[Dixielandjazz] Did Bop Kill Jazz?

[Stan Brager]

Dan;

I grew up in the Los Angeles area with lots of jazz radio playing everything
from early jazz to West Coast modern styles, East Coast modern styles,
Chicago, swing and, well, you name it. I didn't know that I had to get
attached to one form or another. Instead, I took it all in. It was not
unusual for me to take in Jack Teagarden, Kid Ory, Shorty Rogers, Sonny
Stitt, etc in one evening.

Yes, I like a lot of bop today and love some of it. Just like any other form
of jazz. I freely admit that I don't have a clue about many of today's
players who seem to be playing many notes but not making much sense to me.
On the other hand, when I hear someone speaking in some foreign languages,
it doesn't make much sense to me either.

The question then becomes - is it me who hasn't learned to understand what
some of these players are "saying" or is it all BS as some claim. I don't
know.

I do know that, at one time, I didn't understand what John Coltrane was
saying until I heard a recording which became a sort of Rosetta Stone for me
into the playing of Trane's music. Now, I'm quite at home with his
recordings - many of which are in my collection not too far from my Eddie
Condon recordings.

No, Bop didn't kill jazz. Jazz is still evolving. It's just that too many of
the jazz listeners who have stopped evolving along with it.

Stan
Stan Brager
----- Original Message ----- 
From: <dwsi at aol.com>
To: <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
Sent: Wednesday, January 10, 2007 1:19 PM
Subject: Re: [Dixielandjazz] Did Bop Kill Jazz?


> Agree that Bop was never a popular genre. Could care less about "artistic
> triumph". Simply disagree that Bop set any wheels in motion that killed
> jazz.
>
>
> I have a naive question. Many listmates obviously are not big fans of bop,
but some are. For those who are: Q. Does anybody really LOVE bop? All I hear
is how much I should admire the talent it takes to play it--and how fast the
notes come. Is that what boppers dig? What happened to loving the music
itself? Maybe I'm just old fashioned.
>
> Dan (Backup piano) Spink
> ________________________________________________________________________
> Check out the new AOL.  Most comprehensive set of free safety and security
tools, free access to millions of high-quality videos from across the web,
free AOL Mail and more.
>
>