[Dixielandjazz] JATP / Gonsalves / Ellington - was small band bebop - dixieland.

[Marek Boym]

The Israeli TV in Arabic had a wonderful serial "The Big Restaurant."
One day they were shooting a film at the restaurant, which, in
addition to the crew, brought in a film critic.  The proprietor asked
the critic how did he write his reviews.  "It's like that," replied
the critic.  "I look at the audience.  If people are enjoying
themselves, have fun, sit in suspense, I write that the film was
lousy.  But if people fall asleep or leave in the middle, I write that
it was a great film."  "Really?" wondered the restaurateur.  "Why is
that?"  "Because," replied the critic, "had I done otherwise, I'd have
been considered unprofessional."

It apparently woeks for all areas of art.  I have a degree in English
literature, and have studied modern American poetry.  Yet I did not
even hear of perhaps the most popular American poet, Robert Service,
until a frien brought him to may attention.  A wonderful poet,
Service.  Could he have fallen victim to the same treatment?
Cheers

On 17 February 2011 04:00, Stephen G Barbone
<barbonestreet at earthlink.net> wrote:
>> Marek Boym <marekboym at gmail.com> wrote
>>
>> Hello Ken,
>> Many critics have put the JATP sessions down as "rabble rousers."
>> Some of my friends (older than I) still say they don't like the mess
>> and the artificial excitement.  But then, that's what critics said
>> about Paul Gonsalves' solo on Diminuendo and Crescendo at the
>> 1956Newport Jazz Festival.
>> I just love the JATP, which also shows how compatible musicians from
>> the various camps (swing and bop) were.
>
> Dear Marek:
>
> Those critics who panned Diminuendo & Crescendo in Blue and the Gonsalves
> solo  at the 1956 Newport Jazz Festival are an excellent example of why we
> shouldn't take critics seriously. It was an excellent performance, ignited
> the audience and that single song event re-started Duke Ellington's career,
> which before his appearance at Newport, had fallen upon lean times. His new
> found popularity enabled him to keep that band going anad drawing audiences
> while most all the other big bands folded for lack of interest.
>
> And JATP with Norman Granz promoting it, was extraordinarily popular with
> jazz fans all over the world. Yet critics pan it?  As Ken and others who saw
> some of those shows will probably agree, that JATP excitement wasn't
> artificial. It was very real. And Granz was idolized by most of the
> musicians who toured with him. I  wish we had a man like Granz promoting
> jazz today.
>
> My own theory about why some critics and some fans panned the above music
> examples is because they became enormously popular with most jazz fans. That
> is the kiss of death as far as the "art" music elite are concerned.
>
> What? It's popular. OMG, if the great unwashed like it, then it must suck. I
> will pan it. And so we get negative opinions about our work by people who,
> for the most part, haven't the slightest idea of what we are doing.
>
> It is ironic that folks say why don't more people appreciate this music, and
> then say as soon as it gets popular, that it  it sucks. That kind of
> thinking happened to Oscar Peterson, Dave Brubeck, Errol Garner and
> countless others.
>
> Same in the visual arts world, eg Andrew Wyeth who lived nearby in Chadds
> Ford. Enormously popular, fine painter, yet many "Art" elites and critics
> looked down on him because of his appeal to, ugh, common people and the fact
> that many of his exhibitions in museums around the country set attendance
> records..
>
> Cheers,
> Steve Barbone
>
>
>
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