[Dixielandjazz] HOW TO JAZZ PASS JAZZ ON

[Stephen Barbone]

List mates:

Please forgive the earlier garbled post. Hit the wrong button. The below
is quoted from the "All About Jazz" website. It is from a discussion
about how get regular folks interested in Jazz.

Cheers,
Steve


"For those who think of jazz as the exclusive domain of the
intellectual, the best approach is to begin with the earthy roots of the
music. Jazz was born a polyglot combination of disparate influences
among the common people, and grew in popularity as an alternative music
to the hokey, sentimental popular songs of the time. Jazz was the punk
of its day, a dangerous noise from the edges of society. Louis
Armstrong  was just as threatening to middle America in 1927 as Johnny
Rotten was in 1977.

While it is true that jazz fans tend to be smarter than average
(smarter, and more attractive), it is not in the best interest of the
music that it be relegated to a strictly elitist art. Jazz, at its best,
carries the universality of human emotion to the heart more directly
than any other music. Coming from its greatest voices, it is the
distilled essence of being. Jazz is probably the most human of music,
because the rules of music bend to the artist rather than vice versa.
And, perhaps most significantly, the right jazz has the ability to
loosen undergarments faster than anything Barry White ever recorded.

In summary, the way to overcome the impression that jazz is for
highbrows rests in five simple words: Jazz can get you laid.

A similar impression of jazz is that it is indecipherable noise. This
idea comes mainly from the fact that the instruments within a jazz
ensemble don’t always behave in the expected manner. The drums don’t
always maintain a comforting boom chick boom chick to mark the time in
precise, even measures. The bass isn’t content to confine itself to the
first and fifth of the scale. The piano sometimes plays jangling,
discordant clusters of notes rather than soothing streams of agreeable
tones. Soloists aren’t bound to the immediate notes of the melody, or
even the corporate notes of the underlying chords. The comforting
sameness of popular music is nowhere to be found, and the tinselly
blandishments that decorate endless rows of indistinguishable pop stars
are equally absent.

To win this sort of person over to jazz, it is necessary to take them
inside the music. They must understand the absolute freedom of jazz, the
dedication to individual expression even within a group dynamic that
makes jazz completely unique among types of music. Introduce them to the
personalities involved, how individual contributions came together to
create a new entity. Illustrate the differences between the wonderfully
unique people who created jazz and the faceless flavors-of-the-month
that populate the landscape of top forty music.

In summary, the way to overcome the impression that jazz is just random
noise is to explain the people who created, prospered, and perpetuate
it. And on a side note, $50 says that Diana Krall  could take Britney
Spears in a fair fight.

For the absolute newbie--that is, someone who has no opinion of jazz
whatsoever—it is only necessary to share your favorite music, and your
enthusiasm, with them. How often have all of us been exposed to
something we might not have liked otherwise and convinced of its merits
by someone whose opinion we trust and respect? Be careful, however, not
to come on too strong. The lure of seduction is the best path to disarm
the sure resistance to the unfamiliar.

In summary, the quickest way to get jazz to the heart of a newbie is to
send it from yours. So there you have it, a few handy tips for
overcoming preconceived notions of jazz and for bringing it to fresh
ears. And in the bargain, a neat lesson in how to coast through a
perfectly passable monthly column without an ounce of inspiration or a
single original thought in your head."