John Klemmer and Musical Border Towns

Personification of Jazz Fusion; A Lesson in Musical Border-Blending

John Klemmer’s “Free Soul” was one of the very first records I ever tracked down and bought at a record convention. I think I first heard the song when I was 19. There used to be a jazz program that aired on WNYC, here in New York. I remember desperately calling several radio stations, trying to get the name of the artist; all I heard was the name of the song, “Free Soul.” After finally receiving the name—John Klemmer, I went about trying to find (dig for) any and everything that hand John Klemmer’s name on it.

With such a powerful sax-based rhythm, “Free Soul,” a stellar blues-soul-jazz demonstration of what is commonly known as jazz fusion or free jazz, taught me a great deal. “Free Soul” was one of the first songs to really convey to me the possibilities of merging styles and contexts. And because hip hop/rap music is a sound that can truly convert any other sound into it’s own form, I’ve found that it’s very helpful to really study the broad strokes and subtle nuances of those other music forms that inspire me.

For educational purposes…

John Klemmer – “Free Soul”

John Klemmer – “Cry”

Nancy Wilson – “Sunshine;” featuring John Klemmer

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The BeatTips Manual by Sa’id.
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