[Dixielandjazz] Jazz - Hearing the Good Stuff

[DWSI at aol.com]

Steve Barbone wrote

Consider this.  If G is in the jazz section, and sells 75 million
albums since 1993 or so,  and by your theory, those people think it's
Jazz, then they must also think  it is indeed, the "good" stuff since
they keep buying it.

My  mistake.  75 million CDs sold is undeniable proof that Kenny G's
music  is the very finest jazz available.  And by the same  reasoning,
McDonald's hamburgers are the best food on the  planet.
Steve:

I'm one of your greatest fans on the list. But I think we're playing  with 
words here, aren't we? Since when did "good" (meaning high quality from a  
musician's perspective), get mixed up with "good" (meaning I really like that  
guy--and buy his records or whatever). Let us render unto musicians that which  
belongs to musicians, and render unto the fans whatever the hell they like  well 
enough to pay money for. I mean, why not?

Which brings me to another puzzle. Why are so many people trying  to sell a 
vague "type" of music. It seems to me that these type names  rarely mean much 
anymore. Names such as, rock, classical, jazz.  These broadbrush type category 
names almost never fill a theater or  club anymore, do they? Success is about 
favorite names and music specifics,  it seems to me. Kenny G and all the other 
greats, including Sachmo, sell their  names and their styles as well as their 
own special selections. That's the  difference. I will kill to get tickets to 
hear the Boston Philharmonic perform a  Hummel piano concerto with one of my 
favorite soloists, or Enya do Longboats, or  (shall I go on?). By contrast, I 
won't even walk across the street to listen to  "jazz" --when that's the only 
word on the sign outside trying to hook me to  come inside. The last time I 
actually did that, I heard dishwater music,  with ideas that weren't new evem 
back when I was playing band jobs in  the 50's. Why do guys like that play such 
watery, predictable bop and so  forth, always repeating the most obvious rifs 
and moves. I guess they're having  fun reliving something in their collective 
past. Who knows? But don't tell  me this kind of music is what I should 
consider (good) "jazz". I love  OKOM, and many other specific kinds of music, but I 
most of all love certain  performers doing certain wonderful selections. 
 
I think it starts with trying to do your own thing and not simply recreate  a 
sound or style that you feel comfortable hearing. And I think this is  what 
many audiences are trying to tell us. Maybe we should focus on building our  
name by pushing our own style. Let's stop using the big empty words,like  
"jazz"--unless you're teaching some kind of musical history course. Who knows  what 
those words mean to most people anymore?.

Dan (backup piano) Spink