I knew there was a reason I earlier only added 1 1/2 cents to this discussion. I had intended to include this but inexplicably left it out. I?ve been hooked on jazz fusion since I first heard Mahavishnu in the early 70?s. But sometime between 1978 and 1982, at the behest of a friend I played bass in a gospel group backed up with some other young musicians with progressive leanings. As a rhythm section we brought a super intense, hard-edged funky swagger to the music that provided a unique counterpoint to our 15-piece choir as the members swayed and moaned in the background and while our charismatic singer crooned on top of everything. This jazz-gospel-funk fusion of primarily original material was novel at the time - at least in Oakland/Richmond - and we were gradually creating a buzz playing churches and even at a huge gospel festival in Las Vegas.
A local entrepreneur had the clever idea to open a religious nightclub in Richmond featuring non-alcoholic drinks, among other things. As part of their grand opening celebration they presented a bevy of gospel bands, including us. Our singer/leader, suddenly fearful that the audience might not be open to our progressive style of music, got cold feet and insisted we drop most of our trademark stuff and instead concentrate on older, slower and more traditional gospel songs like the other bands on the bill would presumably be playing. Some of us thought we shouldn?t be downplaying the very things that made our group unique in the first place. Also for the gig, to augment our sound he unilaterally brought in a bunch of his older gospel buddies who were more aligned with the traditional stuff and their presence further polarized the situation.
For the big night, we were slated to perform second. Our singer and I took a seat at a front table to take in the opening act, expecting to hear something tradition-steeped like ?Precious Lord? ? similar to what we were going to play. Instead, the very first band?s very first number was a smokin? breakneck tempo version of Birdland ? complete with Jaco-isms! The rest of their set had the same take-no-prisoners style that was really us, too. Only the audience would never know it. Fortunately, there was no tableware handy or I mighta? stabbed our singer (just kidding)...but rest assured I DID give him a big piece of my mind!
I struggled through our set, barely able to control myself. It was the last time I played in that band. Though I?m not a gospel fan (no offense; none taken!), it had been worthwhile for the experience of fellowship and camaraderie within the band and the energy behind the music for me to stay on. But no longer.
The moral, for me, is that no matter what type of music you play, be true to it and never pander to your own fears and assumptions regarding the audience. Do what you do best and at least you?ll know you put your best foot forward. Let those other chips fall where they may.
