jeterbeater Posted July 23, 2008 Author Share Posted July 23, 2008 (edited) It all depends on how you look at it. Maynard had much more "Commercial" success than any jazz artist of his day. I'll bet you Joe Public will recognize Maynard's band band before they will Coltrane's But does that mean it's better? Certainly Maynard was doing great stuff when he was playing with the Kenton band, but his SOLO music? Dear god please stab me in the ears with heated steak knives. Edited July 23, 2008 by jeterbeater Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piperguy Posted July 23, 2008 Share Posted July 23, 2008 But does that mean it's better? Not at all. Face it...true jazz has a limited following (I know, I am in that group). The vast majority of people equate jazz with Maynard, and more recently Kenny G (shudder!!!). I think a show based on jazz artists thagt the public knows would have a better chance of success, regardless of the "jazz quality" of the music Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeterbeater Posted July 23, 2008 Author Share Posted July 23, 2008 (edited) Not at all. Face it...true jazz has a limited following (I know, I am in that group). The vast majority of people equate jazz with Maynard, and more recently Kenny G (shudder!!!). I think a show based on jazz artists thagt the public knows would have a better chance of success, regardless of the "jazz quality" of the music Well that shows what a sad state of affairs this country is in. Besides, what about Ellington, Ella, and Basie? Certainly we know them. And it's not like Miles Davis wasn't a cultural phenomenon, these are all WIDELY known musicians. Sorry sir, but I'm just not buying it. Maynard is the butt of all jokes told amongst trumpet players, at least the smart ones. Here's a few I just made up........ Wanna hear a joke? *plays a Maynard Ferguson album* How do you sound like crap when playing the trumpet? Play like Maynard Bud Herseth and Maynard walk into a gig, who gets the job? Not Maynard Edited July 23, 2008 by jeterbeater Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob984 Posted July 23, 2008 Share Posted July 23, 2008 I totally agree.....there is room for much more jazz to be played..... When I look at a corps like BD, and for me, some of their (and drum corps') best charts ever were jazz (ie "Channel One, 'Ya Gotta Try....immediately come to mind) and they have the horses, including a great lead line, to do it, but choose not to.......sad.............. GB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob984 Posted July 23, 2008 Share Posted July 23, 2008 DCI is serious. The main DCI "jazzers" (BD, X-Men, and Bluecoats) have all undergone facelifts over the past few years. The most noticeable is probably the Crossmen, who went from being an Eastern corps that performed Jazz-heavy repertoire to a Texas corps that performs shows in the same vain as many large Texas high school marching bands. Last year, with the unveiling of "A New Blue," the Bluecoats created a new and darker image instead of their fun and somewhat laid-back persona of years past. The Blue Devils, too, have chosen programs over the past three (or so) years that more reflect the current movements in DCI toward shows that feature many different fragments stitched together. couldn't agree more......musical arrangements are FRAGMENTED (in many cases, "shattered beyond repair") with several corps.................... GB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeterbeater Posted July 23, 2008 Author Share Posted July 23, 2008 couldn't agree more......musical arrangements are FRAGMENTED (in many cases, "shattered beyond repair") with several corps....................GB I agree, we need better arrangers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bass5 Posted July 23, 2008 Share Posted July 23, 2008 It all depends on how you look at it. Maynard had much more "Commercial" success than any jazz artist of his day. I'll bet you Joe Public will recognize Maynard's band band before they will Coltrane's I'm sure Kenny G's "elevator jazz" would be more recognizable to Joe Public but it certainly doesn't mean its more successful than Coltrane. People will be listening to Coltrane in a hundred years and Kenny G's "jazz" will be long forgotten. And to put Maynard and Coltrane in the same sentence is an insult to Coltrane (and I like Maynard by the way). Another thought, they won't bring jazz back to drum corps because the fans might actually like it and we couldn't have that. They'll keep producing shows fans "appreciate for the difficulty" but don't really enjoy that much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeterbeater Posted July 23, 2008 Author Share Posted July 23, 2008 (edited) I'm sure Kenny G's "elevator jazz" would be more recognizable to Joe Public but it certainly doesn't mean its more successful than Coltrane.People will be listening to Coltrane in a hundred years and Kenny G's "jazz" will be long forgotten. And to put Maynard and Coltrane in the same sentence is an insult to Coltrane (and I like Maynard by the way). Another thought, they won't bring jazz back to drum corps because the fans might actually like it and we couldn't have that. They'll keep producing shows fans "appreciate for the difficulty" but don't really enjoy that much. Yeah but what about the lower placing corps who don't have difficult shows? It's okay to admit it. It's fine if people don't like the music, I'm just concerned with, again, variety and good quality shows. I care about quality, period. There are plenty of "fun" shows that are absolutely horrid, I won't name names because that would be rude. The arrangers in DCI are just in over their heads with some of these shows and concepts. I'm sorry Mr. ____ Arranger, but you aren't John Corigliano or Ligeti, you're a Joe Schmo who writes marching band music. Learn your limits or go back to school and bone up on your theory and score study. Edited July 23, 2008 by jeterbeater Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeN Posted July 23, 2008 Share Posted July 23, 2008 Chuck Naffier (arranged for Colts in 90's, Xmen in 00's) always had an interesting take on this that I remember him posting on here several times through the years. I'm paraphrasing here as I remember it, so bear with me. Basically, jazz shows are *harder* from a musical / technical standpoint. Because of the jazz idiom, there's an entirely different technical subset that must be added even after regular "drum corps" style playing. And experienced judges can get very quickly whether or not the corps is playing true "jazz" style or just swing-marching-band. I think it was in 2001 that Crossmen staff mentioned several times throughout the season that the hornline was in a learning curve where they were figuring out *how* to play their show. Anyways, that's something else to consider. Speaking from a pipe band drumming background (which is the drumming equivalent of jazz versus drum corps' "rock" feel), playing the notes in time isn't enough - there's a lot of room for interpretation and "feel". Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Other Mike Posted July 23, 2008 Share Posted July 23, 2008 Well that shows what a sad state of affairs this country is in.Besides, what about Ellington, Ella, and Basie? Certainly we know them. And it's not like Miles Davis wasn't a cultural phenomenon, these are all WIDELY known musicians. Sorry sir, but I'm just not buying it. Maynard is the butt of all jokes told amongst trumpet players, at least the smart ones. Here's a few I just made up........ Wanna hear a joke? *plays a Maynard Ferguson album* How do you sound like crap when playing the trumpet? Play like Maynard Bud Herseth and Maynard walk into a gig, who gets the job? Not Maynard While I don't disagree with you feeling on his later noise, I wonder if you heard any of his younger work ? So, uhhhh you didn't like Spirit's "Old Man River" ? Yea, Jim Ott thought he sucked too but at least liked his arrangements. ( rimshot / FRACK ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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