[NewMusic] What's New Article

[Tim DuRoche]

Sorry Bay Area, 
  I meant this for Raskin.

Tim DuRoche <timduroche at variousartists.org> wrote:
  BTW I enjoyed this. Willard used to live in Mpls. POW (piece of work). 

Remind me to ask you about Clark Coolidge. I love his stuff (inparticular the ROVA Improvisations). . .I've wanted to get him here for eons. 

Jon Raskin wrote:
Here is a link to Bill Shoemakers column where he interviews Larry Simpson,
Joe Morris, Willard Jenkins and Lewis Barnes. It mirrors much of the
discussion on the list.

http://www.pointofdeparture.org/PoD11/PoD11WhatsNew.html

1st Question:
What's New? 
The PoD Roundtable 
moderated by Bill Shoemaker
What's New? is an email roundtable that draws together persons of diverse
backgrounds to discuss the issues shaping jazz and constituent experimental
musics in the early 21st Century.
The panelists for this roundtable include:
Lewis Barnes, a trumpeter best known for his work with William Parker,
Burnt Sugar and other New York-based ensembles.
Willard Jenkins, a producer, journalist, broadcaster, and principal of Open
Sky Jazz, a jazz services company located on the Web at: www.openskyjazz.com
Joe Morris, a guitarist who teaches at New England Conservatory and The
Longy School of Music, and administers Riti, a CD label located on the Web
at: www.joe-morris.com
Larry Simpson, the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs at Berklee
College of Music. 
****
Bill Shoemaker: Granted, there is an enormous amount of good work being done
in the education community, the arts funding community, and all of the other
communities that contribute to jazz maintaining something of a unique
cultural status in the US. I don't think it's too much of an
oversimplification to say that there are two prevailing evaluations of these
activities: one is that the proverbial glass is part empty, and the other is
that it is part full. We may have differing ideas as to the percentages.
Certainly, in each of these various endeavors, there are existing conditions
that pose challenges, finite resources to achieve goals, and institutions
whose shifting priorities and Byzantine requirements can hinder long-range
planning and necessary on-the-ground tactical decisions. From your
respective vantages, how do assess the relative fullness or emptiness of the
glass?
Willard Jenkins: I've always maintained a glass half-full perspective on
this music, preferring not to wallow in the "oh jazz, po' jazz..." muck.
Anything less is counterproductive to the work of many of us who work hard
on the support side of this music. That said I am also a realist about the
disparities we face and the erosion of visibility that is all too real. The
light of day shines clear and one is left with the dwindling of visibility
of the music in the traditional marketplaces: namely radio airways and
retail. 

But in both instances the models are positively changing in hopeful ways --
towards satellite radio services, internet access to the global airways, and
artist self-production models and increased consumer access to recordings
through new technologies. 

On the presenting/live performance opportunity side the not-for-profit
marketplace is capable of and in some instances is providing broader stages
for the more creative sides of the music than nightclubs could ever hope to.
And festivals are one of the more robust arenas for the music which keep
increasing in scope and number. 

The traditional club laboratory as learning place has long since been
replaced by the academy - mo' better than worse. And given the sheer number
of students thirsting for and studying this music, who among us can
intelligently make the case that these students are on a Dead Sea scroll
quest? This music is living and breathing, and continues to challenge many
students and practitioners. On the other hand its sheer folly to expect
anything beyond a relative miniscule percentage of these thirsty students to
become actual practitioners. But then we must ask ourselves: for all those
who don't "make it" how many will become supportive consumers in their
post-grad lives? And that brings up the biggest issue of all. 

