Jazz: Why Do We Need It?
Many musicians and fans have recently read and commented on the Wall Street Journal article by music critic Terry Teachout, "Can Jazz Be Saved?" The article talks about how attendance at jazz events has dropped since a survey in 1987 and that the audience is getting older. It goes on to say that even the older people are not showing up as much. Apparently, jazz is now considered a high art form, and, like classical music, the average person has trouble understanding it. You can't see it on TV, it doesn't sell, young people can't relate to it, and jazz musicians are snobs. Why do we even need jazz now? How does it fit into today's zippy electronic, information age? Shouldn't jazz just go away and die peacefully in the desert or the snow someplace, or be put in mothballs in some catacomb?
It's interesting to note that around 1975, when I started my career as a jazz drummer, there was much in the media then asking "is jazz dead?" That's almost 35 years ago, folks. There's probably more straight ahead jazz around now than there was then, in a way. Kids my age thought I was crazy to be into jazz then, much less wanting to be a jazz musician. Rock and roll was raging, Woodstock had started the rock festival trend, and there was some really good R & B happening, too. And don't forget disco! Why would a teenager go after jazz at that time? I'll tell you: passion.
That's it. People who like jazz feel the depth and soul and intelligence that jazz music expresses. It's the real deal. It's not supposed to be sliced up into little palatable bites by mass marketing geniuses who assume that all Americans are mindless cattle that will consume whatever is shoved in their face the hardest.
Jazz is our original American culture. The standards and jazz tunes that we play are our contribution to musical history. The great jazz musicians are American folk heroes. The whole expression of freedom with responsibility that is jazz improvisation mirrors the ethos of the best parts of this country. Jazz is not going away.
Last night I worked a gig with a great band: Scott Whitfield, Pete Christleib, Chuck Berghofer, and Andy Langham. The group had not played together before. Sometimes fans wonder how musicians can do this without rehearsal. Jazz musicians are supposed to know a lexicon of standards, jazz tunes, and their commonly played arrangements. That's what we drew from. We played hard and did our best to make it all come together. The audience was into it. When I came home I felt great. With the uncertain economy and change in the air, sometimes you need a boost to remember why we love this music so much. I remembered.
It's a spiritual satisfaction that one gets from listening to and playing good jazz. There's a depth of feeling that comes from experiencing something that is sincere; an expression of tradition brought into the present; a striving for excellence. It's called culture and we need it. Some people haven't felt anything with that kind of passion and joy for so long that they may not recognize it right away. But "it" is there in jazz. If people are exposed to good jazz, they'll respond, whatever their age or background. And it's not the painful, esoteric austerity that some think. Jazz is fun; it's funky, soulful, swinging, and intellectual, too.
Listening to jazz and playing jazz will help you find out more about yourself. If you can handle that, you'll have a ball!
'Til next time?
Paul
