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Herbie Hancock 爵士浮生：贺比．汉考克

 

课文朗读

 

 

课文讲解

 

繁體中文譯本

 

The legendary jazz pianist hasn’t lost a bit of his go-for-broke attitude  这位传奇性的爵士钢琴手孤注一掷全力以赴的态度不曾稍减

 

Herbie Hancock was barely 23 and awestruck when he joined the Miles Davis quintet in 1963. He figured the best he could do was make Davis feel comfortable, so for two months he followed blueprints devised by the trumpeter’s former pianists.

贺比．汉考克在一九六三年加入迈尔斯．戴维斯五重奏乐团时．不超过二十三岁．而且对这位爵士大师满怀敬畏。他心想．应该尽全力用戴维斯习惯的方式来弹．好让他感到自在，于是连续两个月都一五一十地按照戴维斯这位小号手之前的钢琴手团员所谱的蓝图本照本宣科。

 

“What I didn’t realize was that inside I was getting very frustrated,” says Hancock. “After a couple of months of trying to play what I thought would please Miles, I said to myself, ‘I’ve got to let this out.’”

「可是我没发现的是，其实自己内心深处倍感挫折，」汉考克表示，「连续两个月只为了取悦迈尔斯而弹，我不禁告诉自己；『我必须把内心的乐章释放出来。』」

 

“Miles walked up and said” – and here Hancock imitates Davis’ famous raspy whisper – “’Why didn’t you play like that before?’ Miles wanted to hear me. That set me free.”

「迈尔斯走过来，然后说」──接着汉考克开始模仿戴维斯著名的沙哑嗓音轻声说：「『你之前为什么不这样弹呢？』迈尔斯喜欢聆听我这种弹法，这让我得以天马行空地自由发挥。」

 

The lesson launched Hancock on a course that changed the sound of jazz. He quickly became an innovator, reconciling a studied sophistication with a common-man touch rooted in the blues.

这个宝贵的功课使汉考克踏上了一条改变爵士之音的道路。他很快就成了创新者，兼容并蓄地融和了刻意酝酿的老练世故，和深植于蓝调音乐的平凡人风格。

 

Making an impact  举足轻重的影响力

 

“To my mind, Herbie Hancock is the most influential jazz pianist of the last 50 years,” says Detroit pianist Kenn Cox. “He almost single-handedly changed the style of jazz piano with his use of impressionist harmony while retaining the all-important elements of blues and swing.”

「在我心中，贺比．汉考克是过去五十年来最有影响力的爵士钢琴手，」底特律钢琴手肯恩．考克斯表示，「他几乎是独力改变了爵士钢琴的风格，擅长运用印象乐派的和谐曲风，同时却仍保有蓝调和摇摆乐的所有重要元素。」

 

Hancock’s go-for-broke attitude electrifies the bandstand. Very little in jazz matches the anticipation that rises when Hancock starts a solo, because you never know what’s going to happen – and there’s a chance you’re about to hear the greatest piano solo you’ve ever heard.

汉考克那种孤注一掷全力以赴的态度，让整个演奏台电力四射。在爵士乐坛中，汉考克在独奏之前，观众都充满期待地引领期盼，少有其他乐手能与比拟，这是因为他们不晓得接下来会发生什么事──很可能就快要听到此生听过最超凡绝伦的钢琴独奏了。

 

Hancock, 67, traces much of that attitude back to Davis. “I pay you to practice on the bandstand,” the trumpeter told his charges, meaning he wanted them to play in the moment, not regurgitate what they practiced at home.

六十七岁的汉考克认为，这种态度应该归功于戴维斯，「我付你薪水是要你在演奏台上练习的，」这位小号手如此告诉团员（译注：charge指被管理或照顾的人），意思是他希望他们能即兴演奏，而不是把他们在家里练习的结果在演奏台一模一样地重复反刍出来。

 

“That’s what jazz is about,” says Hancock. “I feel comfortable exploring. Actually, I feel uncomfortable exploring – but that’s comfortable to me. That’s the secret: You have to be comfortable being uncomfortable.”

