It’s like those things never change — Art vs. Commerce and those types of things. The thought process of musicians, in jazz in particular, is not commercial art. Of course we’re concerned with the commerce aspect of it, but it’s not what drives us completely or else we wouldn’t do it. These are things that have been talked about for a long time.Even the word jazz is a discussion that’s going on now and it was a discussion back then as well. Duke Ellington said that jazz to him just means freedom of expression. He didn’t like the term at all. It’s the same type of themes that are being talked about now that were being talked about then — the style of music has just changed and grown. But people like Duke Ellington were always concerned with moving the music forward. I think when you pay tribute to someone like that or a project like Money Jungle, you have to be thinking like that as well. That’s the best way to pay tribute to musicians who were so forward thinking like Duke Ellington, Max, and Mingus.
Money Jungle | 1963
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