Jazzing Up the New Orleans Pelicans

The New Orleans Pelicans reside in a city that is famous for being the birthplace of jazz music. Before I became a hardcore basketball junky, I spent over decade playing in band and one of the things that I had the pleasure of doing was playing in a jazz band. Seeing as New Orleans is where jazz music originated (and August is slow in terms of actual basketball things going on), let’s have some fun and associate Pelicans players with different styles of jazz.

RAGTIME

Anthony Davis – PF

Ragtime music was one of the first original styles of jazz and is known for being the accompaniment to a lot of dancing. Anthony Davis was chosen for this type partly because he is the foundational piece of the team; the core player that the rest of team is built around. Ragtime is the fundamental piece of jazz; all other types stem from this type. The main reason though is he was the only dancing in the locker room after the Pelicans made the playoffs, as seen in this video.

CLASSIC JAZZ

Tyreke Evans – G

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A lot of jazz today includes what is called improvisation. Several times throughout any jazz number, there will be spots for members of the band to have a solo that is completely unscripted. No better player represents this type of jazz on the team better than Tyreke Evans. Tyreke is gifted as an attacking guard who can get in the paint and score or dish out and find the open guy. At times, however, Reke will get himself in trouble for deciding to do something that will leave your head scratching. Those types of improvisations are what make him most like classical jazz.

HOT JAZZ

Ryan Anderson – PF

Hot Jazz came alive in the roaring twenties and took elements from the previous two types of jazz. Hot Jazz was all about the support throughout the whole song. Every member’s job was to build and support the melody until the big impact part at the end. Ryan Anderson is one of the Pelicans’ key role players. He knows that his job is to come out and space the floor from the power forward position, giving support to the other players by the extra spacing he provides. Being a role player was what hot jazz was all about.

BLUES

Kendrick Perkins – C

The Blues emerged during the Great Depression, which would give an explanation for the sad tone that it has. Can you think of a better player in the league to represent this type of jazz than Kendrick Perkins? I’m pretty sure I’ve never seen him smile before. In fact, I’m not sure he has ever made a face other than his classic scowl.

Feb 9, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder center Kendrick Perkins (5) during the game against the Denver Nuggets at Pepsi Center. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports

GYPSY STYLE

Alexis Ajinca – C

The gypsy style of jazz is one of the more unique versions. It is based on a specific french interpretive dance, and is heavily influenced by the sounds and strains of Eastern Europe. Since Alexis Ajinca is French, he seems like the perfect fit for this style of jazz. Also: wouldn’t it be hilarious to see Ajinca’s long, gangly body do an interpretive dance to this type of music?

Got any more Jazz/Pelicans pairings? Feel free to leave them in the comments section below.

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