It's generally acknowledged that many classical composers have written some of their best music for ballet. It could also be argued that some of the greatest jazz is played when the musicians are aware that, in its essence, jazz is dance music (as Dizzy Gillespie put it, you don't have to be able to dance to play jazz, but it helps). Rhythm and blues, has always been associated with dance, and it's fitting that the great record producer who first coined the term, Jerry Wexler, was a key component of one of the greatest r&b recordings. According to the guitarist on the session, Steve Cropper, Wilson Pickett's "In the Midnight Hour" was altered (and improved) in the hopes of capturing the feel implied in a new dance that Wexler demonstrated for them - apparently he had seen it done in clubs in New York. Cropper used the term "delayed backbeat" to describe the wicked groove that resulted: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGVGFfj7POA&feature=related. Happy New Year!

I don't believe that I've written very much about the engine that drove the great Memphis label known as Stax-Volt, so I'll correct that today. Booker T. and the M.G.s, composed of Steve Cropper on guitar, Donald "Duck" Dunn on bass, Al Jackson on drums, and Booker T. Jones on organ, were for a time the most important band in America. Their music, based on principles of space, timing and less being more, may have had the longest-lasting influence of any sixties-based group; it can still be clearly heard in rock and r&b records today. And when they toured Europe in 1967, they planted seeds that bloomed there for years (they were a major influence on Bryan Ferry, Pete Townshend and many others). Unlike the Funk Brothers, which featured James Jamerson, the most virtuosic bassist in the history of rock or r&b, they were not built around a star player; rather it was the team concept that made their sound. Of course this requires another type of virtuosity - the ability to groove - and they had a ton of that (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bpS-cOBK6Q). The highest compliment I can think of for them? I'm not sure that any band has ever sent more people onto dance floors.

John Lennon's first solo album, John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band (1970) is usually considered to be his best. I'm not entirely sure about that, but it is a very powerful record. On the musical side, Ringo Starr's drumming is a big reason. His listening ability is what sets him apart from the pack. Like the r&b guitarist Steve Cropper, his technical prowess is not based on velocity or the number of notes, but rather feel and placement. Only great listeners can do it. An analogy could be drawn to the world of team sports, where there are certain players who are concerned with personal statistics and getting attention, and there are others who play only to benefit the team and who have the ability to make those around them perform better. If Starr were an athlete, he would be of the latter type. I'll be writing about some of his solo work tomorrow.

Lennon's instrumental contributions are equally brilliant. It's very interesting to hear him away from the other Beatles, and to be able to clearly distinguish his style and touch. For example, his guitar sound contains a very cool fifties reference through the use of tremolo. A good tune on which to hear it is "Hold On": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLOTD7wrbtQ&feature=related. (Note the Sesame Street reference.)

One aspect of his writing that has always interested me is how much he gets out of chords. Many of his most beautiful melodies come from very spare harmonic settings. He doesn't change chords just for the sake of it, in other words. His melodies, therefore, have the quality of being necessary, called for. This also is the result of advanced listening. Lyrically, the album was at the beginning of a long run of ultra-honest writing. In fact it could be argued that the most telling characteristic of his solo career was its honesty, which some found off-putting at times with its renderings of emotional and marital intimacy as well as his uncompromising political views. Fair enough, he wasn't asking for our permission anyway. But I remember something one of my teachers said once. An artist must do two things: 1. Be honest. 2. Develop the technical means to communicate that honesty. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkybcZ_stAk&feature=related