Later this week, you’ll be able to hear my jazz arrangement of Taylor Swift’s recent hit “You Need To Calm Down”. I had a great time creating this arrangement, recording it with the trio, and recently, playing it live. I felt like the song worked great in a jazz context, but I’m going to be honest – as a jazz artist, I felt funny playing Taylor Swift’s music.
I don’t have a problem with Taylor’s music; I just realize that most people don’t associate it with jazz. I mean, let’s be real – Taylor is a smart songwriter that has captured the imagination of popular culture in a big way, but her music is as far from the jazz aesthetic as possible. She’s not a jazz artist, she’s not writing jazz music, and I’m not sure that she even likes jazz.
In case I’m not being clear here, I want to state my point without any doubt – I firmly believe that Taylor Swift doesn’t have a connection to jazz.
That doesn’t mean that her music can’t be played in a jazz context though. Her music has memorable melodies and a powerful connection to our current society. Those are two elements that resonate in jazz, so it seems like a perfect fit.
How can that be a perfect fit? Jazz is art music made for personal expression and Taylor Swift is popular music made for entertainment. They seem different, but they are deeply connected. Jazz and pop sit on different sides of the artistic equation, but they often work in harmony. In fact, there’s a strong precedent for the kinship between these two musical genres.
A good chunk of the jazz repertoire comes from The Great American Songbook. These are songs coming from folks like the Gershwins, Richard Rogers, Lorenz Hart, Cole Porter, and Irving Berlin, among others. In the early part of the twentieth century, these songwriters were creating music mostly for Broadway musicals and movies. This was long before Elvis, The Beatles, or Motown – this was the pop music of the day.
Jazz musicians were on the cutting edge of harmony and melody, but they were also in tune to popular music. They knew that people loved these songs and they correctly assumed that the public would pay to hear instrumental versions of these songs. Once jazz musicians applied their creative sense of harmony, melody, and rhythm to pop music during the early twentieth century, they developed new and exciting versions.
The public loved these jazz interpretations of pop music, and even more importantly, jazz musicians loved these new takes. So they played them again. And again. And then again. As a result, jazz standards were born.
The connection between jazz and pop music didn’t stop there. When Atlantic Records wanted John Coltrane to reach a wider audience in the early sixties, they suggested that he record the hit from The Sound Of Music, “My Favorite Things”. Coltrane applied his unique harmonic approach to the song and a jazz classic was born. In 1996, Herbie Hancock recorded an album with songs from The Beatles, Prince, Nirvana, and more – he called the album “The New Standard.” The Bad Plus made waves early in their career with jazz trio interpretations of songs from Blondie, Aphex Twin, Black Sabbath, and more. The connection between jazz and pop has become an important part of the tradition, and it continues to this day.
So I feel like playing a jazz arrangement of a Taylor Swift song is right in line with the jazz tradition. The arrangement, performance, and aesthetic fit right in line with the history of jazz. I feel good about it – yes, I’m playing Taylor Swift, but I’m also playing jazz. And I’m excited for you to hear it.
Are you ready to check out my jazz arrangement of Taylor Swift’s “You Need To Calm Down”? Click the link below so that you can pre-save the single on Spotify. Don’t have Spotify? Just add your e-mail to my mailing list. When you do either of these option, you’ll be directly to a live performance of the track so that you can get a sneak peek. Pre-Save the track HERE.
Enjoy!