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Earlier today, in fact. But it's not so much the attention span thing that gets in the way (I play reeds, by the way) but the intellectual masturbation of a lot
by stan_rogers 17y ago
Earlier today, in fact. But it's not so much the attention span thing that gets in the way (I play reeds, by the way) but the intellectual masturbation of a lot of jazz that turns people off.
I've yet to run into anybody who turns their nose up at, say, Dave Brubeck's "Time Out", which is certainly rhythmically sophisticated but tuneful, or Kenny Burrell's "Midnight Blue" (an album that's usually the first up for visitors). It's the "I'm an artiste, dammit" attitude, the cleverness for cleverness' sake, the removal of anything remotely engaging at a visceral level -- the attempt to emulate in the jazz idiom what Schoenberg perpetrated on "serious" music -- that forces people to decide that the Emperor is without skivvies to cover his shame.
Lyrical content is a red herring as well. There's a lot of dance crap (and some that's not crap) that gets heavy rotation in the wider world that is entirely word-free.
Okay, jazz is all about painting oneself into a corner and finding imaginative ways of escaping the trap you've set for yourself, but there's no harm in playing something that manages to capture a tune along the way rather than merely tracking the letter of the changes. Too many jazzers forget that it's still music.
- colomon 17y agoAnd there is also a good amount of jazz music with lyrics. In fact, there is very little music out there in any genre that has the lyrical heft that Jon Hendricks or Kurt Elling have in their denser vocaleses. But yeah, on your first point there, I remember a big double-bill concert around here about ten years ago. The first half was fairly traditional jazz, well-attended and apparently well-liked. The second performer's music could best be described as a quick, semi-recognizable head followed by minutes of endless sixteenth notes without any appreciable (to me, anyway) form or structure. There was obviously an incredible amount of skill on display, but I found it unimaginably boring. I wasn't alone: after about ten minutes of the second half, there was a steady stream of people getting up and leaving during the performance. So did I eventually.
- anigbrowl 17y agoJazzer, drop your axe: it's jazz police! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6asMGoX2DY http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6asMGoX2DY
- btilly 17y agoI think your point is more effective with those who recognize the music you're talking about. Which most here won't. Here is "Take 5" from "Time Out" by Dave Brubeck: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwNrmYRiX_o http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwNrmYRiX_o And "Midnight Blue" by Kenny Burrell: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wAmxuHt5nw http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wAmxuHt5nw