Playing Jazz in a Rock/Hip-Hop World
"It's amazing to see very young students respond to Duke Ellington, Basie, Goodman -- even Charlie Parker. They feel the music and react positively right away."
Recently I've been riding my bike down to the Venice Beach area to get out and get some sun and exercise. Along with all the local characters, street performers, and beachgoers, one can't help but notice the background music that fills the air. It comes from the open air shops, from boom boxes, from skating guitar players with amps strapped to their bodies-it comes from everywhere. What else do you notice? No jazz!
You'll hear hip-hop, metal, reggae, alternative rock, electronica, and more… but no jazz. From a jazz musician's viewpoint (i.e., mine) the initial reaction can be, "Wow, this is the sound of today's common culture. The acoustic jazz music I play seems like it's from a bygone era here." I guess most people pick a sound track for their generation based on their own time frame and experience, not music that was created at some time before they became aware of the world around them. But you still hear a lot of vintage rock and R & B streaming out of the hip boutique storefronts in that gritty Venice zone. This is music that was around 40 years before many of the people on this boardwalk were. Is there anything new under the sun, or is it all just about recycling and reshaping the great pop music of the past? All this notwithstanding, I still ask, "Where's the jazz?"
Fast- forward two days later to a trip to LA's famed Farmer's Market and "The Grove" shopping center. After experiencing the funky sophistication and timeless nostalgic charm of the Farmer's Market, my wife and I ventured across the street to the state of the art mall, The Grove. With its circular layout, European style open air cafes, and trendy stores with hip, well moneyed customers, the Grove was a sharp contrast to the Venice experience. Of course there was piped in music there indoors and out. And what music did we hear in this upwardly mobile marketplace? Lo and behold, it was straight ahead acoustic jazz -- fairly generic jazz with stylistic, unrecognizable artists, but mainstream jazz nevertheless. "Hmm," I asked myself, "What have we here?" Do these people really listen to jazz at home or is this hip wallpaper music brought to them courtesy of some retail marketing analysis that determined the end result of the ambient sounds to be more money spent on goods and services?
After minimal research on the net, (research is not my forte) I read that retail marketers calculate sales results based on different styles and tempos of background music, lighting effects, and even aromas released in the stores. My theory was that up tempo swinging jazz, with its syncopation and more complex harmonies and melodic motion stimulated the shopper/listener to buy something more upscale. Said listener might even feel a temporary bump in their personal sophistication. These marketing studies also showed that music could make the customer temporarily forget their budget and get lost in the mood of the store and the merchandise. As a person who makes most of his living playing live jazz, what does this mean? It takes many years to learn to play an instrument proficiently. It takes even more years to develop an identifiable style. Does all this effort end up leaving the musician an impersonal pawn in the corporate game who's sounds make people feel more like buying candles, pottery, and designer jeans? Not the way I see it.
I still believe every musician should be given personal credit for their talent and hard work. Reasonable financial compensation would be nice, too. After learning that Miles Davis and his band earned about $60 apiece for their immortal recording, Kind of Blue, I accept that money isn't everything in jazz, but it sure is important to staying alive! Also, getting the sound of good jazz out there so young people can hear it is real important. I've been involved in the Jazz Coolcats program presented by the L.A. Jazz Society and the L.A.U.S.D. Started by Ann Patterson, the after school series presents jazz in a fun, accessible way to elementary school students. It's amazing to see very young students respond to Duke Ellington, Basie, Goodman -- even Charlie Parker. They feel the music and react positively right away. This shows that quality music can be appreciated on its own merit and not necessarily just within a cultural background or time frame. This is what happens when young people are given choices other than those offered by mainstream marketing. In Europe and Asia it has been evident that people appreciate many styles of music from jazz to rock to classical. It doesn't have to be just the music of your own generation.
It's my personal hope that people of all ages and walks of life are given a fair chance to listen to good jazz music by the masters and the practicing musicians of today and make their own evaluation. To those who have an aversion to jazz because of their unfamiliarity with it, please give another listen. You'll be glad you did!
