[Dixielandjazz] By Ned, we invented the genre

Dave Gannett evidence at otelco.net
Sun Jul 12 09:46:16 PDT 2009


Wow, you all are making this thing so complicated, when it's so simple. 
But's it's cool to get all these varying perspectives based upon 
misunderstanding of the original premise.


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Ken Mathieson" <ken at kenmath.free-online.co.uk>
To: "David Gannett" <evidence at otelco.net>
Cc: "Dixieland Jazz Mailing List" <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
Sent: Sunday, July 12, 2009 11:31 AM
Subject: [Dixielandjazz] By Ned, we invented the genre


> Hi All,
>
> Great stuff! Toys getting thrown out of prams is always entertaining! For 
> my two-cents worth (or tuppence-worth if you're in the UK), musical 
> genres, like all art forms, have to continue developing to avoid 
> stagnation, which would eventually lead to demise or preserved existence 
> as a kind of museum exhibit. It seems to me that there are distinct phases 
> in the development of a genre.
>
> It starts off with local (i.e. not global) roots and so quality performers 
> are restricted to this group. But as the genre spreads into the wider 
> world (and this happens rapdly nowadays, thanks to modern technology), it 
> gets taken up by people from outside the original catchment area. In this 
> second phase, there may be some players with wide-open ears and souls who 
> take to it naturally, but for most, it will be a slow process of listening 
> and learning from records etc. Move on a generation, however, into the 
> third phase, and there will a significantly larger number of musicians 
> globally who are at ease with the genre. Their personal talent will govern 
> whether they can make their mark internationally, but the pool of people 
> with some expertise in the genre will have increased hugely. This too 
> increases the exposure of the genre to other musical cultures not present 
> in the original source area and enables it to develop. Some of these might 
> strengthen the tradition, others might
> be seen as undermining it, but the surrounding controversy helps keep the 
> genre alive and in the public's awareness. So, when a genre has reached 
> its third phase, quality performers can be from just about anywhere and 
> can mix with those from the original pool without sounding out of place.
>
> This phenomenon has occurred across all sorts of musical idiom, with a 
> classic example being in the highly-competitive world of Scottish Pipe 
> Bands, where the World Champion bands and soloists are now just as likely 
> to come from outside Scotland, with North American and Irish bands having 
> lifted the top awards in recent years. I'm not aware of anybody in the 
> piping world saying that this is a bad thing or that only Scots have the 
> necessary musical ability and cultural background to play the music 
> properly.
>
> My view is that jazz of all styles has long since reached phase three, so 
> the best examples can come from just about anywhere.
>
> Cheers,
>
> Ken Mathieson
> www.classicjazzorchestra.org.uk
>
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