[Dixielandjazz] Why Americans Don't Like Jazz

[John Farrell]

Steve Barbone said :

"Certainly, the OKOM festival scene from the 1970s onward sees it as
"listening" music, and now in the 21st century"

This is precisely the reason why I stopped going to ragtime festivals -
eventually I grew to dislike the pseudo-academic ethos which seemed to
pervade the "you can hear a pin drop" atmosphere at such events (in
particular the Sedalia Joplinfest, where I've seen sad guys in the front row
studying scores and tut-tutting with much head-shaking at any departure from
the written music by the performers).

Ragtime and jazz should be treated as happy, stomp-your-feet music
punctuated by the occasional whoop of sheer pleasure - I'm done with all
those phony ragtime intellectuals, I'll return when it is permitted to
holler and whistle my appreciation.

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