Ed Bland’s music defies classification. His early music training was as a jazz saxophonist in his native Chicago, but he found the predictability of jazz rhythms to be too limiting for the kind of music he wanted to create, as he later explained:

“My world changed when I heard a recording of Stravinsky’s ‘The Rite of Spring.’ Not only was the music alive, it swung!… I felt that if I could uncover the secret of why Stravinsky’s music swung, and combine that knowledge with what I knew about swinging from my jazz background, I might be on a fruitful mission.”

This mission led him to draw on all the musical experiences he encountered in life. He eventually dubbed the unique blend of styles “urban classical funk.”

Bland’s work has been sampled by Beyoncé (“Creole”) and featured in movies (“A Soldier’s Tale”) and video games (“Test Drive Unlimited”). His groundbreaking documentary film, “The Cry of Jazz”, is included in the Library of Congress’ National Film Registry as “a historic and fascinating film that comments on racism and the appropriation of jazz by those who fail to understand its artistic and cultural origins.”

Learn more about Ed Bland at https://www.edblandmusic.com/

Ed Bland: For Bassoon

Lori Wike | bassoon

hosted by Jeff Counts
recording mastered by Michael Carnes
produced by Chris Myers (https://www.argylearts.com)

Transcript available at https://www.novaslc.org/novapodcast/novapodcast010

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