[Dixielandjazz] Give jazz a chance

Will Connelly willc@nova.edu
Wed, 17 Jul 2002 00:52:13 -0400


John Farrell wrote:
> 
> Pat Cooke said succintly :
> 
> "Bird, Diz, Miles, and Lester didn't destroy anything.  OKOM, YKOM, or
> whatever, is still there to listen to any time you want to.  They merely
> added another dimension to jazz which you can choose to listen to or not
> listen to.  Lighten up.
>     Old brain cells find it difficult to comprehend new things...

Ah, gentlemen  . . .

I must insert a word for intolerance here. At one glance, I was able to
determine that I like Reubens (and Petty and Vargas) and found Picasso
offensive. Jaguars never appealed, ditto the Edsel, and the most
beautiful automobile I've seen since I owned a 1935 Packard convertible
with rumble seat and sediments was the Broward TS Sports Coupe that no
one ever heard of.

Exactly as I have been able to reach instantaneous conclusions with
respect to visual arts, so it is that I am content to follow Pat's
advice and ignore all iterations of music that require the Highway
Patrol and sniffer dogs to find the melody or which are filled with
alien and painful progressions. These rejections are not the fruit of
old brain cells - I have loathed crap of all kinds for years and years
and have no intention of subjecting myself to anything as unpleasant as
modern jazz, Andrew Lloyd Webbed or Kenny G. to demonstrate tolerance. I
have none and damned well don't want any.  

It helps to be Irish.

Kindly

Will Connelly