名人轶事:John Lewis of the Modern Jazz Quartet

By Cynthia Kirk


Broadcast: October 17, 2004


(MUSIC)


VOICE ONE:


I'm Steve Ember.


VOICE TWO:


And I'm Shirley Griffith with the VOA Special English program PEOPLE IN

AMERICA. Today, we tell about pianist John Lewis. He created one of one of

the most famous jazz groups in America, the Modern Jazz Quartet.


VOICE ONE:


John Lewis was known for his creativity. He was a skilled¹ piano player and

musical director of the Modern Jazz Quartet for almost fifty years. He wrote

and arranged all the music for the small group. Mister² Lewis was responsible

for the group's sound and its identity³.


John Lewis was interested in jazz, blues⁴ and bebob, a music with a great deal

of energy. Yet he was also greatly influenced by his training in European

classical music. Classical music is expressive⁵ and intense⁶, but is also

structured. He thought jazz should be presented the same way.


John Lewis combined classical music with traditional jazz to create songs for

himself and the three other members of his quartet. He believed music should

be simple and clear, yet played in a meaningful way. Here is one of the

Modern Jazz Quartet's big hits, "Django."


(MUSIC)


VOICE TWO:


John Lewis was greatly influenced by the piano style of the famous jazz

bandleader, Count Basie. Like Basie, Lewis believed in making every note of

music count. He depended as much on silence as he did on notes to get his

message across.

John Lewis often used a form of music called fugue. Fugue is a series of

opposing melodies⁷ used to create a complex effect. Mister Lewis also combined

written music with music that the group invented as it went along.

This new kind of jazz attracted both lovers⁸ of jazz and classical music. It

also appealed to people who did not necessarily⁹ like jazz. Here is an example

of fugue in the song "Alexander's Fugue."
(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

The Modern Jazz Quartet included John Lewis, Milt Jackson, Percy Heath and

Connie Kay. The group made its first recording¹⁰ in nineteen fifty-two. And

they continued to play together, with a seven year break, until nineteen

ninety-nine.

John Lewis was as concerned about appearances as he was about the music. The

musicians had to dress well for every performance. They played mostly in

concert halls instead of small dance clubs. Lewis believed jazz should

receive the same respect as classical music.

VOICE TWO:

John Lewis was born in La Grange, Illinois, in nineteen twenty. He grew up in

Albuquerque, New Mexico. He started playing the piano when he was seven. As a

teenager, he played professionally in churches around Albuquerque. He soon

was playing in local dance halls.

Lewis studied anthropology¹¹ and music at the University of New Mexico. In

nineteen forty-two, he joined the Army and served in Europe during World War

Two.

After the war, Lewis moved to New York City and played in Dizzy Gillespie's

big band. He also studied for his master's degree at the Manhattan School of

Music.

1 skilled   

adj.(in)熟练的，有技能的；需要技能的

参考例句：

• Unskilled workers usually earn less money than skilled workers.无技能的工人通常比有技能的工人挣钱少。
• She was skilled enough in French to translate a novel.她法语娴熟，足以翻译小说。

2 mister   

n.(略作Mr.全称很少用于书面)先生

参考例句：

• Mister Smith is my good friend.史密斯先生是我的好朋友。
• He styled himself " Mister Clean ".他自称是“清廉先生”。

3 identity   

n.身份，本体，特征；同一(性)，一致

参考例句：

• He never revealed his identity.他从未暴露过自己的身份。
• He showed his identity card and went in.他把工作证亮了一下就进去了。

4 blues   

n.抑郁，沮丧；布鲁斯音乐

参考例句：

• She was in the back of a smoky bar singing the blues.她在烟雾弥漫的酒吧深处唱着布鲁斯歌曲。
• He was in the blues on account of his failure in business.他因事业失败而意志消沉。

5 expressive   

adj.表现的，表达…的，富于表情的

参考例句：

• Black English can be more expressive than standard English.黑人所使用的英语可能比正式英语更有表现力。
• He had a mobile,expressive,animated face.他有一张多变的，富于表情的，生动活泼的脸。

6 intense   

adj.认真的，专注的；强烈的；紧张的；热情的

参考例句：

• Susan was an intense young lady.苏珊是一个热情的年轻姑娘。
• The quarrel caused her intense unhappiness.争吵令她极其不快。

7 melodies   

曲调( melody的名词复数 )； 旋律； 乐曲的音符编排； 美妙的音乐

参考例句：

• The two melodies are played in counterpoint. 用对位法来演奏这两首曲调。
• And now for your further delectation, we present a selection of popular melodies. 为使你们更加愉快，我们奉献给你们一组精选的流行歌曲。

8 lovers   

爱好者( lover的名词复数 )； 情人； 情夫； 情侣

参考例句：

• They were off-screen lovers. 他们是真实生活中的情侣。
• Shakespeare's star-crossed lovers, Romeo and Juliet 罗密欧和朱丽叶这一对莎士比亚笔下命运多舛的恋人

9 necessarily   

adv.必要地，必需地；必定地，必然地

参考例句：

• More work does not necessarily call for more men.增加工作量不一定就要增添人员。
• A voter must necessarily be no younger than eighteen.选民必须在18岁以上。

10 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

11 anthropology   

n.人类学

参考例句：

• I believe he has started reading up anthropology.我相信他已开始深入研究人类学。
• Social anthropology is centrally concerned with the diversity of culture.社会人类学主要关于文化多样性。

12 rhythm   

n.韵律；节奏

参考例句：

• He has an ear for the rhythm of Irish speech.他对爱尔兰语的节奏很敏感。
• His poem has a pleasing rhythm.他的诗有和谐的韵律。

13 bass   

n.男低音(歌手)；低音乐器；低音大提琴

参考例句：

• He answered my question in a surprisingly deep bass.他用一种低得出奇的声音回答我的问题。
• The bass was to give a concert in the park.那位男低音歌唱家将在公园中举行音乐会。

14 criticized   

vt.批评(criticize的过去式)v.评论，批评( criticize的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The decision was criticized by environmental groups. 这个决定受到了环保团体的批评。
• The movie has been criticized for apparently legitimizing violence. 这部电影因明显地美化暴力而受到了指责。

15 trumpet   

n.喇叭，喇叭声；v.吹喇叭，吹嘘

参考例句：

• He plays the violin, but I play the trumpet.他拉提琴，我吹喇叭。
• The trumpet sounded for battle.战斗的号角吹响了。

16 historic   

adj.历史上著名的，具有历史意义的

参考例句：

• This is a historic occasion.这是具有重大历史意义的时刻。
• We are living in a great historic era.我们正处在一个伟大的历史时代。

17 audio   

n./adj.音频(响)(的)；声音(的)，听觉(的)

参考例句：

• Often,the meeting is recorded on audio or video media for later reference.通常这种会议会以视频或者音频形式记录下来，供以后查阅。
• You don't even have to pay for audio programs.你大可不必为自己听这些节目付费。