Jazz Influenced - Stevie Wonder

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Steveland Hardaway Judkins Morris was born May 13^th, 1950 in Saginaw, Michigan. Because of his six-week premature birth, the blood vessels didn’t develop to the front of his eyes resulting in detached retinas and blindness from a very young age. That didn’t deter Steveland, who, by adolescence, had already started playing several instruments. By 11, Stevie was well on his way to greatness and had attracted the attention of Motown Records. Just before signing with Motown, producer Clarence Paul gave Stevie a new nickname (“Little Stevie Wonder”) saying, “We can’t keep calling him the eighth wonder of the world.”

By 13, Stevie had written “Fingertips (part 2)” and played several of the instrumental himself. Accompanying him on the drums wa a young Marvin Gaye. The song shot to #1 on the Billboard charts. Though, Stevie never slowed down and cranked out “Signed Sealed Delivered” and “You are the Sunshine of My Life,” both of which were released before he was even 25.

Wonder’s sound utilizes tight arrangements and brilliant chord progressions all combined with his impeccable voice and writing to create a unique sound that established itself as a tenet of soul. It is fascinating which artists were his main influences, as it reveals his obvious jazz influences. Stevie often cites Ray Charles as a main inspiration but he invokes the styles of Sam Cook, Rev James, and Donnie Hathaway (whose piano playing definitely contributed to the unique style Stevie adapted through his career). Motown session pianist Earl Van Dyke was around in the jazz and blues scene in Detroit and is another musician with profound effect on Stevie. Earl passed along the collectives styles of The Funk Brothers, all of whom were jazz musicians. Because these players, Stevie Wonder’s sound always seemed to flirt with jazz.

All in all, Stevie took inspiration and style from so many different places. The life of a truly great musician like Stevie Wonder becomes a part of the continuously evolving world of music, which continuously feeds off of its own history for inspiration.