When fans attend a performance by the Chicago rap stars Common or Kanye West (or, for that matter, the hip-hop princess Beyoncé or the neo-soul crooner Maxwell), they expect certain things: powerful choreography, glitzy peripherals like lights and props and the headliner on video screens in gigantic detail.
What they do not expect is jazz artists backing the stars. But a number of pop performers, including the rapper Timbaland and the singer Bilal, have recently employed them. .
“They don't have to hire jazz musicians," said Derrick Hodge, 31, who has backed both Common and Mr. West on electric bass, but who made his name in the acoustic trio led by the veteran jazz pianist Mulgrew Miller. “Other players cost less money, and people are going to jump and scream all the same. They hire us because they hear something that relates to who they are."
Mr. Hodge agreed that rap, with its emphasis on wordplay, does not require such traditional jazz strengths as complex harmony and melodic virtuosity.
Common, who sees jazz players as collaborative sidemen accompanying the main soloist (himself), said, “Jazz musicians' vocabulary is so extensive they can play anything."
What they do not expect is jazz artists backing the stars. But a number of pop performers, including the rapper Timbaland and the singer Bilal, have recently employed them. .
“They don't have to hire jazz musicians," said Derrick Hodge, 31, who has backed both Common and Mr. West on electric bass, but who made his name in the acoustic trio led by the veteran jazz pianist Mulgrew Miller. “Other players cost less money, and people are going to jump and scream all the same. They hire us because they hear something that relates to who they are."
Mr. Hodge agreed that rap, with its emphasis on wordplay, does not require such traditional jazz strengths as complex harmony and melodic virtuosity.
Common, who sees jazz players as collaborative sidemen accompanying the main soloist (himself), said, “Jazz musicians' vocabulary is so extensive they can play anything."
