[Dixielandjazz] MILES DAVIS (yet again)

[John Farrell]

Steve Barbone made this startling claim :

"I already know more about both the music of Miles Davis and the persona
that was Miles Davis than all of the DJML combined"

I do not recall Steve asking me what I know about Miles Davis and his music
nor, I suspect, has he addressed a similar enquiry to every other member of
DJML. Without collecting this information then comparing it with his own how
on earth can Steve arrive at such a conclusion and expect it to be taken
seriously?

This too is a puzzler :

"the other real jazz musicians on the list"

What is the difference between a jazz musician and a "real jazz musician"?
How do listmates determine to which category they belong?

As for this :

"the article was about the man, not a treatise on English Literature."

The article was written in artsy-fartsy pseudo-intellectual prose,
presumably to impress the more gullible reader. There was no analysis of
Miles' music, or his playing style, or the influence he had on other
musicians - in summary as a jazz musician, real or otherwise, I read nothing
of any interest at all to me. No, the article was not about Miles Davis, it
was the author's self-indulgent exercise in showing off his collection of
high-flown phrases.

In the heading to his piece giving rise to this thread Steve warned
"purists" to delete it but did not explain what he meant by that word. I
therefore assumed that a purist was a person who preferred one style of
music to the exclusion of all others. As that definition did not apply to me
I went right ahead and read Steve's posting. I sent a very short response to
the list, Steve now indicates that I should have hit my delete key thereby
labelling me as a purist after all. And all these years I have been unaware
of the fact - can there anything that you don't know, Steve?

John Farrell
stridepiano@tesco.net
http://homepages.tesco.net/~stridepiano/midifiles.htm

----- Original Message -----
From: "Stephen Barbone" <barbonestreet@earthlink.net>
To: <Jazzjerry@aol.com>
Cc: <dixielandjazz@ml.islandnet.com>
Sent: Monday, December 30, 2002 2:19 AM
Subject: Re: [Dixielandjazz] MILES DAVIS (yet again)


> Hi Jerry:
>
> I will say this just one time. I already know more about both the music of
> Miles Davis and the persona that was Miles Davis than all of the DJML
combined
> except for guys like Jim Beebe and the other real jazz musicians on the
list.
> His music may stand on its own, but understanding the man who produced it
is, I
> think, of great interest to a great many jazz fans, some of whom are on
the
> DJML.
>
> "Listen to Birth of the Cool to learn about Miles?" You can't be serious.
That
> makes no sense to any of the non professional musicians on the list, who
would
> learn nothing about Miles Davis just by listening. As for me, when I want
to
> know something, I try and look at the sum total of all the parts, or the
man.
> And how else would you know about past history without reading about it?
> Listening alone is a very one dimensional way to go about understanding a
man
> and his music, and may produce nothing more than "I like that" or "I don't
like
> that." No real understanding of the form or the substance.
>
> I was just trying to make a point nicely.(for me) That people who don't
know a
> damn thing about certain forms of music, or the musicians who play them,
or the
> writers who write about them, or how these musos lived, should really not
show
> their ignorance by spouting off a quick, smug, opinion. After all, the
article
> was about the man, not a treatise on English Literature.
>
> Cheers,
> Steve Barbone