Jazz Thing (Video Mix)

And I would like to play a little tune I just composed not so long ago

Miss Billie, Miss Billie Holiday, Miss Billie Holiday

Byrd?

The music called jazz

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It's roots are in the sounds of the African

Or should I say the mother? Bringin' us back again

From the drummin' on the Congo, we came with a strong flow

And continue to grow

Feet move to the beat of the T'balo

Now dig the story and follow

For then it landed on American soil

Through the sweat, the blood, and the toil

Hear praise the Lord shouted on chain gangs

Pain they felt, but it helped them to maintain

Scott Joplin's rags, Bessie Smith's blues

St. Louis blues, they were all the news

Ringin' smooth in all the listeners' ears

Fulfilling the needs and planting the seeds

Of a jazz thing

King Oliver's group was a train comin' through

To Chicago, bringin' the New Orleans groove

And when Satchmo blew, the audience knew

Basil Street blues was the whole house tune

It was music, great to dance to

Great to romance to, with a lot to say to you

Relaying a message, revealing the essence

Of a jazz thing

Uh-huh

Dance music, uh-huh

Dance music, uh-huh

Da-dance music, uh-huh

Dance music, uh-huh

Dan-dance music, uh-huh

Dance music, uh-huh

Dan-dan-dan-dan, uh-huh

Dan-da-dance music, uh-huh

In the '40s came bebop, the first bebop

The real bebop, so let me talk about

Diz and Byrd, givin' the word

Defining how a beat could be so complete (Uh-huh)

Playing with ferocity, thinkin' with velocity

About ornathology or anthropology

And even Epistrophy, and this is real history

Theolonious Monk, a melodious thunk (Uh-huh)

No mistakes were made with the notes he played

His conception was recondite

A star glowing bright among dim lights

The critics did cite that he sounded alright (Uh-huh)

Charlie Mingus, such nimble fingers

Droppin' the bass all over the place

And Max Roach, cymbals socking

Bass drum talking, snare drum rocking

Restructuring the metaphysics

Of a jazz thing

(Uh-huh) John Coltrane, a man supreme

He was the cream, he was the wise one

The impression of Afro Blue

And of the promise that was not kept

He was a giant step, and there was Ornette Coleman

He was another soul man

The original invisible, playing great music

I wonder why the Bangles couldn't use it

Now listen see

The real mystery is how music history

Created Paul White, man, or any other white man

That pretended he originated (Uh-huh)

And contended that he innovated (Uh-huh)

A jazz thing

(Of course, we know who can really blow)

Schemin' on the meaning of a jazz thing

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And this music ain't dead, so don't be misled

By those who said that jazz was on its deathbed (Uh-huh)

'Cause when Betty Carter sings a song

Ain't nothin' goin' on but simply good music (Uh-huh)

And you won't refuse it

She's takin' her time makin' the nuances rhyme

Sonny Rollins, tenor saxophone

With a big, old tone, reciting poems (Uh-huh)

With notes as words, and haven't you heard?

(Next stop Butter, right past Oleo) (Uh-huh)

Now there's young cats blowin'

And more and more people, yes, they will be knowin'

Jazz ain't the past, this music's gonna last

And as the facts unfold, remember who foretold

The '90s will the decade of a jazz thing

(I love jazz music) A jazz thing

(I love jazz music) A jazz thing

(I love jazz music)

(I love jazz music) Uh-huh

A jazz thing

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