JAM: June/July 2002 Issue: Coda

MORE THOUGHTS FOR A NEW MILLENNIUM

"Some things, of course, are universal. Afghans, like Americans, will take a look at 'Jack-ass' and marvel at our apparently limitless capacity for stupidity." -- Diane Holloway, in her essay "Will Watching More American TV Change How Afghans Think of Us?" December 2001

"H.L. Mencken once said, 'Nobody ever went broke underestimating the taste of the American public.' ...I have a better one. No matter how carefully and assiduously and how deeply you bury shit, the American public will find it and buy it in large quantity." -- Artie Shaw in JazzTimes, May 2002

"Not one individual artist totally represents jazz. We're merely individual strands in its fabric. A bit more money than normal, a bit more hype from the talent merchants and a bit more arrogance from our new kid, and problems develop. -- Benny Golson in Down Beat, March 2002

"(Wynton) Marsalis, who is ubiquitous in the (Ken Burns "Jazz") series, sometimes illustrates a point by playing his trumpet. He can, it is said, like Clark Terry and the late Harry Carney, do the trick of rotary breathing, which permits one to inhale through the nose while maintaining pressure in the embouchure with the air in the mouth and thus sustaining the melodic line without a break. Marsalis seems to have gone further: he has mastered the trick of rotary speech, making the same points over and over in long, tortured, tautological and often nonsensical maunderings delivered in your face with a rebarbative condescension, his expression fixed in a perpetual slight snicker, his head shaking in almost orgasmic tremors of self-love.

...Marsalis' defenders often say that he is good at teaching children. Teaching them what? His own blinkered view of jazz history? Or his mangled grammar? He referred to someone as "de most wisest sage." Is that as opposed to de most stupidest sage? How is it that his brother Branford, far the better musician, doesn't talk that way?" -- Gene Lees, from his Jazz Letter, March 2001

"He immediately began his trademark New Age noodling, sometimes holding a single note for about two minutes. This drove the men in the crowd completely nuts -- because men are impressed by other men who can sustain anything for more than sixty seconds." -- from Joe Queenan's book Red Lobster, White Trash, and the Blue Lagoon, 1998; the subject: a Kenny G concert.

"Of course, the music is a great difficulty. You see, if one plays good music, people don't listen, and if one plays bad music, people don't talk." -- Oscar Wilde

"There are two golden rules for an orchestra: start together and finish together. The public doesn't give a damn what goes on in between." -- Sir Thomas Beecham

"Flint must be an extremely wealthy town; I see that each of you bought two or three seats." -- Victor Borge, playing to a half-filled house in Flint, Michigan.

"Just about any animal skin can be stretched over a frame to make a pleasant sound once the animal is removed." -- Anonymous

"There is nothing more difficult than talking about music." -- Camille Saint-Saëns

"Talking about music is like dancing about architecture." -- Martin Mull

"As a young man I knew too much. Now I know so little. And I'm knowing less all the time." -- Charles Lloyd

"I would advise you to keep your overhead down, avoid a major drug habit, play everyday, and take it in front of other people. They need to hear it, and you need them to hear it. -- James Taylor

"I think my fans will follow me into our combined old age. Real musicians and real fans stay together for a long, long time." -- Bonnie Raitt

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© Kansas City Jazz Ambassadors 1996-2002. All rights reserved.






	Search our site:		MORE THOUGHTS FOR A NEW MILLENNIUM "Some things, of course, are universal. Afghans, like Americans, will take a look at 'Jack-ass' and marvel at our apparently limitless capacity for stupidity." -- Diane Holloway, in her essay "Will Watching More American TV Change How Afghans Think of Us?" December 2001 "H.L. Mencken once said, 'Nobody ever went broke underestimating the taste of the American public.' ...I have a better one. No matter how carefully and assiduously and how deeply you bury shit, the American public will find it and buy it in large quantity." -- Artie Shaw in JazzTimes, May 2002 "Not one individual artist totally represents jazz. We're merely individual strands in its fabric. A bit more money than normal, a bit more hype from the talent merchants and a bit more arrogance from our new kid, and problems develop. -- Benny Golson in Down Beat, March 2002 "(Wynton) Marsalis, who is ubiquitous in the (Ken Burns "Jazz") series, sometimes illustrates a point by playing his trumpet. He can, it is said, like Clark Terry and the late Harry Carney, do the trick of rotary breathing, which permits one to inhale through the nose while maintaining pressure in the embouchure with the air in the mouth and thus sustaining the melodic line without a break. Marsalis seems to have gone further: he has mastered the trick of rotary speech, making the same points over and over in long, tortured, tautological and often nonsensical maunderings delivered in your face with a rebarbative condescension, his expression fixed in a perpetual slight snicker, his head shaking in almost orgasmic tremors of self-love. ...Marsalis' defenders often say that he is good at teaching children. Teaching them what? His own blinkered view of jazz history? Or his mangled grammar? He referred to someone as "de most wisest sage." Is that as opposed to de most stupidest sage? How is it that his brother Branford, far the better musician, doesn't talk that way?" -- Gene Lees, from his Jazz Letter, March 2001 "He immediately began his trademark New Age noodling, sometimes holding a single note for about two minutes. This drove the men in the crowd completely nuts -- because men are impressed by other men who can sustain anything for more than sixty seconds." -- from Joe Queenan's book Red Lobster, White Trash, and the Blue Lagoon, 1998; the subject: a Kenny G concert. "Of course, the music is a great difficulty. You see, if one plays good music, people don't listen, and if one plays bad music, people don't talk." -- Oscar Wilde "There are two golden rules for an orchestra: start together and finish together. The public doesn't give a damn what goes on in between." -- Sir Thomas Beecham "Flint must be an extremely wealthy town; I see that each of you bought two or three seats." -- Victor Borge, playing to a half-filled house in Flint, Michigan. "Just about any animal skin can be stretched over a frame to make a pleasant sound once the animal is removed." -- Anonymous "There is nothing more difficult than talking about music." -- Camille Saint-Saëns "Talking about music is like dancing about architecture." -- Martin Mull "As a young man I knew too much. Now I know so little. And I'm knowing less all the time." -- Charles Lloyd "I would advise you to keep your overhead down, avoid a major drug habit, play everyday, and take it in front of other people. They need to hear it, and you need them to hear it. -- James Taylor "I think my fans will follow me into our combined old age. Real musicians and real fans stay together for a long, long time." -- Bonnie Raitt RETURN TO JUNE/JULY 2002 MAIN INDEX © Kansas City Jazz Ambassadors 1996-2002. All rights reserved.