JazzTimes – October 2019

40 JAZZTIMES SEPTEMBER 2019

to get over the death of Bernard, I felt I

had to keep the vibe of Chic intact and

not make it totally about me. That’s just

not who I am—I really am a generous

person. I like being in a band, even if

now it says “Nile Rodgers & Chic” on the

posters.

Nile, I think you’re the perfect

person to ask about this. You’ve

spent your whole career con-

nected to both dance music and

jazz, and now look at the stuff

that’s happening today, with jazz

and hip-hop playing together in

very exciting ways.

That’s not new, because jazz and hip-

hop have always been connected. It may

seem like it’s more of a thing now, but

you gotta remember some of the most

commercial hip-hop records: Digable

Planets or Us3 or Q-Tip and those guys.

They were all fooling with jazz, they all

loved that vibey, swingy thing because

it went great with funky drums as the

beat. Some of the earliest hip-hop re-

cords were dealing more with funk and

some semi-gospelly things, but they

jumped to jazz very quickly, and they

got strength from going there. There’s

guys like Nas, whose father [Olu Dara]

is an accomplished jazz player, and

that’s another connection.

Nowadays you hear guys like An-

derson .Paak, who I love, and Childish

Gambino, and I was thinking that’s just

so damn cool—they’ve got the kind of

strength that jazz musicians had when

I was a kid in the ghetto. We knew that

there were only a couple of ways out

of the ghetto, either sports or music.

And I was protected just walking down

the street with that guitar, it was like

a shield around me. I was walking

around with the drug dealers and the

gangs, but nobody would bother you

because that instrument in your hands

gave you that power.

What’s interesting is that it’s always

been okay to recognize the connection

between jazz and James Brown, but

for some reason to say that you were

inspired by a disco group would be po-

litically incorrect. Chic doesn’t have the

credibility for being connected to jazz

because it’s too commercial or too corny

or disco sucks or whatever. That’s just

how it was. It’s cool and I accept that.

I think history is coming right

for you. People don’t listen with

filters like they used to. Chic is

cool—and disco isn’t a bad word.

You know what’s cool? Harold Mabern

tapping me on the shoulder and Herbie

Hancock on PBS saying, “Don’t sleep

on this guy.” That’s cool. JT

“When I was a kid

in the ghetto, I

was protected just

walking down the

street with that

guitar. Nobody

would bother

you because that

instrument in

your hands gave

you that power.”

JIL

L^ F

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