) haven’t listened to the new debut album, definitely check it out on Spotify!
Again, my apologies for my hiatus over the past few months, finishing a degree is more challenging than it seems, promise you’ll be hearing a lot more from me from this point onwards!
All my love,
LJ xx