[Dixielandjazz] Critics

[Fred Spencer]

Dear Ms. Johnson and Steve,
One more excerpt from my proposed book on "Jazz Reference Books". Cheers.
Fred
Gennari, John. Blowin' Hot and Cool. Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 
2006.

xiv, 480 pp., index.

In "Meet the Critics", an article in his 1958 New Yearbook of Jazz, Leonard 
Feather presented the musical background of 19 American jazz critics (see 
WHO?). He revealed that six of them had no musical experience; nine had only 
a limited exposure to some form of music; and four were professional 
musicians. This means that at least half of them were almost certainly 
musically ignorant. I had hoped that the main theme of this book would be 
whether jazz critics should or should not be able to play jazz. Instead, the 
author's promise of providing "a definitive history of jazz criticism from 
the 1920s to the present"is framed in cloudy socio-cultural jargon. Typical 
of this style is Chapter 7, which is entitled "Race-ing The Bird. Ross 
Russell's Obsessive Pursuit of Charlie Parker." The misspelled title reveals 
the author's bias.

This book is a "better-than-some" example of the current jazz 
pseudo-academic "genre" (a detestable word) by an assistant professor of 
English at the University of Vermont. It is not a straightforward discussion 
of jazz criticism. For a summary of this topic read Chapter 9,"The Critics", 
in James Lincoln Collier's book, Jazz. The American Theme Song (Oxford 
University Press, 1993)

(also see QUOTATIONS).

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Steve Barbone" <barbonestreet at earthlink.net>
To: <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
Sent: Thursday, July 20, 2006 4:25 PM
Subject: [Dixielandjazz] Critics


> LeslieMRag at aol.com
>
>> So then why do musicians send review copies of CDs to publications, and 
>> why
>> do they protest when they aren't mentioned in festival reviews? Why not 
>> just
>> take out an ad? Running reviews is the pits as far as publishers are 
>> concerned
>> because there's always someone who doesn't like a recording that gets a 
>> rave
>> review and always someone who loves a recording that gets a lukewarm 
>> review.
>> I've even had musicians complain when they got a rave review because they
>> didn't
>> think the CD was that good, and I've had to pass on CDs sent to us by 
>> good
>> musicians who sometimes send us inferior CDs not indicative of their 
>> usual
>> performances. It's a really difficult situation for the publisher....a 
>> free
>> service provided with the potential for landmines all over the place.
>
> Beats me Leslie since I personally neither send CDs out for review nor 
> worry
> about Festivals. And I agree with you, the complainers should take out an 
> ad
> instead of bitching about a free service. They should learn how to market
> themselves, and to whom.
>
> I sympathize with the dilemma it presents to publishers but think it can 
> be
> overcome with reviewers who know what they are doing. In the case of the
> "Pirates" movie, clearly it was going to be a hit, yet panned by the
> reviewers. Why? Because they were not on the same page as the public.
>
> The movie reviewer said in answer to the question why do you review 
> movies.
> "We do it for you." If that is the the case, then they should do it right.
> Not just one or two people disagreed with that review, millions did.
>
> Mississippi Rag CD reviewers are generally very good. Some others are not.
> I remember a Band about 7 years ago getting a one star review (out of 5) 
> by
> a famous reviewer who did not like the style. (Uptown New Orleans like
> George Lewis) Panned the band like "why should a band play in the style of
> George Lewis" etc., etc., etc. The musicianship in that band was and still
> is superb, at least in my jazz musician ears.
>
> Today, that same band is goes all over the USA playing Swing Dances, club
> dates, weddings, and more for young people who absolutely adore their 
> music.
> Playing in George Lewis style. But, they play precious few Festivals since
> that nasty review went a long way towards killing that market for them.
> Being smart businessmen who work Dixieland for a living, they figured out
> how to get an audience. And they don't send their CDs out for review 
> anymore
> either. :-) VBG.
>
> That was a case of an elitist reviewer who reviewed records in order to
> satisfy his own ego, claiming that he knew what the audience wanted.
> Clearly, he didn't know what the audience wanted and was way out of line
> with a one star review.
>
> That's what I mean when I say "Critics? Who needs them?"
>
> Cheers,
> Steve Barbone
>
>
>
>
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