Jennifer K. Bauer reports about the repercussions of a visit by the vibraphonist Lionel Hampton in the Nez Perce reservation in Idaho in the 1990s ( Indian Country ). Hampton played for school children and was made an honorary member of the tribe. Now the drummer, flutist and singer Andre Picard whom Hampton had reached with his music, recorded an album together with the former Hampton bassist Christian Fabian in which they combine jazz and American Indian music.
Jazz has been called America's original art form, says Fabian who was born in Sweden and grew up in Germany, but "when you think about it, Native American music is even more original than jazz". There are parallels in the improvisatory approaches of both music traditions; in American Indian music there also is a very special kind of scat singing. Among the titles of the album is a chant dedicated to the chief of the tribe, but also "What a Wonderful World", the piece with which Hampton had delighted the kids from the reservation.
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