"He cultivated an appreciation of musicians that seemed more appropriate to a jazz bandleader. … Even more arresting than the band was Haggard’s phrasing, which contradicted almost every precedent. Clear-toned, sinuous and shockingly free of twang and vocal affectation, Haggard sang with a sensitivity that bordered on tenderness. … Haggard has long referred to his music as “country jazz,” and is the only country musician to have appeared on the cover of Down Beat, the definitive jazz publication. Over the years, he has developed a definition of the term that reflects his nostalgia for a moment in history that preceded genres, when figures like Emmett Miller, Milton Brown and Django Reinhardt seemed to draw out of the air a music that defied classification. “I realized that jazz meant that you could play anything,” says Haggard. “It meant that you were a full-fledged musician, that you could play with Louis Armstrong or Johnny Cash.”"
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Activists from the United StatesAmerican country singersSinger-songwriters from the United StatesGuitarists from the United StatesSongwriters from the United States
Original Language: English
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Sources
Alex Halberstadt, in "Merle Haggard" at Salon (14 November 2000)
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Merle_Haggard
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Merle Haggard
Merle Ronald Haggard (April 6, 1937 – April 6, 2016) was an American country music singer, guitarist and songwriter.
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