TheBig3

/rant

Seems to be fading? Used to be popular? Enlighten me, why are jazz composers so brilliant? Could they compose an argument with a vocabulary larger than the average American second grade student?

Out of the three of us, I'm apparently the only one who's looking. I don't see any issue with the current state of jazz. And furthermore I don't see any issues you've raised except for these two minor ones:

1. Jazz doesn't get played on Casey's top 40 any longer and kids don't troll the mall skatting.

2. That you needed to flex the minor amount of jazz knowledge you had and decided to come flex it over this pressing issue.

I know of at least 7 places in this city where I can see a jazz band play. I heard new jazz stuff on a fairly regular basis not only from bands who are stand alone, but in the influences of countless bands that come cropping up all over. And everyone knows that should jazz have a massive overnight revival, there would a whole new argument about how it isn't real jazz; or pure jazz; or how all these kids that like [the green day of jazz] don't know what jazz is or anything about real jazz.

Maybe I'm being a little over aggressive here, but I can't honestly believe that anyone who listens to jazz has a problem getting jazz music. They have three major festivals in North America that I can think of off the top of my head and I'm sure theres countless more. There is probably about 42 jazz bands playing every day in New Orleans.

What i think is that people who aren't jazz fans or rather who don't actively seek it out would like it brought to your door step. Well normally I'd tell you tough luck, but if you're reading this, you've found MusicBanter where all you have to do is hang on for the ride and someone will do all the work for you.

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Exodizer

Your explaining my point perfectly, thank you. Yes their are 42 (or when I was there alot more) bands playing at New Orleans. But to find great Jazz bands nowadays you have to be in New Orleans. You say can the compose an argument with a vocabulary above a second grader? You do realize that in Music Theory you study two types of music (actually five or six depending on whether you took some class about Josquin). Jazz and Classical (Baroque, Classical, Romantic and Neoclassical). Why do you think Jazz is in there? Because it's old Music? Of course not it's because the greatest people at rhythm who have ever lived were Jazz composer. They used Synocopation (empasizing notes that are not on the beat) to create Dissoance. It's not easy to do and thats completely apart from the many Jazz composers brilliant chord progressions (I think John Coltrane was the best at this). 3 major festivals (and at the New Orleans festival only one tent acutally has Jazz)!? Do you know how many classical festivals there are? No it's damn hard to count. There was an age when Jazz was much bigger than classical. I have no problem getting Jazz off itunes of other sources of questionable legality. I'm saying that they didn't have Take Five by Dave Brubeck one of the all time greatest selling Jazz albums. That's infuriating. Seriously that would be like not having a single recording of Beethoven's Ninth. It just shouldn't happen.

Dr_Rez

Agin completely wrong. I live in Pittsburgh and there was just one here recently. It was very good. Also there was one in Liverpool Ohio? i dont remeber town exactly, about 2 months ago. Also if you v ever been to NYC/Chicago theres TONS of great jazz clubs concerts and such.

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TheBig3

Ok I'm not sure what point of yours I've proved, I said the current state of Jazz music is fine, you said it was in decline.

I said I can find new jazz constantly, you said you can't find a CD at a store (you're problem there might be the store by the way.) Not that it should matter, I went to our local indie chain and couldn't get Levon Helm's new CD. It happened to be sold out but there created iTunes for a reason. Burn the damn thing.

Why should they have Take 5? Or any Alfred Brendel covering Beethoven? Stores are businesses. They don't stock their shelves with elitist philosophy and stand on principle, their children need to eat. If its a chain, they need to keep sales moving.

Theres not going to be a music chain store that is the aural equivalent of McDonalds. For anything worth while, you have to work for it. For better quality you have to pay a little more. This is the way of the world.

And the vocabulary comment wasn't aimed a jazz composers it was aimed at you. Jumping the gun their sally. I took roughly 7 years of composition theory, I played piano for 5 and I graduated college with 2 degrees in arrogant elitism (eng, polisci). If its an elitist-off that you want, you can have it, but coming at me with a text book knowledge and zero real world application isn't going to get you anywhere.

And by the way, I'd put money on half of Brubeck's sales being from music teachers getting something to teach people about alternative time signatures, and the other half because when it came out it was the poppiest **** going. If you're going to complain make it about someone worth a damn like Art Tatum.

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