Blogcritics: Comments on Blue's jazz doesn't go far enough

Comment by Mark Saleski

Thu, 14 Aug 2003 23:28:25 EDT

oh fer chisakes...words cannot express lameness of tossing out and entire fricken' genre of music...but i can see we're both wasting our time with this. and by the way, Bucky Pizzarelli is a great artist. John Pizzarelli is a talented hack who shills for foxwoods.

Comment by Howard Owens

Thu, 14 Aug 2003 22:37:19 EDT

Ah, the good ol', tried and true Straw Man of the open-mind/closed mind dichotomy. Well worn, but always useful for a run around the block. Who has the closed mind -- the person who says the emporer has no clothes, or the person who worships the false god of different for difference sake?

Comment by Mark Saleski

Thu, 14 Aug 2003 21:12:55 EDT

yow! that slamming sound you all just heard was a mind closing. off to the audiologist.

Comment by Howard Owens

Tue, 12 Aug 2003 22:03:17 EDT

So I go to Amazon and paste in "Aum Fidelity" so I can check out a few tracks. I listen to samples from several different artists. What a bunch of crap. This isn't jazz. It's five-year-old boys turned lose with synths, cymbals while their older sisters pluck a few guitar strings or pretend to play the violin. GONG! If you want some jazz, go invest in some Count Basie or Duke Ellington or John Pizzarelli or any number of other great, true artists. Don't try to peddle these self-indulgent, post modern (I realize self-indulgent and post modern in the same sentence is redundant) noodlings as music.

Comment by Mark Saleski

Tue, 12 Aug 2003 11:23:29 EDT

"Americans haven't made jazz with this much gusto for at least four or five decades" not true. there is tons of great, hard-hitting, improvisational music being made all the time. it's just way below most people's radar....either that or it's "too difficult" for most people's tastes. check out stuff on Aum Fidelity, CIMP, Winter & Winter. it's out there.

Comment by Mac Diva

Tue, 12 Aug 2003 09:13:05 EDT

Harold, the issue you are confronting, the impact of smooth jazz, is influencing jazz fans all over. Out here in the PNW, the major jazz festival, the Mt. Hood Festival of Jazz, has fallen on hard times. Jazz purists were withdrawing their support, so the enabling body decided to reduce the size of the festival and return to its roots. This year's attendance was down to 2,000 from 10,000 to 12,000 previously. The dilemma is smooth jazz draws the crowds, but alienates the deep pockets. (Sort of like a hip hop audience showing up at the symphony.) In a way, it is an 'high' art versus 'low' art issue. I haven't gotten around to writing a blog essay about this. Perhaps you, or Natalie, who I'm sure is knowledgeable about the topic, would like to tackle it. I haven't banned smooth jazz from my collection. I find it good background music when I am deep into serious writing. However, my preference is for more complex jazz and blues.