マイケル・ジャクソンの天才: コロンビア大学でのセッション (歌とビデオのダウンロード付き)

以前に読み続けた このページ 米国最大の芸術大学であるシカゴのコロンビア大学に拠点を置く黒人音楽研究センター（CBMR）が、 無限の天才: マイケル・ジャクソン キング・オブ・ポップのアートと音楽について話し合います。このイベントは9月24日と25日に開催され、学生、教授、アーティスト、ジャーナリスト、音楽業界の専門家、一般の人々が出席した。

イベントの司会者であるハリー・ウィンガーは、過去形を使わずにマイケル・ジャクソンについて次のように語った。。その証拠に、彼は聴衆にジャクソン5の未発表曲を演奏し、マイケル・ジャクソンの天才性、つまり「子供の年齢で達人」であることを示しました。その中には、ダイアナ・ロスとシュープリームスが録音した「Love Trip」という曲もあり、最後には11歳のマイケルの完璧なボーカルを聞くことができます。

ウィンガー氏によると、ジャクソン5が1970年6月にカリフォルニア州ロサンゼルス南部のイングルウッドにあるフォーラムでコンサートを行ったとき、その夜の出演料は2万ドルで、当時としては極めて高額だったという。ウィンガー氏は、「I Want You Back」の終わりでマイケルがサウンドエンジニアに欠陥を修正するよう頼んだと付け加えた。ウィンガー氏は、マイケル・ジャクソンは11歳ながら非常にプロフェッショナルに振る舞ったため、聴衆は退役軍人を相手にしているのだと信じさせたと説明した。

The piece Winger played for the audience had been released this June on the audio album The Jackson 5: J5 Live @ The Forum. (More ad)

To download this beautiful track and hear the 11-year-old Michael’s request at the end, click.

But the best part of Harry Winger’s musical selections was Never Can Say Goodbye, performed by 12-year-old Michael’s voice. Without relying on instrumental accompaniment, he carried the song solo through ups and downs of words, perfectly observing pitch and tone—taking it to a peak and then finishing the job once the point was made. Never Can Say Goodbye, or “I can’t say goodbye,” is a serious song with a message of love. In America, it reached number one.

Download Michael’s acapella vocals here: here.

Siedah Garrett, who wrote the song Man In The Mirror from マイケル・ジャクソン’s album Bad, was one of the speakers at the event. She said that Michael acted meticulously and with focus in every stage of recording and producing his music, but when it came to others, he wouldn’t let them miss out on his mischievous pranks. Garrett, who had harmonized with Michael on another song from the same album titled I Just Can’t Stop Loving You, continued with laughter:

“Michael felt obligated to cause trouble for other people. He would sing his part, and when it was my turn to sing, he would throw peanuts or things like that at me—and Quincy (Quincy Jones - producer) would tell me, ‘Hurry up—you’re wasting studio time.’”

Hearing these old memories alongside the musical pieces Harry Winger pulled out had an even more powerful and moving effect—especially for those who had a special respect for Michael. For example, one of these people told the show’s hosts that they had played the soundtrack of his life.

At the end of the event, 79-year-old Oscar Walden, a radio and television producer in Chicago who announced his birthday on June 25 (the same day as Michael’s death), read an emotional poem titled “Oh Michael Boy” from among the attendees, and the listeners cheered him on while standing.

Then Siedah Garrett performed Man In The Mirror with keyboard accompaniment by Greg Phillinganes (from the musicians of the trailer, the best-selling album in Michael’s catalog and music history).

To download the unprofessional video of this performance, click.

Another event at this gathering was an auction of a photo piece taken of Michael during the Bad tour by one of the students of Columbia College of Art, which had been kept in the photographer’s personal archive for years. The photo sold for $500, and the money was used as a scholarship for students of Columbia College’s photography program. This photo can be seen in the video related to Siedah Garrett’s stage performance.

Siedah Garrett had also, a few days after Michael’s death last year, performed a very emotional tribute to this song with the Agape religious choir along with her group.

Before starting to sing, she said that on the day Michael died, she received many requests to participate in different programs and to talk about Michael, whereas before that, none of the news networks had been willing to do such interviews. Garrett then said she doesn’t want to be part of the media frenzy, and the best way she can describe Michael is by singing the song “Man in the Mirror”:

“In the last few days, I’ve received hundreds of emails and messages of condolences and sympathy. And all the news media want me to interview with them and talk about Michael. But I think to myself that on Tuesday, nobody asked me to talk about Michael. On Wednesday, nobody asked me to talk about Michael. (Michael died on Thursday, June 25.) But now everyone wants me to talk about Michael and offer them every dirty and bad thing I know, but I don’t have anything like that to say (crowd applause). The only place I felt I could say something about him was yesterday during our rehearsal here. I said how happy I was to be able to speak in a room that doesn’t ask me to say anything inappropriate about him. I don’t know anything about his personal life—I only know that his music touches my soul (crowd applause).”

After saying these words, Garrett broke down crying.

To download the video of that ceremony, click.

Source: eMJey / chicagotribune.com