Boyce Justice Griffith & Jamie Saft Bring The Jazz To "The Makings Of You", Curtis Interviews in '72
Enjoy the sweet sounds of Soul-Jazz as Boyce Justice Griffith and Jamie Saft add a little sugar to a classic by Curtis Mayfield. This saxophonist and pianist find a new way to convey the remarkable joy of "The Makings Of You" in their jazzy approach. Boyce reimagines this timeless Soul tune by delivering a joyful upbeat Jazz swing that's bound to make you move. Jamie keeps it slow and mellow as he delivers a graceful solo performance on the keys.
Below, Curtis Mayfield interviews in '72 during the released of his self-titled album. The Soul legend shares his thoughts on Black people's role within music history, religion and Black consciousness.
This original newspaper article, plus more classic music memorabilia available from this dealer on eBay.
Curtis Mayfield leaves an impression, 1972 interview by EARL OFARI
For years, Curtis Mayfield has been one of the few musical spokesmen for Blacks in America. Whether he has been strumming the “Gospel of Love” with the Impressions or whether he has been out front, as with his latest album, “Superfly,” Mayfield has never forgotten that he is Black and that his music must in some way reflect that fact.
How has early Gospel music influenced your musical development?
I’ve found it to be that among most Blacks there has been a strong foundation in gospel music. My music began from the church. From the old gospel hums to the reverend’s sermons, there was always something there that you carried on when you ventured into other types of music.
I say this because as I look back through time at my compositions, I find myself very much taken from the messages of early gospel. Even on “Superfly,” there’s a lot of spiritual influence that’s very apparent in the tunes and I think that’s where a lot of my sound comes from.
I know Chicago has that strong tradition of not only the Gospel sound, but the Blues. Did the early gospel sound in any way inspire your present message music?
Blacks in relation to the Blues, Blues have been with us all our lives. It’s a Black experience, a Black tradition. The traditional Blues that was formed long ago is simply a part of us.
This is simply because all within the struggle of Blacks. With B.B. King and the other Blues giants, we were reflecting on what was going on. Just like it was going on, the lives of all of us were the same. The message was still there and it was more or less a reflection of home.
In the home there are trying to do more now to build the home, to get away from the old things. And many of us now have to progress from the home scene and get into more or less a progressive blues and more happier thoughts. In my albums, I don’t dwell on blues in a hard sense, but the influence of blues and gospel will be apparent on the music.
There’s a tendency on Blacks today to play, what’s the matter with the world, why are so many Blacks concerned?
No matter what music may be, it’s a black art. Blacks have had Blues since the beginning. We all started from the Negro spiritual. Here, it’s just been something to lay back on and relax to. Gospel, at least in the home, or in church, only with a more motivating and inspiring lyric. Aretha Franklin and Isaac Hayes have done the same thing and I find myself very much motivated by gospel. It’s a spiritual thing. The emotion comes from the church and from there we made what we have now, secular music.
With everything that’s happening I always say the same thing. There’s been so much happening so fast and there’s so much more to be said that we haven’t covered yet.
And so much more is needed that it’s been the basis of my message and a reflection of gospel, the life of those who believe in God.
Do you think that Blacks today have begun to make more of an effort in terms of trying to bring their experiences into their music?
I think that it’s kind of hard to answer because it’s always been there and more artists now than ever before have been able to bring more expression in their music, and in what they’re trying to say.
We’re beginning to make more of an effort to answer some of these things. There are more people who have now come into an understanding of the inner city and what is happening, and they’re attempting to bring their experiences back into their music. I think we’re on the verge of something very new.
Do you think there’s any problem today in Blacks being able to use music for progress?
I think there is pretty much happening. You’ve got a lot of artists who have come back to it, just as music has gone back to its beginning in the late 1950s and early 1960s. You find it there. In music today, we’ve been through it in the early years and there’s nothing new there in progress. What’s new is in the message that we deliver.
In fact, a lot of things that were done in the past have been lost. The meaning and understanding of what we’ve experienced. It’s a process that we’re going through right now. A lot of the same things are happening today that have always happened.
You’re trying to project certain messages through your music. Do you find that difficult?
When it comes to message production, I think it’s important that you put as much as you can into it. I get down. It’s much more important that your words be of such force where they actually are meaningful. For Black artists, it’s just a case of having your words out there. It’s an honest reflection of our lifestyle and we’re trying to do what we can to relay it.
If we were all to get into that groove and really put something into it, I think it would be more effective than it is now. I think what we’re doing now is doing a lot of talking and not really getting into action. We’re just not ready to be as real as we can in music. I think we need to be more real and we need to take more chances in what we’re trying to express.
Does it seem to you that music is the only place Blacks are being used as an expression of some sort of freedom?
It seems like it is. I don’t know what else there is to say. There are so many things that can be said that haven’t been said yet. There’s still so much to be said. If we were to really put our hearts and minds to it and go to work on it, I think it’s quite possible that we could begin to talk about freedom again in Black music.
You’ve always been involved in conveying Black consciousness. Has there been any difficulty on your part in doing so?
Certainly if you talk in terms of your music and you talk in terms of Black freedom, there’s always going to be some difficulty. I don’t think I’d ever give up. It’s something we have to do.
There are so many things involved, but I think it can be accomplished if you keep working at it and just don’t give up.
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