[Dixielandjazz] Why We Play Jazz Music

[Elazar Brandt]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Steve barbone [mailto:barbonestreet at earthlink.net]
>
> "Elazar Brandt" <jazzmin at actcom.net.il> wrote:
>
> > One last point. From what I've seen in my short life, making art into a
> > commercial enterprise kills it.
>
> Perhaps too sweeping a statement?<

I'm just a young fellow, Steve. Turned 53 last month. I'm good at sweeping
statements. I figure it will take me another 20 or 30 years, if I should live
that long, to learn enough of the details of jazz history to argue the fine
points. I never met or played with any of the jazz greats, well, unless you
count playing along with their records. At least I've been around long enough to
know what records are! I've been investing most of my energy into learning the
songs and styles, and only slowly am I learning about the lives of the great
ones.

I didn't really mean to over-generalize the issue. After all, I also am trying
to make a living at this, so there has to be a business/commercial side to it. I
am more into audience pleasing than pushing the envelope of musical ability or
creativity. I am not highly trained or highly experienced. Just an average
blower who loves to play and has found some people who love to listen or play
along. I try to echo the greatness of my favorite players, using what training
and skills I have. I try to get my students to do the same. And we make a
pleasant, happy, danceable sound.

I am happy at this stage to be able to say that I make about half my living at
music related activities, including performing, teaching (private students) and
buying and selling used and inexpensive instruments to try to help people of all
ages get started. I have hopes that my musical successes will grow and provide
me with more work, enough to live on.

As for my statement about making art or music commercial, I suppose what I
should have said was, when the motivation becomes making money more than making
music or art, that tends to squelch the creative side of the enterprise, because
the financial considerations will override the artistic ones.

Applied to my own local situation, the practical application of this argument
goes something like this. I live in Israel. There is a huge market for all kinds
of Jewish music. Any band who wants to work parties and events in a Jewish
country has to play some selection of Jewish music. And so does my band. But we
are not a Klezmer or Israeli folk dance band. There must be 1000 bands in Israel
who can do that music better than we do. We do jazz, and that's what people hire
us for. But to get hired to play jazz at a Jewish wedding or bar mitzvah, you
have to also play the processional and recessional, a half hour or so of circle
dancing music, and various other local traditional favorites. Otherwise you
won't get the job. So, to please our audience, we learn and do a selection of
Jewish standards. But if we were market driven rather than art driven, we would
become a klezmer or Jewish rock or dance band. There is no market for trad jazz
here. We're creating one. If someone wants to hire us for a Jewish music gig, I
refer them to other groups. It isn't what we do best, and they won't be
satisfied, and we won't enjoy the gig, even if we get paid for it.

That's what I meant.

I know Louis is often lambasted for being a crowd-pleaser. I never heard him
play live, but what I see from recordings and films was a man who loved and
respected his audiences, and they loved him, and that provided a lot of the
energy that fueled his performances. Maybe he could have been more innovative,
but that might have cost him some of his audiences' interest or enthusiasm. I
suppose that's a decision that every player has to make. On the other hand, I
doubt whether Louis would have gone into rap just because that paid more than
jazz. Most of us have limits how far we will go to please the crowds. Seems to
me it's a balancing act, more than a case of right or wrong.

Best regards,

Elazar