「那就是爵士的精神所在，」汉考克指出，「我对探索感到非常自在，事实上，我其实是对探索感到不安──但那对我来说，才是真正的自在。这就是秘诀所在：你必须安于不自在。」

 

 

单词发音

 

More Information

barely [ˋbɛrlɪ] adv. 仅仅; 勉强; 几乎没有

quintet [kwɪnˋtɛt] n.【音】五重奏；五重唱；五重奏（唱）团

blueprint [ˋbluˋprɪnt] n. 蓝图；计划 (指包括伴奏及指法等之蓝图本) an early plan or design which explains how something might be done

trumpeter [ˋtrʌmpɪtɚ] n. 小号手，号手

walk up 走过来, 走近

reconcile [ˋrɛkənsaɪl] v. 调和，协调（两种信仰、事实或要求）

sophistication [sə͵fɪstɪˋkeʃən] n. 老练; 老于世故

touch [tʌtʃ] n. 格调; 风格; 特点

single-handedly [ˋsɪng!ˋhændɪdlɪ] adv. 独立地；单独地

impressionist [ɪmˋprɛʃənɪst] adj. 印象派的

harmony [ˋhɑrmənɪ] n. 和声; 和谐悦耳的音调

all-important [ˋɔlɪmˋpɔrtnt] adj. 至关重要的

swing [swɪŋ] n. 摇摆舞音乐

electrify [ɪˋlɛktrə͵faɪ] v. 使…通电

bandstand [ˋbænd͵stænd] n. 演奏台  a covered place where musical group can play 

match [mætʃ] v. 敌得过，比得上 to do as well as or better than in competition; equal

trace [tres] v. 追溯；查考[（+back/to）]

charge [tʃɑrdʒ] n. 被照顾的人（或事物）one that is entrusted to another's care or management

regurgitate [rɪˋgɝdʒə͵tet] v. 依样复述

 

 

 

课文朗读

 

课文讲解

 

From child prodigy to imaginative pioneer  从神童到富于想象力的先锋乐手

 

Chicago-born, Hancock began piano lessons at 7 and was gifted enough to play a Mozart concerto movement with the Chicago Symphony at 11. The trumpeter Donald Byrd gave the precocious 20-year-old his first break in 1960, and by 1962 he was recording as a leader for Blue Note. Hancock forged a new post-bop piano template by synthesizing disparate styles and adding his imagination and progressive currents in the air.

芝加哥出生的汉考克从七岁开始学钢琴，音乐天分优异的他，在十一岁就和芝加哥交响乐团合奏莫扎特协奏曲的乐章。一九六０年，贵人小号手唐诺．博德让早熟的汉考克在二十岁时获得首次大好机会，到了一九六二年，他就成为蓝音符唱片公司当家乐手录制专辑了。汉考克创造出一种全新的后咆勃钢琴曲风，综合了各种不同的风格，同时还融入他的想象力，以及演奏当时空气中稳稳地弥漫的气流。

 

“The avant-garde was thriving, and it was the ‘60s,” says Hancock. “It was a very fruitful time for civil rights, social consciousness. With that kind of excitement and that kind of creative activity, I was just trying to find out more about what was happening.”

「前卫派正意兴风发，当时是六０年代，」汉考克表示，「那是民权运动、社会意识开花结果的时期，满是兴奋和充满创造力的活动，我当时正试图探索发生的一切。」

 

Diversity was his calling card as a composer; he wrote hummable melodies tied to shrewd harmony, pulsating abstractions and catchy vamps. His classical training colored his palette and touch, and he kept his ears open, studying composition briefly at the Manhattan School of Music and dissecting scores by Bartok and Stravinsky.

多元化是他身为作曲家的特色，他会写一些可以哼唱的旋律，同时搭配高明的和谐乐音，充满脉动的抽象表现手法，以及悦耳好记的即兴演奏。他所接受的古典乐训练，使他的诠释和风格增色不少，此外他也留心倾听，曾在曼哈顿音乐学院短暂研习作曲，并仔细分析巴尔托克和史特拉汶斯基的乐谱。

 

Inspiring others  鼓舞他人

 

Bassist Ron Carter says playing with Hancock is both rewarding and a challenge because he’s such a brilliant listener, switching gears instantly based on the ideas ricocheting on the bandstand. His risk-taking inspired the same in others.

低音吉他手朗．卡特表示，和汉考克合奏，获益良多，但同时也很有挑战性，因为他是个优异的聆听者，随时会依据演奏台激荡出来的创意加以转换变奏（译注：switch gears指转换不同的层级、活动等），而他这种勇于冒险的精神也启发了其他人效法。

 

“I’ll play notes with Herbie that I wouldn’t with other piano players because they are unable or unwilling to relate to that note and how it can affect their chords,” says Carter. “Herbie does that better than anyone.”

