[Dixielandjazz] What is Jazz?

[Rodgerdevore at aol.com]

For what it's worth Dept:

This is such a huge subject, but I only want to say a couple of things.

The record companies have not recorded real jazz for so long, I think they 
don't even know what it is at this point and, believe me, they have infiltrated 
into all of the college radio stations out there. I know that the kids (high 
school and college) hate what those RCs are purveying these days as 'jazz', but 
the kids love OKOM when it's played well. 
William B. said 40 years ago "...the kids are hungry for good music...". 
Well, they still are.

The name of my little (but looking bigger) radio program (Drivetime Downbeat) 
purposely does not have the word "jazz" in it. I looked at the referred 
school lesson. I knew teaching on jazz was very bad, but I didn't know it was that 
bad.

I have a loose theory which has developed since doing this radio thing and 
here it is: The reason the entire system, including the so-called "educational" 
system has become so dumb, is largely because th e RCs have been (and still 
are) pushing only those 'entertainers' whom they have signed. So the ignorant 
baby-boomer text writer (who may have supposedly come of age at about the same 
time payola really got going 50 years ago) concocts some BS because some even 
more ignorant bureauocracy has told him to do something (justify your pay).

Another loose theory is that the reason that so-called 'jazz' is so terrible 
these days is that they've forgotten or never knew that one of the main 
components, if  not the main one, is the rhythym that real jazz guys convey. How can 
you convey that with a machine?  With synthetic -  fake -  percussion 
everyplace, how can you get any  feeling?  For another day, maybe.
 
So kids are taught that jazz began with John Coltrane or Charlie Parker or 
God save us, Ornette Colman or a dozen others who the RCs somehow make money on. 
Just a  theory.

ame in jazz. Because they don't get too many royalye have signedbeen 
controlled by the record companies (and other evil media)

I've referred to the book "The Hit Men" (Dannen-1990) many times to assist 
people in understanding why there are actually lesson plans in schools taht are 
that bad. (Do you all remember  what happened at the "jazz" educators 
convention in NYC when Jim Cullum played for the 3,000 so called 'jazz'' educators - 
they went berserk.)
 
 I mostly refer on the air to what I play as 'our music' or 'American music' 
m There are a number of very well-meaning, but not professional musicians out 
there who
love to play it simply don't play it as well as the pros. Frankly people 
don't really get turned on to much of  OKOM get turned off, even though  not 
practised enou  of well-meaning but not full-time professionalswe love OKOM 
Theoretically, there's a way to get rid of them and that's to play the real McCoy on 
the air. The kids love it.

I sure hate AOL. It's oneoft he major contributors to  making this country 
stupid. To be expected. It's Time-Warner. I have hard copy of a published quote 
theta ...."..TW is the chief culteral offeneder in this country...." 



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