Courier-herald. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1949-1950, 1949-12-10
Robert G. Ruork
A Discussion On
Modern Music
SAN FRANCISCO; Dec. 10


SAN FRANCISCO: Dec. 10 - have
been studying modern music lately-mod.
ern music being approximately one-halt
"Mule Train" and the other half bop-and
1 may have found an antidote for the
whole business.
This antidote would be young color
ed gentleman, originally of Los Angeles,
whose name is Connie Jordan.
Mr.. Jordan is in his late 2O's and he
looks rather like sunburned Sinatra. He
is reformed drummer and he sings in a
little joint called the "Say When here
in town. The "Say When" finds itself
stacked to the caves each evening when
MIR. Jordan begins to roll, and remains
stacked until Mr.. Jordan goes away.
This is because Mr.. Jordan has voice
that combines something of the old fash
Toned Georgia camp meeting with sly
sophistication and even wistful tender
ness-Good Gawd, Ruark, lay them adjec-
tives down, boy-which makes him about
the best parlay In entertainment have
clicked since Crosby had hair.
WHEN CONNIE is singing hot he
opens up his mouth like sinner come to
mourn and he Whacks his hands between
phrasings and when he rocks on his heels
and whacks his hands and opens up his
mouth you can see the whole jampacked
crowd whack hands and rock on heels and
follow him with silent, open mouths.
When Connie renders Saturday Night
Fish Fry unto his faithful, there is no
doubt at all that the young man has son
in his lungs. He does not Groom.
Connie can stroke ballad as soft and
sexy as Sinatra in his better days and he
doesn't have to fake falsetto. He can
turn loose on ditty with as much or as
little noise as the ditty needs and knock
the crowd dead with one reaction-name-
ly, that a pleasant looking brown young
ster named Jordan has just cornered the
market on all the rhythm in the world.
=, On top of that he looks nice. There is
touch of the choir boy about him, and a
clean good humor. This is a refreshing
change from the nasty-looking men with
the berets and the little goatees who hol-
Ter 10000" and "eeee' in leiu of words, and
whose whole repertoire seems slanted at
the marijuana, or happy-stick, set.
AM JUST about caught up on this
bebop kick. Paul Weston, a rare band lead
err who plays soft and pretty, was telling
me the other day that bop has become so
esoteric that when player. gets up now
to take solo break, all he has to do is |
stand there for most of his 80 bars and
the applause is just as heavy as if he were
playing.
This Is known as performing to d
"coop audience, cool audience being one
which is so hep that it does not need to
hear the music at all, but can imagine
what the music would sound like if it were
actually being blown out of horn or
thumped from drum. It is somewhat
like paying singer not to sing or foot
ball player not to run, and may have some
advantages, at that. I mean that is the
proper place for bop, anyhow - in the
heads of its fanciers and not in the public
eardrun1.
MY NAN JORDAN comes from
musical family and hence has some respect
for sharps and flats. His stuff ends on the
beat and he is so old-fashioned he even
sings in tune. This is modern miracle in
Jazz singing, since most of the ones hear
lately wander around the melody like a
drunk in the subway.
Ordinarily do not make habit of
going about discovering people, since this
sometimes earns you rap on the snout or
additional financial obligations, but I
break the rule. in favor of Mr. Connie Jor-
dan.
If this young gent isn't the hottest
thing in the vocal business before he's
much older will take up bop myself and !
try to make it popular with people who
speak English.