Ray Charles Responsible for Rise of Soul Jazz?

[Dan Gould]

I finally broke open my favorite Christmas present, the Ray Charles Atlantic box set, and in reading the very nicely laid out book, I was struck by this statement by Jerry Wexler:

"As a genuine jazz musician, Ray certainly was shaped by the jazz masters who came before him. But in the mid-'50s, it's also important to remember that Ray influenced the shape of jazz. This whole business of returning-to-the-roots was a Ray Charles-driven phenomenon. Funk jazz, soul jazz-whatever you want to call it-was largely inspired by Ray. Horace Silver, Cannonball Adderley, Jimmy Smith, even Mingus-they all dug Ray and got caught up in his spirit." (emphasis added)

What do you think? Is this liner note hyperbole? While he doesn't refer to "hard bop" there's no doubt that the root of that style was the "return to the roots" of blues and gospel, and its often given as a "reaction" to the rise of West Coast jazz that was supposedly neutered of these characteristics. At the same time, I can imagine that Ray had an influence, but I'd rather hear it specifically from the people Wexler mention (or any others) before taking it as, ahem, gospel truth.

I guess I fall on the side of "probably true, but also probably overstated."

What do you guys think? I do believe its an interesting question, I hope some of the more perceptive members will offer their thoughts (I'm kinda afraid of what Allen might say, as many of his comments lead me to think he pretty much dismisses "soul jazz" out of hand) .

[Stereojack]

I think that Ray may have had some influence in the popularity of what came to be known a "soul jazz", but I don't think that one can say that he created it. Horace Silver recorded things like "Doodlin'" (covered by Ray, btw) and "The Preacher" in 1954, long before Ray had recorded any jazz records.

[JSngry]

OTOH, both (iirc) Blakey & Silver are on record as saying that the Charles band was their favorite.

I think we have to look outside the strictly "jazz" world to get a handle on this. At least some jazz people listened to some R&B records for entertainment, it was part of the overall fabric of the time and the culture. I suspect that if you spent any time in any urban African-American community like Harlem, you definitely heard the Charles Atlantic sides as a matter of course. And I also suspect that those sides struck a chord with a lot of jazz musicians who spent a lot of time in such an environment.

So, I think that what Wexler says is in essence true, as Dan says, "probably true, but also probably overstated".

[danasgoodstuff]

Put me down as agreeing with "probably true, but probably overstated", or to put it another way 'about as true as such a sweepungly broad statement can be'.

Edited January 8, 2006 by danasgoodstuff

[Harold_Z]

So, I think that what Wexler says is in essence true, as Dan says, "probably true, but also probably overstated".

Yeah..I agree with that too.

Also, in the context of the 50s. Jazz guys still had the hope and possiblilty of becoming stars, so if they were going to try to pick a winner or "latch onto a trend" or "ride a coat tail" (no negative conotation intended - it would have been a smart thing to do) RC was a palatable choice.

[Joe M]

It's more like cross-pollination than anything else.