Why not more Big-Band Jazz?

[Jeff Ream]

Anything involved with Ream got creepy a long time ago!

( note to self. go back, find old reviews, and revise opinion of Sams pimp suits)

[84BDsop]

( note to self. go back, find old reviews, and revise opinion of Sams pimp suits)

I wore that one proudly!

[Jeff Ream]

not when i am done editing

[monoemono]

there are moments of big band jazz in many shows from the past 5 years. I would not call many of them a "Salute to Big Band" or anything. But, the park and blow seems to be endemic to the idiom. Big brass chorus...everybody doing the lean backs, the drummers all money style, the cymbal crashes? Ever seen this? Does this jog your memory?

Yes, and I miss it! It's been way too long!

[BRASSO]

The fans might pass out from hearing accessible music. Too big an insurance risk. Can't do it.

I've taken up taxi driving, which allows me to program the music I want to listen to all day. I have a lot of jazz from the 20s through 40s that I play. I've gotten comments from several passengers about the music. What tickles me to death is that they've universally been positive comments, to the point of asking what radio station it might be and who was performing--indicating an interest in further listening.

That includes the Stan Kenton Orchestra. Folks aren't left cold by the dissonance Kenton's band played, nor are they put off by not recognizing the tunes. They *like* that unknown, dissonant jazz. Well, they like it when it's arranged in an easily accessible fashion. If you're putting off listeners with Kenton's music during a show, you're doing something wrong, I'm thinking.

Sort of speaks to the notion that arguing for accessible arrangements means only familiar tunes can be used. It also speaks to the notion that dissonance is automatically going to turn off listeners and thus limit what can be played in shows. Both of those notions are shown to be unsupportable, at least, in the setting of my taxi. Folks like dissonant tunes that they don't know, if those tunes are arranged in a fashion they can relate to. At least, that's how it works out in my taxi. One can argue that only weirdos from other planets ride in my taxi and so it has no bearing on the rest of the world, though one shouldn't then be surprised by lots of people laughing nearby.

I get much the same response from the music of Basie's band, Ellington's band, Miller's band, and even a whole slew of earlier bands unrecognized by almost everybody. (Except for the elderly. Had a wonderful chat about KC jazz with a lovely lady who grew up listening to Bennie Moten's band, the Clouds of Joy, Jay Shann, and so on. I found that I have one of her favorite tunes by Moten's band in my collection. Bonding over music with a woman almost twice my age--she's almost ninety--was cool.)

I would imagine your taxi passengers are probably a diverse group of folks. I think most people can like unfamiliar music that is presented well. It's all in the arrangement...the presentation, imo. It's a simplistic example, but when the Beachboys introduced " Good Vibrations " as a song, it was a real departure for them when it first came out, and it definately utilized major musical chord dissonance ( by Rock genre standards ) as well as new instrumentation unaccustomed to both the Beachboys and their fan's typical musical Rock tastes. But it worked for both the Beachboys, as well as their fans. The Beatles musical offerings changed pretty dramatically from their early years to their later years as well. The Beatles successfully moved into unfamiliar territory for many of their fans, and it worked. However, other artists have moved into unfamiliar musical terrain... and they've lost themselves musically there, as well as their fans. It's really all in the arrangement and in the presentation of the music, imo. whether it's music chock full of dissonance or not, imo.

Edited September 18, 2010 by BRASSO