[Dixielandjazz] Amateur Jazz Critics, record collectors, fans

[TCASHWIGG at aol.com]

In a message dated 1/30/04 7:25:57 PM Pacific Standard Time, 
barbonestreet at earthlink.net writes:


Right on target Steve:

(polite snip from Kaminsky's statements)

> It was taken over lock, stock and barrel by the fans, the jazz addicts, the 
> record collectors, the amateur critics, the recording companies, the 
> promoters, the night club owners, the A &R men, the lecturers, and the writers."  
> 
> And the4 music educators of several generations who mistakenly also taught 
> the theories developed by these folks.


 Almost all of whom never were professional musicians or if they had had a 
few lessons 
> did not posses enough talent to become good enough to be a professional, 
> therefore they found other avenues to channel their frustrations and energies 
> while still staying involved with the music business.
> 

"These were the people who now decided what was jazz and what wasn't, who
dictated how it should be played and on what instrument, and specified who
could, or could not play "real" jazz."

Yes, they did and formed their own Club of mutual admiration societies, and 
then franchised them all over the world and slowly strangled the Golden Goose 
that used to lay a Golden Egg every day.  And it has not changed much since 
these clubs were formed, except to spiral downhill almost to extinction in some 
areas.


They stopped asking the musicians and songwriters what they thought, but 
merely hired many of them to produce and write exactly what they wanted to market.

To see it in full strength and force today, just turn on any so called Smooth 
Jazz Radio Station and here the Jazz of the current decade and how they are 
changing it to feed the masses, since they have driven away almost all of the 
past Jazz audiences.

The formula Smooth Jazz recordings that they are churning out and airing 
daily are all strangely famliar in sound and substance, mostly quite shallow and 
certainly not much to say musically.

Chers,

Tom Wiggins