[Dixielandjazz] What gets counted as jazz - Was, "Was Jazz ever popular music?

[Larry Walton Entertainment - St. Louis]

Oh No the dread "G" word.
Larry
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Steve Barbone" <barbonestreet at earthlink.net>
To: <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
Sent: Friday, January 12, 2007 9:38 AM
Subject: [Dixielandjazz] What gets counted as jazz - Was,"Was Jazz ever 
popular music?


> Charles Suhor <csuhor at zebra.net> (polite snip)
>
>> I'm not sure if we're disagreeing, either, Rocky. I just don't know
>> what Ken Burns' researchers were counting as "jazz" in their report on
>> record sales. In those days, as I noted earlier, innumerable
>> ragtimey/pre-Mickey bands were working and recording and would almost
>> surely be catalogued as jazz.
>
> Good point as it relates from the 1920s to the 1930s. In fact, good point 
> as
> it relates to the 1990s and the 21st century. e.g.
>
> 1) Kenny G is classified, and judged by most people (who don't know any
>   better), as a "Jazz" musician.
>
> 2) Kenny G. has sold over 75 million albums.
>
> 3) Therefore Kenny G is the most popular jazz artist ever.
>
> Whoa, not so fast.
>
> Kenny G. does not consider himself a jazz player. Never has. He considers
> himself to be a player of "instrumental pop" and has said so many times.
> Those quotes from him are readily available in the media. Yet many media
> hacks, as well as jazz musos like Pat Metheny keep judging him and downing
> him, quite unfairly, as an inept "jazz" musician.
>
> Then again, ODJB's Margie with Palesteena on the flip side, was the 
> largest
> selling record of it's time. Back then (1920's) Jazz may have been the
> largest segment of popular music. But definitely not so in the 1930s.
>
> Then again, Duke Ellington was beyond category. He did not consider his 
> big
> band as a jazz band. The general public and media hacks are pretty much
> split on that issue also. Similar questions often arise about whether or 
> not
> the big bands of Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey and even Stan Kenton were
> playing "jazz".
>
> Conclusions? Very difficult to define jazz. Kenny Davern liked to say it 
> was
> like asking 10 different people "What does God look like. You get 10
> different answers. What is Jazz?", he'd continue, "Stupid question for 
> which
> there is no answer, only ceaseless argument."
>
> No wonder Pop's liked answer the question "What is Jazz" when asked by a
> musician: "Jazz? It's what you are."
>
> Cheers,
> Steve Barbone
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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