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Path: utzoo!linus!philabs!cmcl2!seismo!brl-tgr!internet!Bob Soron <Mly.G.Pogo%MIT-OZ@MIT-MC.ARPA>
From: Bob Soron <Mly.G.Pogo%MIT-OZ@MIT-MC.ARPA>
Newsgroups: net.music
Subject: Re: Jazz and/in US society
Message-ID: <5866@brl-tgr.ARPA>
Date: Sat, 17-Nov-84 22:41:08 EST
Article-I.D.: brl-tgr.5866
Posted: Sat Nov 17 22:41:08 1984
Date-Received: Tue, 20-Nov-84 05:42:30 EST
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Organization: Ballistic Research Lab
Lines: 34

Marcel Simon writes:

> Why does jazz not sell millions of LPs? Barring that, why does
> this music not have a comittment from the music business establishment
> to keep it active and alive, a la classical music, which does not
> sell either???

But when a jazz album -does- sell millions of copies -- even hundreds
of thousands -- jazz fans dismiss it as populist!

> Here is an American art form (the ONLY one!) that the crushing majority
> of Americans ignores often proudly so, dismissing it as abstruse,
> obscure and boring? The same people *often* know little if
> anything about classical music, but classical music is "cultured",
> while jazz is "obscure"

Lordy, I'm sick of hearing that "jazz is the ONLY American artform."
Not only does it ignore the fact that country music dates back 300
years -- well before jazz was ever thought of -- but also it ignores
the fact that the French jazz movement played an important part in
the acceptance of the genre not only around the world but here in
America as well.

> Could it be that US society is not ready to accept (after 100 years)
> a music in which all major innovators have been black
> (after all these Negroes all got rhythm :-)

I wouldn't be surprised if that were one reason French jazz gave the
genre such a boost. But I'm not so sure that Django Reinhardt,
Stephane Grappelli et al. were not major innovators.

...Bob

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