Correspondence

Correspondence was once a regular part of JAM , and we have missed it since it disappeared. The following letter will hopefully start a new flow. Please send yours to jameditor@kcjazzambassadors.com , and please put Correspondence in the subject line. We reserve the right to reject specific letters for publication.

Stanton --
I've read your excellent article, "Grace Under Fire," in the February/March JAM. Had not my immediate successor retired the "Correspondence" column, I'd be inspired to contribute for the first time since riding off into the sunset.

No doubt, as JAM editor for nine years, I wasted plenty of pricey paper on this worthy cause. It changed nothing. And despite the noble efforts of good writers like yourself, I expect things to remain the same. New standards of idiocy and all-around boorish behavior have become increasingly acceptable in society, and that tends to put we jazz musicians -- today's cultural canaries in the coal mines -- on the front lines.

During my JAM days, when rubbing both hands together and composing yet more deathless prose about noisy KC clubs, I did have to remind myself of some long nights ten years earlier in Boston, a cultural Mecca in many ways. Throughout the '80s I had the privilege of playing weekly in one of the city's best rooms (Ryles in Cambridge), and even 20 years later the guys in that band will tell you about the time I lost it in the middle of a ballad. A table of drunken "screamers" -- yes, directly in front of the stage -- finally got to me, and it was the closest I've been to fisticuffs since the first grade.

Then there was the memorable night -- while Pat was sitting in, no less -- as we were playing "Old Folks." (When will I ever learn not to attempt a ballad?) The crowd noise was so loud we could barely hear each other onstage and it was Pat who finally snapped, yelling over the din: "Shut the (bleep) up! This is a great tune!" Nobody noticed, and not a single head turned when a Grammy winner went off on the offenders. Again, this was Boston. The "big leagues." (Note: I also remember more than one veteran musician reminding me that playing lots of local gigs comes with a downside. People can hear you any time thus reducing the frequency of fan base support as well as cover charges, a natural noise deterrent. "If you want listening crowds," I was told, "you have to stay on the road.")

That said, we may like to think of ourselves as Artists and all that wishful, uptopian stuff, but far too many local jazz club patrons will always see us as nothing more than minstrels (as they chase away the aficionados who get it). And while you rightfully remind the customer of his or her "power" to make a difference, these days speaking up (no pun) is a good way to get punched... probably by someone who actually likes "NASCAR and chicken fights."

Nevertheless, well done, my friend. Please keep the good commentaries coming. Who knows, maybe someday the price of paper will go down, people will stop their conversations long enough to listen to you or me play a pretty ballad... and monkeys will fly from the butts of high school cheerleaders.

Best,

Mike Metheny

Note: Mike was JAM Editor from 1994-2003, and as he suggests he may have touched on this subject a few times during his tenure.