The biggest issue is audience development - always has been; always will be.
We're continuing to nurture and raise exceptional musicians, but who'll be
there to hear them? However even in that critical vein there are those
entities and individuals who are striving mightily to bring the music to new
audiences. The woe is us attitude is extremely counterproductive.
Lewis Barnes: By nature I am a "glass-half-full" person. Without a doubt,
much more could and should be done, especially by our Federal government, to
support and promote this music called Jazz.
Just as our government promotes products and services made in the US, what
"product" is more American-made than Jazz? If we can spend trillions of
dollars on war, surely a few million can be spent for jazz education and
awareness. At the least, Jazz promotes more goodwill towards America than
war.
Joe Morris: I agree with Lewis but I have a different reaction to the
difficulties of working in jazz than Willard's. I try to be positive about
all of it too, but only because I need the good attitude to keep myself
going. Personally, my glass is half-full. I'm doing well. For the jazz scene
the very tiny glass is half-damp.
I disagree with the idea that not being positive is counter-productive to
the efforts being made by people on the support side. Is being honest
counter-productive? We are adults, mostly all smart and creative and there
are many reasons not to be positive.
The jazz support people who control the funds have an obligation to support
our work. We don't need a lesson from them about ethics, or attitude. We
don't need their pity. We don't need them to qualify the value of our work.
We just need them to understand how we actually operate and to pony up. Jazz
musicians are by nature fiercely independent. The music has historically
functioned outside of the mainstream without institutional support.
Institutions need to drop their social services style mentality towards
musicians and begin to accept us on our own terms. After all, we are
musicians, not disaster victims.
The lack of financial support from the government, corporations and arts
funding institutions throughout the history of jazz in America has left us
artists to fend for ourselves. I don't actually see a support side of jazz
having any impact on the production or maintenance of the music or of the
community that I'm involved in. That support usually goes towards funding
the part of jazz that seems to need it the least. My part of the scene is
strictly do-it-yourself (DIY). The DIY crowd includes some club owners,
record company owners, presenters, writers and agents. I'm like a lot of
other musicians in that I book my own tours, organize my own concert series,
run my own record label, and produce any recordings of mine that are
released on other labels. I do that plus 2 teaching jobs. The DIY crowd
operates without much involvement from the jazz establishment and often
(like in my case, after 30 years of playing) in spite of it. I consider them
to be a big part of the problem and no part of the solution.
The internet, and satellite radio, may eventually increase access to
consumers, but in the meantime the jazz record industry has collapsed. There
is virtually no distribution for thousands of CDs made including those made
by artists. Internet downloads may be the answer to that problem someday but
it is not a positive thing that any of this has occurred. It has caused a
new round of disarray in the music and thrown the issues of coverage and
focus on ideas into chaos. Those things may work out in time too. But
meanwhile musicians and record labels are not doing well at all with getting
the music out. If and when it does work out it will be because the DIY crowd
has figured out a way to make it work, not because the administrators have
facilitated it.
If anyone thinks the jazz cup is really half full, just consider that most
of the good paying gigs are in Europe and few are in the US. We do need to
find ways to adapt our music to reach out to audiences. This has always been
done. Changes in venues and record production have happened before.
Musicians adapt to those changes by changing with them. It's one of the
reasons the music keeps changing. On this point I agree with Willard
completely. If there is no place to play, make a place. If there is no
audience, create one. But we DIYer's will have to do it ourselves instead of
expecting help from the arts administrators.
Larry Simpson: I believe the glass is half-full, but the relative fullness
must be put in context. The question is framed from the unspoken backdrop of
jazz as once-upon-a-time the popular music of the day. It no longer holds
that position and has not held it for quite a long time. Yet, this view,
like a ghost, lingers and forces us to engage the debate about the relative
fullness of the jazz glass. Technology, globalization, economics and changed
racial dynamics have resulted in jazz emerging as high art in search of
support and audience.
In a culture and society whose memory and attention span are short and whose
appetite for the next new thing is voracious, jazz faces tremendous
challenges. In the breach of jazz clubs and significant national radio
airplay, many educational institutions have stepped in to provide a
foundation for the teaching of jazz and maintaining its place in the
culture. These institutions have fierce critics and some of the criticism is
justified, but the fact remains on campuses across the country the music is
being perpetuated and developed.
In addition, we saw the development of jazz societies 30 or so years ago in
many American communities. The purpose of these organizations was to support
jazz in their respective communities by presenting artists who otherwise
would not appear in those communities. These organizations also developed
relationships with resident artists and local school districts to build
stronger bases of support for jazz in their communities. Like the
ever-shifting jazz club world, many of these organizations remain strong
while many have floundered or disappeared.
Last, with the market itself not supporting completely jazz, other funding
vehicles were developed such as government (NEA, the states) and foundations
(Lila Wallace, Doris Duke). These agencies provide less support (or none at
all) than in the past, but they provided unique opportunities for supporting
the music.
The point is the struggle continues and I believe that the music is stronger
than the current marketplace forces, which might suggest otherwise. To that
end, I agree with Joe Morris and the DIY crowd. 




http://www.pointofdeparture.org/PoD11/PoD11WhatsNew.html

Jon Raskin
Rova Saxophone Quartet
www.rova.org
www.jonraskin.com
http://www.myspace.com/jonraskin
http://www.myspace.com/rovasaxophonequartet



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_______________________________________________
Bay Area New Music Discussion Group
NewMusic at music.mills.edu
http://music.mills.edu/mailman/listinfo/newmusic