Gary and JABB...saving the lost art!

[Brian2112]

Forgive me if there are a few holes in my history here:o :

A musician’s union strike effectively killed off jazz as the mainstream music in the early/mid 20th century. There have been a lot of great jazz legends since then, and a lot of young kids sure have good chops, but jazz is/has been a dying art.

I saw the thread recently to describe what “jazz” actually means. I would define it this way:



Suck up all the pain and suffering in this world (slavery, oppression, poverty) and then blow it through your horn. What comes out the other end is Freedom!



Gary, thank you for making history. I believe that JABB will resurrect this lost art and history will record that it was preserved, in spite of the tragic destruction of its birthplace.



…2112

[Garritan]

I saw the thread recently to describe what “jazz” actually means. I would define it this way:

Suck up all the pain and suffering in this world (slavery, oppression, poverty) and then blow it through your horn. What comes out the other end is Freedom!


Brian, that's the best definiition I've heard to date. May I quote you?
Thanks,

Gary

[Brian2112]

Brian, that's the best definiition I've heard to date. May I quote you?
Thanks,

Gary
You bet you can!:D

Saving those nickles and dimes...can't wait!:D

[thesoundsmith]

[QUOTE]A musician’s union strike effectively killed off jazz as the mainstream music in the early/mid 20th century.[PHP]
:confused: I never heard anything like that. What are you referencing? (I was going to say 'what are you talking about' but it sounded confrontational. It's just a question.) What ARE you talking about? Who struck where, when and why?

I thought Bill Haley and Elvis killed jazz as mainstream music, unless it was Patty Page and Perry Como before them...

[Brian2112]

[QUOTE]A musician’s union strike effectively killed off jazz as the mainstream music in the early/mid 20th century.[PHP]
:confused: I never heard anything like that. What are you referencing? (I was going to say 'what are you talking about' but it sounded confrontational. It's just a question.) What ARE you talking about? Who struck where, when and why?

I thought Bill Haley and Elvis killed jazz as mainstream music, unless it was Patty Page and Perry Como before them...

Oh you are absolutely right. Those were probably the main causes. But the strike was a major contributing factor as I recall - I could very well be wrong about that.

...2112:o

[SeanHannifin]

I think it would be nice if ragtime would make a come back . . . :D

Seriously, though, that is a great quote, and I agree that JABB will help some of us youths who don't know much about Jazz learn more about it. It won't die soon. :)

[fgrittner]

The history you refer to is the American Federation of Music strike during World War II. It prevented the recording of popular music with instrumentation and live music on the radio. The union tried to preserve jobs in radio pit bands and such. It also fought jukeboxes, Muzak, etc.--anything that took work away from musicians. The union negotiated the creation of a fund that still exists today to pay for summer concerts and educational programs in the U.S.

I don't think the strike really had anything to do with the demise of jazz; maybe big band was hurt a bit but it was dying of its own accord by the late 1940s. Then Charlie Parker came along. Nice theory though.

Fred Grittner

[rwayland]

The history you refer to is the American Federation of Music strike during World War II. It prevented the recording of popular music with instrumentation and live music on the radio. The union tried to preserve jobs in radio pit bands and such. It also fought jukeboxes, Muzak, etc.--anything that took work away from musicians. The union negotiated the creation of a fund that still exists today to pay for summer concerts and educational programs in the U.S.

I don't think the strike really had anything to do with the demise of jazz; maybe big band was hurt a bit but it was dying of its own accord by the late 1940s. Then Charlie Parker came along. Nice theory though.

Fred Grittner

I remember the strike, and some of the singers sang without the band. But jazz/big band continued strongly for some time after that. Schearing and Brubek were two big names that I remember hearing at least until 1955, when I left San Francisco for a few years on Oahu. I heard plenty of jazz at the old Blackhawk in San Francisco, and nobody there seemed to think of it as a dying form.

