[Dixielandjazz] The problem with listeners (was Louis, Duke and BeBop)

[macjazz]

Oh, I totally agree with your response.  If there weren't ANY left we would 
be in even more serious trouble in terms of audience.  But the board has 
been discussing why there is not a larger general audience for OKOM in 
particular and I will stand by my answer.

I was a high school  band director up until 1980 and have a number of 
students playing professionally in a variety of genre's. I also have a 
surprising (to me) number of grads in the music education profession as 
directors or teacher trainers.  One individual who came though my band now 
has Grammy awards. Another runs a fairly significant recording studio and 
sound engineering business in Las Vegas.  I understand and value the ones 
who did learn and are functioning.

I do think they are the exception, rather than the rule and think our 
audiences prove that point.  That does not mean that they don't exist.

I did not mean not to sign the last one.  It didn't occur to me that it 
would go through the spell check without stopping!  How about that, it did!

Mart

Martin D. McKay (now) Designated Listener
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Beth Schweitzer" <beth at portafortuna.com>
To: "macjazz" <macjazz at comcast.net>
Cc: "Dixieland Jazz Mailing List" <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
Sent: Thursday, June 17, 2010 3:26 PM
Subject: RE: [Dixielandjazz] The problem with listeners (was Louis, Duke and 
BeBop)



You may be surprised to find that there are plenty of listeners out
there who do have the ears, the training, the background, and the
musical understanding to find comprehension and communication in the
music. They
HAVE had music in school. They HAVE played instruments. They HAVE grown
up with an understanding and interest in what is being done. They just
don't happen to be jazz musicians. Or they might even be that too but
are of the rare breed that also likes to listen to other jazz bands
playing once in awhile.

And yet they still get bored to tears when a jazz musician plays a solo
that goes on ad nauseum and is neither innovative nor particularly
musically pleasing.

Also, it surprised me to learn, after attending many jazz concerts and
festivals, that many (maybe even most!) trad jazz musicians are not
improvising at all, but are playing a memorized solo which they always
play the exact same way, including the brief references to some tv show
or commercial theme. If it's a good one, I still enjoy it. If not, it
gets old quickly.

Sorry but I had to stick up for those of us listeners who aren't
complete musical idiots.

:-)

Beth


-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Re: [Dixielandjazz] Louis, Duke and BeBop
From: "macjazz" <macjazz at comcast.net>


As the majority of participants on this list are musicians, we tend to
address the problem of listenership/fans as a problem with the solos or
the
music played.

I would suggest that rather the problem is with the listeners,
particularly
young listeners.

They do not have the ears, the training, the background or the musical
understanding to find any comprehension or communication in the music.
They
have not had music in school. They have not played instruments. They
have
not grown up with understanding or interest in what is being done. Above
and
beyond that, if it lasts more than a very few minutes (seconds?) they
are
not longer interested in paying any attention and would prefer to move
ono
to something (anything) else.

etc.