「我和汉考克合奏的一些曲调，决不会和其他钢琴手一起弹，因为他们没有能力或不愿意和那曲调起共鸣，也不想知道这将如何改变他们的和弦，」卡特透露，「汉考克比任何人都技高一筹。」

 

Saying less with more is another lesson from Davis. “I like presenting something that has an access point for anybody,” says Hancock. “Not always, but I do have a tendency to do that. But then through the access point, I slip in a bunch of slick things too.”

言简意赅（译注：指音乐的表现手法）则是汉考克从戴维斯学到的另一个功课，「我喜欢表现的乐章，是可以让任何人都能找到切入点而引发共鸣的东西，」汉考克表示，「虽然不是永远都这样，但我的确有这种倾向，不过，有时我还是会透过切入点，再加入一切很酷的东西。」

 

−by Mark Stryker

 

 

单词发音

 

More Information

prodigy [ˋprɑdədʒɪ] n. 奇才，天才

concerto [kənˋtʃɛrto] n. 【音】协奏曲

movement [ˋmuvmənt] n.【音】乐章 a principal self-contained section of a symphony, sonata, etc., usually having its own structure

break [brek] n.【口】机会；好运 a fortunate opportunity

record [riˋkɔrd] v. 进行录音（或录像）

forge [fɔrdʒ] v. 编造

post-bop 后咆勃的 (承接比咆勃爵士乐风并加以变化) a type of jazz music that followed the bebop style first played by small groups in the 1940s

bop [bɑp] n. 【美】【口】波普爵士音乐

template [ˋtɛmplɪt] n. 样板

synthesize [ˋsɪnθə͵saɪz] v. 综合；合成  bringing things that different together to create something new

disparate [ˋdɪspərɪt] adj. 不同的；异类的

progressive [prəˋgrɛsɪv] adj. （变化等）逐渐的，逐步发生的，逐步发展的; 进步的；先进的；革新的

civil rights 民权 the rights that each person has in a society, whatever their race, sex or religion

calling card <美>名片(引申为特色) a distinguishing characteristic or behavior

hummable [hʌməb!] adj. 可以哼唱的

hum [hʌm] v. 哼曲子 to sing (a tune) without opening the lips or forming words

pulsating [ˋpʌl͵setɪŋ] adj. 激动人心的

catchy [ˋkætʃɪ] adj.（曲调等）动听而易记的

vamp [væmp] n. 即席伴奏  an improvised jazz accompaniment consisting of a succession of simple chords

color [ˋkʌlɚ] v. 使带上色彩

palette [ˋpælɪt] n.（某画或某画家常用的）独特色彩 the range of qualities inherent in nongraphic art forms such as music and literature

touch [tʌtʃ] n.格调; 风格; 特点 a characteristic way of doing things

dissect [dɪˋsɛkt] v. 仔细分析；细心研究

score [skor] n.【音】总谱，乐谱 the music written for a film or a play; the music written for a film or a play

rewarding [rɪˋwɔrdɪŋ] adj. 有所得的

note [not] n. 音符; 调子

chord [kɔrd] n.【音】和弦，和音

slip in 不失时机地插入 insert casually

slick [slɪk] adj. 技法娴熟的; 灵巧的；机灵的

 

 

 

单词发音

 

Vocabulary Focus

go for broke【主美】【口】孤注一掷 to risk everything in the hope of having great success

awestruck [ˋɔstrʌk] adj. 顿生敬畏的 filled with feelings of admiration or respect

raspy [ˋræspɪ] adj. 刺耳的；粗糙的 unpleasantly rough

studied [ˋstʌdɪd] adj. 有计划的; 故意的; 深思熟虑的 very carefully and intentionally done, made or considered

precocious [prɪˋkoʃəs] adj. 早熟的; 早成的 showing mental development or achievement much earlier than usual

avant-garde [ɑvɑŋˋgɑrd] adj. 前卫的 creative ideas, styles and methods that are very original or modern in comparison to the period in which they happen

shrewd [ʃrud] adj. 精明的, 锐利的, 剧烈的 having or based on a clear understanding and good judgment of a situation, resulting in an advantage

ricochet [͵rɪkəˋʃe] v. 弹开 to hit a surface and move away from it at an angle

access point 切入点 a feature of something that enables others to begin to understand and appreciate it

 

 

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