Tuesday, January 25, 2011

It has caught my attention

It has caught my attention that many people in my generation believe that jazz is merely the dancing tunes used by "old people." I must fervently disagree. I recently wrote this response to one of Michael Steinman's blog posts:
Although I am relatively new to the world of jazz, as you say, a new jazz scholar, I do realize that jazz didn’t spring from the bell of Miles Davis, nor from John Coltrane’s saxophone. Rather, jazz sprang, by all technicalities from those of a darker race (I don’t want to say African American because that’s not always correct and I don’t want to say black because it just sounds a little harsh). Cultivating the gardens, at least in my generation, is much more difficult than it sounds… "Jazz is for old people," I can hear my friends say. I must disagree with my fellow teenagers. Jazz permeates everything we hear today, just as the mixture of the blues scale and the smallest bit of classical music permeates jazz. And though I realize that jazz didn’t just spring out of the most well-known jazz artists, it is difficult for my "pupils" to understand this crucial fact. Benny Goodman did not begin swing, he merely made it popular. Dixieland isn’t exclusive to Bob Crosby, nor is the dance tune only Glenn Miller’s. But once they get stuck on one way of thinking, good luck in changing their minds….
I have another thought to add to this: yes, jazz is even in Justin Bieber's squeaking. Listen to the chord progressions(if you don't know what this means, please go learn music theory) and the occasionally implied beat, even though this is hard to hear through the shrill soprano voice this boy seems to possess. And even with these similarities, those who are jazz drummers will be able to tell you, with a combination of annoyance and amusement, that everyone who doesn't use a jazz drumset probably has no idea how to tune a tom.

Friday, January 21, 2011

Benny Goodman

Everyone who ever enters this blog, whether they meant to or not, should know that I'm a Goodman FANATIC!!!!!!!! This man truly deserves all the attention he recieves. I was recently listening to his song POOR BUTTERFLY, a balanced combination of "classical" style music and the beauty of jazz. His clarinet soared through the string section with a lilt and a wave, creating the scene of a meadow of butterflies and flowers and a dancing girl. Though I wasn't alive at the time that any of my favorite artists were, their music brings me back, almost allowing me to reminisce about the past. My favorite saying is sighed as I hum the tune as best I can: "I was born in the wrong generation."
It's a simplistic thing to say, but it's also one of the most powerful motivators in this puny life. The remembrance of the original artists who formed the very base of the jazz today is my main mission. Many times, the only person that anyone in my generation has ever heard of is Frank Sinatra. This makes my heart fall. What happened to the world, to not even know the names of Les Brown or Glenn Miller? My fellow jazz aficionados: thank you. This is why I refer all who ever discover my blog to those from whom I am still learning: Michael Steinman, Michael McQuaid, and the man who calls himself Perfesser M. Figg.
I hope these men don't disapprove of my redirecting all web surfers to them.

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Subscription madness

I've recently subscribed to several blogs. All, of course, involve jazz in some way. Among those that I have signed up for are Aesthetic, Not Anesthetic, a witty blog which covers several genres of music and also takes sense to a new level. As a new jazz fanatic, this is a fantastic source for an intelligent being discussing music and its impacts. Please take a look!