Richard

[tradivoro]

Hey, that's a great quote... But I think that the demise of jazz was more due to the British invasion in 60s, starting with the Beatles.... I remember Dave brubeck, Miles Davis, Oliver Nelson and others being real popular in early 60s with college students... But after the british invasion (1964), jazz kind of went by the wayside... Even established legit singers that leaned towards jazz had a hard time getting gigs in the late 60s, early 70s... I'm talking about like Edie Gorme, Mel Torme, Tony Bennet... Then it had a re-surgence in the 70s with fusion, thanks to the likes of Herbie Hancock and Chick Corea... anyway, I'm sure others have their take on it too... :)

[Styxx]

Just because Jazz isn't in the top 40 mainstream doesn't mean it is a lost art. It's here, it always was and will be. :p

[Richard N.]

Isn't the majority of the Top 40 mainstream derivative of Jazz & Blues anyway?

I love it when my daughter, who "hates jazz", hears some contemporary chart music and loves it without realising where the roots of the funky bass lines and improvised vocal lines come from.

[Karl Garrett]

Just because Jazz isn't in the top 40 mainstream doesn't mean it is a lost art. It's here, it always was and will be. :p

So many jazz legends seem to lend their talents to other styles of music, probably for the money as much as anything else, that the influence of jazz will shape all forms of music for a long, long time. It is a pity, however that hardcore jazz seems to be disappearing into the same sinkhole of popular neglect as classical music.

And, by the way, is “smooth jazz“ really jazz? hehe

Karl

[snorlax]

The culprit(?--opinions are mixed) in the TWO recording bans by the AF of M was James Caesar Petrillo (Petrillo Bandshell in NYC, etc). The worst consequence of the bans was that a lot of the development of bebop was not documented or extremely poorly documented (Benedetti tapes of Parker, etc).

That's why bop came as such a shock to the average non-New Yorker or non-Los Angeleno--there was little if any "transition" from swing to bop for them, since they relied primarily on recordings rather than live performances. Such "transitional" music was freely available live in NY and (to a lesser extent) LA.

OTHER FACTORS OF INTEREST:
1. Expenses of keeping big bands afloat--salaries and transport
2. Movemant of Jazz AWAY from dancing music focused on the audience TOWARD art music focusing on the performers and a select few (see above) who could understand it.

[Styxx]

"Indiana Gary and The Lost Art".
Ready? Everybody sing! :D

[atonal]

[QUOTE=Brian2112]Forgive me if there are a few holes in my history here:o :

A musician’s union strike effectively killed off jazz as the mainstream music in the early/mid 20th century. There have been a lot of great jazz legends since then, and a lot of young kids sure have good chops, but jazz is/has been a dying art.

I saw the thread recently to describe what “jazz” actually means. I would define it this way:



Suck up all the pain and suffering in this world (slavery, oppression, poverty) and then blow it through your horn. What comes out the other end is Freedom!


I'm not entirely sure this is as relevant in today's world as it may once have been. Neither of these have ever occured to me when I was playing a Jazz gig. ( but then again, I'm not a legend ).

Gary's JABB library will certainly stand as a significant benchmark for all of the other vendors ( s/w followers ) .

-- atonal

[cptexas]

Suck up all the pain and suffering in this world (slavery, oppression, poverty) and then blow it through your horn. What comes out the other end is Freedom![/font]
I haven't read the whole thread yet, been busy lately with school and haven't been able to go foruming as much as I'd like to.

ANYWAY,

That was BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!!!!!!
I mean...it was GREAT!!!!!!!!!

Too bad I can't play jazz bassoon... :p

That's all,
-Chris

[thesoundsmith]

I heard plenty of jazz at the old Blackhawk in San Francisco, and nobody there seemed to think of it as a dying form. The 'Play Misty For Me' radio station KRML has revived Blackhawk records and are bringing in jazz artists to the station for live concerts, which they tape and will be releasing on the Blackhawk label.

I've been hearing about the demise of jazz since before I began playing it 40 years ago. What dies is the particular record company, or venue, or artist, or style, or audience. But the art is alive and well, and there are some young lions out there that will scare you to death! :D