Marvin Gaye's image used to sell Hennessy

[Jim Dye]

I saw this billboard driving in Nashville the other day and it really bothered me.

It's an ad for Hennessy! The photo appears to be from the same shoot that ended up on the cover of 'What's Goin' On'. The tag line is 'Never Blend In..."

Make me wanna holler.

[Chuck Nessa]

Make me wanna holler.

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So I take it you're a Courvoisier man.

[sheldonm]

I saw the same billboard in DC last week.

[Spontooneous]

There was a Miles Davis billboard from the same company.

That one inspired this screed, published in the Kansas City Star:

THAT WOULDN'T FLY IF MILES WERE ALIVE

By Joe Klopus

By the side of Interstate 70, high above the rooftops, it’s there to catch your eye.

It’s a billboard bearing a huge, striking photo of Miles Davis, the trumpeter who was just telling the truth when he said, “I changed music five or six times.”

The black-and-white image dates from circa 1970, a time when Davis was changing music again by enriching his jazz with elements from rock, funk and soul.

In the photo, he looks like the music he was making at the time: Tough. Uncompromising. Adventurous. And, behind those shades, elusive.

Yes, the billboard gets your attention.

But what’s it selling?

The American Jazz Museum? They could use a little plug on billboards around town.

Or maybe they’re selling the idea of Kansas City as a jazz destination? That idea could use some exposure, too.

Nope. The billboard is selling cognac.

Oh, crud. It’s that old jazz-and-booze equation again — an old piece of baggage, a stereotype that’s helped keep jazz marginalized for generations.

Yes, jazz is played in some places where alcohol is served. But remember: These days, jazz is played in concert halls, schools and churches. (Check the “Spirituality and All That Jazz” concert series, another installment of which is described later in this column.)

Yes, jazz was born in a rough, alcohol-soaked district of the rowdy city of New Orleans. But it has grown into something far nobler than simply a music to drink by.

Liquor isn’t needed to appreciate jazz any more than it’s needed to appreciate any other aspect of life.

In the jazz places that serve alcohol around Kansas City, there’s very little pressure to buy drinks. And non-alcoholic drinks are always available.

And you’ll see relatively little drinking on the bandstand.

In the audiences, there’s not much drunken misbehavior to be observed in Kansas City’s jazz clubs in 2003. Probably less, proportionally, than in other kinds of clubs.

Miles Davis stood for progress in jazz. And the use of his image on this billboard, playing to a stereotype, sends all the wrong messages about jazz and about any art form.

His ghost ought to be kicking somebody’s butt over this.

Oh, and there’s the slogan on that billboard: “Never blend in.”

As if you can be a rebel by drinking more?

[Kalo]

Makes me want to holler...

and throw up my hands.

[JSngry]

That Joe Klopus needs to get a grip.

[Jazzmoose]

That Joe Klopus needs to get a grip.

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Probably needs a drink...

[Spontooneous]

That Joe Klopus needs to get a grip.

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Probably needs a drink...

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Yes. And yes.

[Randy Twizzle]

Oh, and there’s the slogan on that billboard: “Never blend in.”

As if you can be a rebel by drinking more?

Well it's a start...

[JSngry]

Marvin was a Coke man, actually...

[Alexander]

Marvin was a Coke man, actually...

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Well, you know what they say...

Things go better with Coke!

After a few lines, I'm sure Marvin wanted to teach the world to sing...

[pasta]

Lame. Poor Marvin. An image from an album with a message for all humanity used to sell a product. Ah, the times we live in.