Jazztruth mentioned again on NPR website

Rant! Rant! Rant!

It has been brought to my attention that Patrick Jarenwattananon's "A Blog Supreme" has referred to jazztruth once again. Any press is good press at this stage, so I'm happy to receive it. It's an interesting article in which Jarenwattananon gives voice to a disgruntled reader named Albert Reingewirtz, who had made comments about how Esperanza Spalding is not a jazz musician and so forth. Reingewirtz rants on about how "Jazz musicians have been given the short end of the stick for decades even though they have dedicated all of their being and their talent to preserve our national heritage-this uniquely American art form called jazz." 


Here is the link so you can see all the mishagos for yourself:
http://www.npr.org/blogs/ablogsupreme/2010/08/23/129385527/-you-would-not-call-a-ditch-the-grand-canyon-a-letter-to-the-editor#more


Now, I'm going to refrain  from taking sides at the moment, except that  I do want to thank Jarenwattananon for mentioning me again! However, I am planning a future post in which I aim to end some of these bottomless controversies, such as "Who invented Jazz?" or  "Is Jazz Black Music?"or "Does it have to swing to be jazz?" or maybe even "Does your chewing gum lose it's flavor on the bedpost overnight?" Well, maybe not the last one. (I don't even know where that comes from, it's just part of a joke my father used to tell.)

"Louis Armstrong invented jazz!"
"No, I invented it, jerkface!"

And I'm positive that my effort to end the argument definitively will just keep the argument going even longer. (Those of you who are married might know what I'm talking about.) I insist that the way to shift the current tide to favor jazz and live music is to work together and create positive energy against the powers-that-be. Squabbling within the ranks will accomplish nothing except making musicians and fans mad for no reason, and alienating potential fans.

Everyone seems to be mad about something these days. And jazz musicians and fans are no different. The industry sucks more than ever. It's too easy to fall into the trap of hating on people like Esperanza Spalding. (I played the Newport Jazz Festival last year in a trio of Christian McBride's featuring Billy Hart on drums. Now, think about not only all the recordings McBride is on, but then consider all of the stuff BILLY HART has done in his career. And we were on the small stage. Guess who was on the BIG stage.... her name rhymes with "Thesperanza Balding"....) Regardless of what you think of her music or her occasionally sort-of- annoying-lyrics (if you watch the included video on A Blog Supreme, you'll hear them), Spalding being airlifted into stardom as a hot female bassist-singer is a total no-brainer. And I'll admit, I enjoyed her performance at Newport. 

The Legendary Billy Hart

If you've seen some of my facebook posts in the past, you know I've fallen for the temptation to hate on fellow musicians. I'm not promising that I'll never be negative ever again in life, but I would like to resist the urge to be antagonistic. And I understand why I and others get this way: it's a natural tendency, it's a survival instinct. There would be much less envy if the scene was bubbling over with work and opportunities. But since everyone is fighting over crumbs, the talons emerge and infighting occurs. You've heard the joke:"How many tenor saxophonists does it take to change a lightbulb? Just one-and 45 more to stand around and snipe 'How did He get that gig?' "!

Charlie Parker, who never recorded for a
major label, and Miles Davis

Anyway, stay tuned for more compelling content on jazztruth. I maintain that I want to keep it on the positive tip. I'm trying to fight back by giving space to musicians and music that is interesting for it's own merits, not because of hype. So don't believe the hype, believe the music.