Klarinet Archive - Posting 000397.txt from 2003/03

From: Gil Guerrero <gilster@-----.com>
Subj: [kl] RE: Jazz and Age
Date: Sun, 9 Mar 2003 12:21:58 -0500

OK, I know it's not clarinet, but it is music discussion...

I think that the lack of exposure to the music at a young age is a
major contributor to the lack of "young" ones at jazz shows.
Certainly, the music industry has turned its back on the development
of new talent, unless they smell million-seller package (ala Norah
Jones.) Even Norah says that she doesn't play jazz.

Many of us "older" people (myself 40) were exposed to it by parents
who had come up on this music as the "alternative" and/or popular
sound for young people of their time. My Mom is a big fan of New
Orleans traditional and revival jazz, so I got exposed to Louis
Armstrong, Pete Fountain, Al Hirt at a young age. Later in my teens,
as my tastes grew beyond the majority of simple rock-n-roll pablum, I
returned to listening to all styles of jazz.

With jazz stations unavailable to so many listeners, and the record
labels not interested in developing or supporting the existing
talent, it's not surprising that there is so little interest. Even
Wynton Marsalis doesn't have a recording contract, and the current
Atlantic Monthly has a very good article about Wynton and the "death"
of jazz.

An anecdote about the age issue: at the youthful age of 37 I attended
a Pete Fountain show with my new wife on our honeymoon in New
Orleans. When we came out of the show and I was standing outside of
the restrooms waiting for my wife, a fiftyish looking gentleman came
up to me and said "I'm so glad you're here! I hate being the youngest
one at these shows!"

I hope that perhaps the aging of the population (and the possibility
that tastes will mature to this more "difficult" listening) coupled
with the access to internet radio stations and satellite radio, will
perhaps shift the tide a bit. I also think embracing some of the
Europeans who are working in the genre would help people find "new"
jazz that is interesting and compelling. I'm particularly taken by a
newish group called EST (for Esbjorn Svensson Trio.)

Best to all on the list.
--
Gil Guerrero
gilster@-----.com

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