Does jazz mean something different in the Netherlands?
Yes. In The Netherlands Mills Brothers, Bangles and Pointer Sisters are jazz. In third world countries jazz is belittled to nursery rhyme and in the US zamba, samba and xamba have been promoted to the title of jazz. China has strong economy now therefore what they call jazz there is just some Choi Lee Fut masters lifting weights with their eye-brows, and "jazz" is now called "iniaow"; Portugal lost the Eurocup therefore their inversion got lowered and jazz had to be exchanged by flamenco. Myanmar have an aggro in their political situation, hence, Beyonce is the top jazz artist there and Usher is the seminal baroque musician.
LOL! That's some pretty nice sarcasm!!!
haha very funny. Listen Thomas Quinn I still think you're wrong (and highly doubt you know more about music than I do, good joke) but I do apologize for being so rude. bad day, you know.
I may be wrong but I think "My Melancholy Blues" is influenced more strongely by jazz standards than by blues standards. The square phrasing that is present in MMB (except the intro) is a trademark of both genre. The songform is unusual for both genre. The shuffle beat is tad more bluesy than jazzy. The harmony much more jazzy than bluesy (too much chromaticism, hardly any sign of the 12 bar blues progression in contrast with Dreamers Ball). In the BBC version Brian plays a short lick which is very jazz-clarinet-esque.
Especially the diminished chords and the parallel IV > iv change I tend to relate with jazz, as well as the progression from maj 7th to minor 7th is very jazz generic. The most bluesy aspect in Melancholy Blues is the title imo
Most of my knowledge comes from being an alto saxophone player and a dancer (pointe, tap, and jazz), and a as a jazz dancer let me just say that in the particular Jazz style, while the rhythms in Dreamers ball are too straight line for jazz the chords and arrangement follow the acceptable patterns. In fact the sophisticated harmonic idiom is what distinguishes it and makes it have a jazzy feel. My melancholy blues I’m still steadfast in saying that it is slow jazz, because chord patters and rhythm. You are correct about the 12-bar structure but that alone does not make it blues. My melancholy blues doesn’t even have a syncopated 4/4 rhythm OR flattened thirds and sevenths, which is essential. Neither have three-line stanzas where the second line repeats the first, and perhaps most importantly is the absence of a heavy baseline.
So there you have it. That is why I think they are more Jazz. Granted obviously not “true” jazz, but as I mentioned before, My Melancholy Blues was fit for Ella Fitzgerald if I do say so myself!
what about Rain Must Fall?
The drums used in there are closer to reggae than anything else, in my opinion.
The beat is so reggae. Well, not Bob Marley reggae, but generic reggae. Wouldn't you agree?
