Do you remember flying through space when you were a kid? Did you see that large meteor crash into the Earth, the one that caused such an epic chain reaction of bubbling and boiling that life itself came crawling out of the sea?
If this sounds familiar, then you’re probably: a) prone to hallucinations; b) some kind of alien being, more ancient than the dinosaurs; or c) one of the millions who've watched Walt Disney’s animated classic, Fantasia. Aliens notwithstanding, this is how most of us first experience the music of Igor Stravinsky's orchestral masterpiece The Rite of Spring: floating in a cartoon cosmos, suspended from disbelief.
Now, keep that disbelief suspended for just a moment longer while we tell you this 100-year-old ballet has become something of a jazz standard. No, we're not kidding (and please don't look at us like we're a bunch of hallucinating aliens). It may not be as common as "Round Midnight" or "Body and Soul," but The Rite of Spring definitely seems to have snuck into the jazz repertoire when no one was looking, claiming a little corner for itself.
Curious to know more about this Spring trend in jazz? It being the vernal equinox, CBC Music thought today seemed like The Rite day — er, an appropriate moment to look at how Stravinsky's music connects with jazz, and survey the many Rite of Spring jazz covers that are out there. (And yes, some of them are more "out there" than others.)
Continue to part one: Stravinsky's post-Rite jazz
Skip to part two: Jazz's post-Stravinsky Rites