If Elvis, the musical revolution he spawned and the cultural aesthetics it enshrined were anathema to most ‘50s jazz fans, it should be noted that attitudes have materially changed in the decades since.
That, however, is not entirely good news, as it stems at least in part from Presley prostituting his gifts and charting a course toward the cultural mainstream.
At a certain level, it can be argued that Elvis had little choice. As the tabula rasa of post-war youth culture, he had no relevant examples to follow, no reason to fret over such essential later issues as “selling out.” Elvis wanted to be Frank Sinatra, who was not just a major pop star but a power player in Hollywood and television. Indeed, Sinatra played a key role in bringing Presley to the mainstream by forking over $100,000 to host the “Welcome Back, Elvis” TV special.
Presley, having proven through his two-year Army stint that he was a decent American after all, was discharged in spring 1960. Sinatra was starring in a series of four TV specials that season – the second, which aired in December 1959, had been a celebration of jazz complete with Ella Fitzgerald and Red Norvo – and figured to cap his run with a joint Presley appearance. “With an almost inborn instinct for grabbing space,” one Sinatra biographer wrote, “Frank sensed the potential in publicity of a show embracing two artists, each of whom had detonated a ‘pop explosion.’”
From 1960 on, Presley shed his outlaw image, becoming a pop star and hapless movie actor. (To put it mildly, you’ll find no “Man with the Golden Arm” or even “Von Ryan’s Express” in his filmography.) After the Sinatra special, his career (and, indeed, his daily existence) confined him to a series of expensively appointed pigeonholes (Hollywood, Graceland, Las Vegas, arena concerts). At his death in 1977, Presley was simply the world’s most popular lounge act.
The 32 years since his passing, however, have proven the durability of both Presley’s iconic image and best pop material. Those decades also have seen jazz artists begin to embrace his canon, most notably vocalists. That said, there also have been plenty of jazz instrumentalists prepared to take on the King’s favorites. The Beegee Adair Trio recorded the tribute album “Love, Elvis” (2000) while Ray Brown covered “Love Me Tender” on “Live from New York to Tokyo” (2003), to cite just two recent examples.
The burgeoning Elvis-jazz connection received an important shot in the arm with Cyrus Chestnut’s 2007 release, “Cyrus Plays Elvis.” The disc finds the pianist interpreting such Presley staples as “Hound Dog,” “Heartbreak Hotel” and “Don’t Be Cruel.” Chestnut told NPR how the project came about.
It wasn't until he recorded a version of "Love Me Tender" with a Chinese jazz vocalist that the wheels in his head started to turn. Chestnut says that in the moment while playing it, he realized that there was more to the song, so he decided to comb the Internet and track down some songbooks.
"I started listening and what I found out is that there are some similarities," Chestnut says. "Elvis loved blues and gospel. I love blues and gospel, so hence a connection. It was not my intention to re-create Elvis, just give an interpretation."
It was important to Chestnut that his versions would not be "corny" or what he calls "space age," essentially blowing out an interpretation to overly grandiose proportions. Instead, he wanted to "draw water from a dry well."
Suffice it to say, the relationship between Elvis Presley and jazz is never likely to be close. Still, it’s good to see that jazz artists intrinsically understand the power of his music and the value of interpreting it for new generations of fans.
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