TRANSCRIPT:
I’m Mark Rapp, and this is Rapp on Jazz.
Gospel Music has had a profound influence on jazz. From the church pews to the bandstands, gospel has shaped jazz's emotional depth, phrasing, and spirit since its earliest days. You can hear it in the call-and-response patterns, the powerful vocal inflections, and the soulful improvisation rooted in Black spiritual traditions.
Pioneers like Mahalia Jackson and Thomas Dorsey laid the foundation for a sound that resonated deeply with jazz musicians. Artists like Horace Silver, Cannonball Adderley, and even John Coltrane infused their compositions with gospel’s uplifting spirit and sacred intensity.
In South Carolina and across the South, musicians often moved fluidly between gospel choirs and jazz clubs, carrying that spiritual fire. Gospel didn’t just influence jazz—it gave it soul.
This has been Rapp on Jazz, a co-production of ColaJazz and SC Public Radio, made possible by The ETV Endowment of South Carolina.