The last suspect on our list is none other than the birthplace of jazz. We gave birth to this great American art form and then, a few decades later, developed some sort of Abraham complex and slew it… allegedly. For the prosecution we have Stuart Nicholson, author of the book entitled “Is Jazz Dead? Or has it Moved to a New Address”:
For years Americans have regarded European jazz with the same tolerant smile they reserve for Japanese baseball. But something is stirring in the Old World. A generation of musicians is emerging from Europe's jazz underground, and now they're raising a tolerant smile at the mention of American jazz. Talk to them about the current state of the music, and it's as if an old and dear friend has passed away. They believe American jazz is retreating into the past while Europe is moving the music into the 21st century.
-Stuart Nicholson, 2001
Nicholson essentially goes on to argue that American jazz is no longer innovative. We all share the philosophy of Wynton Marsalis and simply hang onto the traditions of the past as though they were law. The reason 80% of Ken Burns’ documentary on jazz was before WWII is because sometime shortly after that jazz died, along with its innovative nature. Where the European jazz scene once followed America’s lead, they now have completely moved on, while America still lies in the 40s. He presents quotes of European artists like the Norewegian pianist Brugge Wesseltoft as evidence:
“I think American jazz somehow has really stopped, maybe in the late 70’s, early 80’s. I haven’t heard one interesting American record in the last 20 years. It’s like a museum, presenting stuff that’s already been done.”
-Brugge Wesseltoft, 2001
Certainly this evidence is quite damning. It’s really America’s own fault for not creating anything new since 1965. We all blindly follow the lead of Wynton Marsalis, who is obviously the only jazz musician worth mentioning in America today, and that has landed us on this retreat into the past. Nicholson goes on to tell us that if American jazz is to ever have a hope of sticking around, it will have to survive of a protective government subsidy, since there are no audiences to support it anymore. This definitely sounds like we’ve finally closed the case and found our murderer, but before the gavel sounds, there is one counterargument I would like to make.
Stuart Nicholson is an idiot.
Wait one second! There hasn’t been any American contribution to the innovation of jazz for over 20 years? I would like to call the following musicians as witnesses to the contrary:
Ralph Alessi
David Gilmore
Tyshawn Sorey
David Binney
Jason Moran
Gary Thomas
Steve Coleman
Greg Osby
Mark Turner
Dave Douglas
Lonnie Plaxico
Robin Eubanks
Kurt Rosenwinkle
No, Wynton Marsalis is not on that list, but there is a reason his name sparks controversy among American jazz musicians. We don’t all share his philosophy of music. It’s great that Marsalis keeps tradition alive. I mean, it’s always a good thing to remember and appreciate your roots, but his music is far from the rule in America.
That being said, Europe is certainly doing some great things with jazz. They are now at a point where they are no longer imitating American jazz as they did in the past, but have now taken the music in a new direction of their own. This is wonderful, but it doesn’t mean that American jazz is dead. Jazz in America is very much alive. In 1972 there were only 15 universities that offered degrees in jazz studies. That number in America alone is in the hundreds today, stretching from coast to coast. Every year, American schools turn out hundreds of new jazz musicians into the field.
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