revenge of the nerds

Stan's newest work, he assures me that's a working title

Finally the summer has started and the group is really exciting. Once again this is the largest group we've had and it's looking like we'll easily have most new music than we've ever had.

 

Gerald, TJ, Jeff

Russell used the Secret to get this horn

I also wanted to link to the fun "Jazz Nerd International" controversy. In short, it's a Marsalis complaining about young musicians. Of course complaining about younger musicians is a time honored tradition among jazz circles so that's nothing groundbreaking, what IS fun is the use of labeling to marginalize other musicians.   

By and large I think Jason makes some really valid points and some accurate descriptions about new jazz. Although I think he's a bit too dismissive of young musicians. He references the success of the Young Lions in developing an audience and they certainly did. But they did so by selling the narrative: the sons of jazz musicians reject corruption and remain sacred keepers of the jazz flame. Wynton routinely goes on about how so many of the players in the Lincoln Center band have parents who played and that's great. But, it seems like if you don't have any sort of historical jazz pedigree and learned to play in school, it's a lot harder to believe and sell that narrative. It not like the so called jazz nerds didn't come by their nerdiness honestly. They just aren't as emotionally invested in Dexter Gordon as they are Chris Potter. And no matter how much to tell them to, you can't make someone love something, and you've really got to love something to put in the time to learn it. Why is it ok to play "26-2" but nerdy for the Steve Lehman group to do what they do? The blues, tin pan alley songs, swing rhythms, and Louis Armstrong simply don't mean to young people what you may think they should and assigning it as homework won't fix that.

My point is that younger musicians aren't playing the way they do as a rejection of history. They're just following their interests as best they know how. Sorry if you don't like it.

Comments

[Russell Thorpe]

and how.. like I said to Happy a couple of weeks ago. We didn't grow up listening to it, so we're not invested. I mean.. my cd player had as much Metallica and the Police in it as you could imagine. The fact that my Miles collection is only a scant 50 albums shows you that I didn't start listening to him until I was educated enough to get what he means. We write the music we are supposed to be writing. Unjazz or Nonjazz or shit i like Cb's moniker.. NOW music.

[Wtfisjohnsopera.blogspot.com]

I think it's mighty dismissive to say that a great deal of young artists are taking into account music before 1990. Most of my jazz listening and training (once i started getting into jazz) really started with groups in the 50s and 60s. I cut my teeth transcribing solos by Miles and JJ, learned head charts aurally by Mingus, and generally loved a lot of the music. I never personally liked listening to a great deal of swing from the 20s and 30s, and never got into the ragtime improvs from the early 20th century. but to say that young musicians don't know them and respect them is, well...i think incorrect.

a great deal of us know it. But, as Russell brought up, we didn't grow up listening to it. My CD player was Metallica, Ozzy Osbourn, and, well, lots of other stuff. There was no jazz until HS, and then the jazz band wasn't so stellar. We didn't play many standards, except the "easy" arrangements. It wasn't till college, especially that first semester in big band, when Brent Wallarab had us learn Haitian Fight Song from the recording as a head chart, that i really got into jazz.

It's kinda odd to think us "JNA" (I am definitely JNA in my jazz writing, since it's as far out there as my 'classical' writing...which is pretty out there...) don't know the past, don't respect it, and don't use it. I bet if Jason Marsalis walked up to any of us and asked us to play, i dunno, Mood Indigo, we could probably do it, and nail a nice solo in whatever style he wants. Just because we don't like to do it doesn't mean we can't and don't respect it. Then again, i've actually viewed Wynton and Jason Marsalis as setting jazz back quite a bit, especially Wynton. He plays in a mall man...Branford, however, is pretty freaking slick. but that's just my opinion.

[Nursing tops]

this reminds me of my dad, he really loves to listen jazz music and that quite influence me too. LOL

[Gary Chambers]

"My point is that younger musicians aren't playing the way they do as a rejection of history. They're just following their interests as best they know how. Sorry if you don't like it."

"People try to put us d-down (Talkin' 'bout my generation)
Just because we g-g-get around (Talkin' 'bout my generation)
Things they do look awful c-c-cold (Talkin' 'bout my generation)
Yeah, I hope I die before I get old (Talkin' 'bout my generation)"

:D