Community (American Garage)

Subject View

From:	Message:
SUBJECT:	When is a jazz festival (not) a jazz festival? Back to Subjects
wright May 25 2011 at 4:50 PM	Discussed here recently, John Kelman does a great job of succinctly summing it up at allaboutjazz.com.
Login to Post
Charles Tresca Jun 07 2011 at 10:09 AM	I kind agree with Fred. However, "real jazz" has an identity problem. Although its roots goes back to blues, many people view jazz and blues as the same thing. Then there are the many other categories spanning the jazz arena like fusion, smooth jazz, straight-ahead, bebop, swing, Brazillian jazz, avante gard, Neapolitan jazz, ragtime/New Orleans jazz, big band, LA jazz.... That’s why it’s hard to hook up with jazz enthusiasts & musicians having the same head. The quality of musicians within the arena is also quite diverse. I think that a true jazz musician can improvise way beyond the pentatonic scale.
fredsimon Jun 06 2011 at 10:06 PM	I know what you mean, Dazedcat. But some disparate juxtapositions can be great. Like back in the 1960s when Bill Graham would put together double bills of Charles Lloyd (with Keith Jarrett and Jack DeJohnette!) paired with Jefferson Airplane ... man, I would have loved to hear that! Or Miles paired with Santana ... like I always say, it all depends on everything.
Dazedcat Jun 06 2011 at 12:10 PM	I agree with what Fred said, one world. The problem with that though is what if Lil Wayne showed up on the bill? Then hip hop nation would be in tow. No thanks. I wouldn’t want to see Metallica after a Kenney Garrett performance for that matter either.
HAMBONE May 29 2011 at 11:21 PM	The true jazz festivals are fewer and fewer every year, but any festival that features some jazz is better than none.Even the big named ones, Montreaux, Newport,etc feature other music besides jazz, but it’s all about the money and what pays the bills.
fredsimon May 28 2011 at 4:03 PM	Within reason, I have no problem with good non-jazz serving as a "gateway drug," so to speak, to jazz. Bait and switch. But, frankly, I’d love to see just plain human music festivals, full of great music from as many genres possible. One world.
bluepno May 28 2011 at 1:47 PM	Newport R.I. has always been a pleasant experience. I have not been able to attend in about 15 years... But, I would go in a heartbeat with the right company.Boston Jazz concerts at the Hatch Shell are not to be missed. I have seen Diana Krall, one of Grover Washington Jr’s last shows , Roy Hargrove amongst others for the original festival price of free. Like a broken drum, you can’t beat it...
barley May 28 2011 at 12:51 PM	Well said Penny. It’s a festival, not an anally retentive conference.
Penny C. May 28 2011 at 3:59 AM	Jazz is a broad church, surely, and a good festival will reflect this, imho. I can only speak from the experience of the London Jazz Fest and the Perugia Jazz Fest in Italy, both of which reach out to diverse tastes in different ways. London features a lot of world music; Perugia goes for the big names such as Santana, Eric Clapton etc. But in both cases it’s easy to find whatever floats your boat: swing, gospel, trad, blues, funk are in the mix somewhere, and that, to me, is how it should be.
tokeyozi May 26 2011 at 2:25 PM	North Sea Jazz also has this "mixed bag of acts" and it’s easy to avoid the acts you don’t want to see. Last year it was from PMG straight to Chris Potter and Phronesis, 75 minutes each, and a couple of (shorter) acts on the side. So all in all, 5 hours in jazz heaven.
hman01 May 26 2011 at 10:37 AM	When Kenny G is performing there!
Tom Rudd May 26 2011 at 8:42 AM	Interesting reading thanks for posting. It’s all about money these days. I takes money to keep these festivals a float. Especially the larger ones. I for one don’t mind a mixed bag of acts just as long as there is enough jazz to immerse yourself with.
Login to Post