Q Notes: Musical Roots
By QUINCY JONES
One of the most moving and rewarding projects of my career was working on Roots, the landmark 1977 miniseries based on my friend Alex Haley’s novel. Roots touched me deeply because it’s the story of my ancestors. In fact, one night while I was working on the score, my wife at the time, Peggy Lipton, caught me weeping at my Rhodes piano. It was a heavy project that also touched upon the roots of our music.
On the East Coast, when the slave ships hit Virginia, the slave owners took the drums away from the slaves in 1692 to break up the culture and the families so they could keep control. Thank God that New Orleans and Louisiana — with the French and the Spanish immigrants — respected the culture and they encouraged it, that’s why we ended up with all the great music coming from there, music the world had never heard before. When the slave owners took the drums away, they took away all the complex polyrhythms that were part of African music. The slaves started to do stomping, clapping and patting rhythms on their legs to try and keep up with the cultural memory. When the slaves were freed in 1865 after the Emancipation Proclamation; they couldn’t quite get their hands on the 6/8 rhythm, so they came up with rhythms that would form the basis of blues (such as shuffle rhythms) and jazz with washtubs with holes in the top for broomsticks that made a bass and sock cymbals. They invented that music. It’s astounding irony. You take 22 million people from another country and try to break their culture down and they come up with random music that the whole world is addicted to.
In Europe, music is about virtuosity and concerts. There’s a whole different attitude about music. In Africa, it’s life-force music. It’s circumcision rights, elephant hunts, virginity rights, work songs; it provided a basis for life that made life easier. It imitated nature. All those rhythms come from monkeys, birds and other animals in the jungle.
Americans still don’t understand polyrhythms outside of a few jazz drummers. You can have six different beats going simultaneously all with a different beat. You can have six rooms and tell each one that the downbeat is here and they’re all playing the same music, but with different beats. That’s what powerful polyrhythms are about. Polyrhythms and call-and-response, which have the biggest African influences, are still heard in our music today. We should never forget where they came from.
Here are a few tracks from Quincy’s acclaimed 1977 album, Roots.
How has Roots and its soundtrack affected your life?
Dear Quincy, thanks so much for sharing both the information and the two accompanying songs. I find it rather interesting how man imitates nature. Just this past weekend I watched a special on Anthony Boudain’s,”Without Reservations”, and he actually visited the country of Ghana. During the special he mentioned how the majority of the slave trade actually originated from this country. They also did some background on the music, cuisine, and culture of the country. The Kente’ cloth, and it’s meaning. Plus, some of the music born of the area. It was truly breath taking! The rhythm of the drums, sounds of birds, lions, and etc. And then I began to wonder something else. Since I am the child of two parents(Black and American Indian/Irish), I have always been amazed at how the American Indians have also incorporated much of nature, into their songs accompanied by the drums as well. Maybe this is why, I love the drums so much. They actually speak to my heart and encourages me to dance. Be blessed and stay strong.
I can only imagine what it felt like to compose for such a series, im trying to follow in your musical footsteps and you give me a lot of motivation to keep on doing my music! This lil history lesson is really nice, keep them coming!
Everything should be revealed, otherwise there are gonna be chaos. No joke, it’s real. As Africa, what went on in my country, has the same sense with your note.
This is a very informative article.
Q thank you for connecting the dots.
I was told the great Count Basie
expressed roll as an instrumentalist
was that of a pace setter;you know tempos
He would feed the soloist.
Where as other people use the piano for
solos. But Count Basie used it as part
of the rhythm section wow. Please give us more insight, poly rhythms very informative!!!!
Dear Mr. Jones,
The Television series “ROOTS” was my heart felt film or tv series while growing up. And to discover that you did the musical score for that movie suprises me. Then again nothing should surprise me from “THE MAN” himself. You are extraordinary, facinating and constantly creative. I loved the musical pieces “WE ARE THE WORLD.” “THAT’s WHAT FRIENDS ARE FOR” and more. You are a creator of music, ideas and programs.
Let’s work together and It’ll be alright ! ! ! Friends Till – “THE END.”
Your Pal,
Perry