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One
thing I learned for certain during my dozen years (including my
stint at another radio station) serving as a Jazz Director is that
The Music Industry is unbelievably screwed-up. This inevitably rubs
off onto the jazz divisions of the (now handful of) major
corporations which dominate the production and distribution of
recorded music in the world today. The amount of time, money and
energy spent on promoting "crap" (to be as polite as
possible) to radio, and the general public, is staggering. In the
realm of jazz, specifically, "the holy grail" is to place
high on the chart tracking radio play of jazz releases maintained by
the Gavin organization. Unfortunately, success in that endeavor does
not automatically translate into retail sales success, and the
competition for the top slots in the Gavin report is intense.
Independent projects do sometimes break through the logjam created
by the industry heavyweights, but many deserving (on artistic merit)
releases don't stand a chance. Distribution channels and shelf space
in
retail outlets are also, of course, dominated by the corporate
"big boys."
The industry heavyweights are in a trend of paring the number
of slots in their rosters of jazz artists. Everyone wants to know
who will be "the next" Josh Redman, or Diana Krall. Every
year, universities mint (collectively) thousands of graduates of
jazz studies programs, all (presumably, at least) possessing basic
competence, some of whom doubtless have great potential--but will it
be realized? It seems to this observer that, by now, the odds of
achieving financial success in this field must be as slim as for
youngsters dreaming of becoming stars in the National Basketball
Association. I wish each and every one of these young folks the
best, but my sincere advice to them is: Get yourself a good
"day job," and work at your music in your spare time.
Meanwhile, Miles Davis' vintage "Kind Of Blue" remains on
the best-seller chart year after year. It has always been far
cheaper--and thus more profitable-- for the recording industry to
repackage and reissue their back catalogs than to groom new artists
for success. This is especially true in jazz because of the limited
segment of the music-buying public that will ever purchase a jazz
recording.
Enough
months have passed since the televising of Ken Burns'
much-ballyhooed ten-part documentary on jazz for our perspectives to
mature. Many jazz fanatics despised the whole project. I have some
severe criticisms of it, myself. However, I now feel that Burns was
definitely on to something by focusing on the connection between the
dancehall and the popularity of the music in the 1920s through the
World War II era. Swing music was, indeed, this country's popular
music. But, things change, don't they? The world is still waiting,
after all these centuries, for "another Michelangelo," or
"another Mozart, Beethoven..." whatever, fill in the
blank. So, who will be "the next" Louis Armstrong? Duke
Ellington? Miles Davis? John Coltrane? The simple answer is: No one.
I don't mean to suggest that it's impossible for our music to find
new directions, and I'm not putting down the current crop of
musicians, by any means. But, I think it's time that we face this
reality: Jazz will never again be "popular" music. Jazz is
an
acquired taste, beloved of a minority among minorities of the
populace. I will go so far as to suggest that we are nearing the
point where it becomes the "property" of almost a
"secret society of jazz priests and priestesses," not
unlike modern day Druidism or Witchcraft.
Can
jazz be "saved" from such a fate? I see but one hope for,
at least, delaying the arrival of such a state of affairs. This hope
rests in you, dear reader. If you have bothered to read this far, it
is fair to assume that you do, indeed, care about our music. Now,
what are you willing to do beyond scanning lines of type on this
paper? Will you join a local or statewide jazz society? Will you
purchase at retail outlets recordings by artists who are still among
the living? Will you find it in your household budget to attend live
jazz performances, so that presenters are encouraged to continue
jazz-related endeavors? Will you contribute a few bucks to enable
noncommercial radio stations to continue to broadcast jazz music? If
not you...who? If not now...when?
Some will say, "These are the thoughts of a
deep pessimist." I say they're the outcome of thoughtful
realism. Let time be the judge.
Copyright©WWUH: July/August Program Guide, 2001 |
