Subject: [Dixielandjazz] Miles Davis Inducted into Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame

[DWSI at aol.com]

Steve Barbone picked up on this article in the The New York Times  Arts 
Section Sunday and I'm glad he did. It raises an interesting question about  the 
value of music "categories." The article points out that many people  are 
unhappy with Miles being called a rocker--even though he contributed to  early Rock 
development--but that Miles himself didn't mind being called one. The  article 
seemed to be asking a question it never clearly articulated: Is Miles a  
Rocker or a Jazzer? And if he's a jazz artist, does he qualify as a great  
OKOM-type jazz artist? Now I see why they invented the term "fusion" to describe  
where jazz is going. Why should we care about these fences around musical  
categories? 

Dan (Backup Pianoman) Spink