[Dixielandjazz] Fw: [Trombone-l] Jazz students comments

[Stan Brager]

The following was picked up on the trombone mail list.
----- Original Message ----- 

> A friend sent me the following list of comments that he received from a
retired educator in Florida. I thought that they were very interesting. Ron
Simon
>
These are quotes from students in a college jazz history class. They are
extracted from the essay topic, "What I learned over this semester in jazz
history." These are all genuine responses, completely unaltered.

They are all 18+ year old students; not high school or middle school age
kids. None of them are music students.
............................................................................
..........................

> > > "There is not enough space in my head to fit all that I learned."
> > >
> > > "I can¹t believe that blacks had time to invent jazz if they were
hanging out in the whorehouses with Jelly Roll Morton."
> > >
> > > "This class taught me about a lot of things that I never knew about."
> > >
> > > "Coming into class on the first day, I assumed there would be a boring
professor standing in front of the class droning on and on about jazz.
"Here¹s where it started; this is who played it; and here we are today;
blah, blah, blah." I now realize that my assumption wasn't all that wrong."
> > >
> >  > "I assumed that jazz had started in the African-American community
only because it fulfilled a multi-cultural course that I was required to
take."
> > >
> > > "I learned that going to jazz concerts gets me in good with the
girlfriend."
> > >
> > > "I liked hearing the Original Dixieland (Jazz) Band, and how they were
the original Dixieland band."
> > >
> >  > "You might want to mention to future classes that jazz brings true
romance to a scene."
> > >
> > > "I'm glad I took this class, because I feel more comfortable to talk
about jazz in its awesomeness."
> > >
> > > "A lot of the things that I learned were facts that I never new about,
not only in jazz, but in life as well."
> > >
> >  > "A lot of black jazz musicians were very talented, which probably
came from them not having anything else to do."
> > >
> > > "Learning jazz has helped me beat my mom at Jeopardy. She had no idea
who a blind pianist from Toledo, OH was for $800.
> > >
> > > "Getting 81% (on a test) is all well and good until you see that dumb
guy next to you who picks his nose getting 91%. I then started studying and
coming to class."
> > >
> > > "I learned a lot from the different guest speakers in class, whether
they were an experienced piano player, a director of music at a major motel,
or a guitar player with an oddly placed hankercheif in his pocket."
> > >
> > > "Jazz has come from the fields of New Orleans to my 2pm class, and
beyond."
> > >
> > > "Unlike other forms of music, jazz is listened to by old people as
well as us."
> > >
> >  > "Jazz has taught me a lot about the Civil War, World War I, and World
War II."
> > >
> > > "I thought of jazz as a thing of the past, something old African
American men listened to on old record players while sitting on their front
porches smoking cigars."
> > >
> > > "Over the course of the semester my knowledge of jazz has gone from
nothing to practically nothing."
> > >
> > > "Even though I probably won¹t listen to jazz after this semester, it
has given me a greater appreciation of movies."
> > >
> > > "My favorite person to study was Sonny Rollins. He knew that he had to
throw his saxaphone off the bridge when he heard how good Charlie Parker
was."
> > >
> > > "The people in Dixie Land originated jazz music."
> > >
> > > "Jazz started in the fields where they used hand-me-down instruments
and wore hand-me-down clothes."
> > >
> > > "My girlfriend and I both agreed the next morning that jazz-club food
was something we could've done without."
> > >
> >  > "Jazz agitates me."
> > >
> > > "I like jazz, but I need something else besides rhythm, melody, and
harmony."
> > >
> > > "I noticed that there weren't many jazz women in our textbook until I
looked to see that the author was a guy. All guys are sexist, women bashers,
who don¹t ever give us our credit."
> > >
> > > "The part I most enjoyed was studying and appreciating slavery."
> > >
> > > "Its hard to imagine where Winton Marsalis gets his ideas from."
> > >
> > > "We've had our share of good times and bad times over the semester. By
bad times, I mean my tests."
> > >
> > > "How do the musicians know what to play when their eyes were closed
the whole time? And what was with the piano player talking while he played
his solos. His musician friends must have been thought he was crazy."
> > >
> > > "I was bummed out at the beginning of the semester because I thought
Louis Armstrong was going to be one of the guest lecturers.
>
>