More "smooth jazz" deceptions
Paul R.
Here's an ad that appeared today in my local paper's weekend section:
CITY JAZZ: The City Jazz concert series at Cambier Park, 755 Eight
Ave. South, in downtown Naples continues with rumba flamenco guitarist
Jesse Cook. He performs at 7pm Saturday. Tickets are $3 for adults.
Children 10 and younger enter free.
<end of ad>
Of course, this rumba flamenco guitarist "jazz" concert is sponsored
by the local "smooth jazz" FM station, WGUF "The Gulf" 98.9 FM.
Paul Rosete <pro...@mindspring.com>
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Thankks!
Zapbailey
pro...@mindspring.com wrote:
>Here's an ad that appeared today in my local paper's weekend section:
>CITY JAZZ: The City Jazz concert series at Cambier Park, 755 Eight
>Ave. South, in downtown Naples continues with rumba flamenco guitarist
>Jesse Cook. He performs at 7pm Saturday. Tickets are $3 for adults.
>Children 10 and younger enter free.
<end of ad>
>Of course, this rumba flamenco guitarist "jazz" concert is sponsored
>by the local "smooth jazz" FM station, WGUF "The Gulf" 98.9 FM.
The tipoff in this ad is the use of the three descriptive adjectives
rumba,flamenco, and jazz- Smooth jazz is usually a nauseating "blend" of 20 or
more musical styles watered down pleasantly so it goes down
smooooooth....................What the hell is a rumba flamenco jazz guitarist
anyway?
skip elliott bowman
Paul R. <pro...@mindspring.com> wrote:
: Here's an ad that appeared today in my local paper's weekend section:
: CITY JAZZ: The City Jazz concert series at Cambier Park, 755 Eight
: Ave. South, in downtown Naples continues with rumba flamenco guitarist
: Jesse Cook. He performs at 7pm Saturday. Tickets are $3 for adults.
: Children 10 and younger enter free.
: <end of ad>
: Of course, this rumba flamenco guitarist "jazz" concert is sponsored
: by the local "smooth jazz" FM station, WGUF "The Gulf" 98.9 FM.
Oh what the hey. Go check it out. Our own smooth jazz (is what we play
rough jazz?) station sponsors not a few mainstream/straight ahead gigs.
I've played a couple. You might make a contact and get a gig of your own
for the next season. Who knows?
Skip
Aaron L Keys
Zapbailey wrote:
>
> pro...@mindspring.com wrote:
>
> >Here's an ad that appeared today in my local paper's weekend section:
>
> >CITY JAZZ: The City Jazz concert series at Cambier Park, 755 Eight
> >Ave. South, in downtown Naples continues with rumba flamenco guitarist
> >Jesse Cook. He performs at 7pm Saturday. Tickets are $3 for adults.
> >Children 10 and younger enter free.
> <end of ad>
>
> >Of course, this rumba flamenco guitarist "jazz" concert is sponsored
> >by the local "smooth jazz" FM station, WGUF "The Gulf" 98.9 FM.
>
> rumba,flamenco, and jazz- Smooth jazz is usually a nauseating "blend" of 20 or
> more musical styles watered down pleasantly so it goes down
> smooooooth....................What the hell is a rumba flamenco jazz guitarist
> anyway?
Or as described by my son, "Lite Jazz", or "Jazz Lite".
Aaron Keys
James Clayton
skip elliott bowman wrote:
>
> Paul R. <pro...@mindspring.com> wrote:
> : Here's an ad that appeared today in my local paper's weekend section:
>
> : CITY JAZZ: The City Jazz concert series at Cambier Park, 755 Eight
> : Ave. South, in downtown Naples continues with rumba flamenco guitarist
> : Jesse Cook. He performs at 7pm Saturday. Tickets are $3 for adults.
> : Children 10 and younger enter free.
> : <end of ad>
> : Of course, this rumba flamenco guitarist "jazz" concert is sponsored
> : by the local "smooth jazz" FM station, WGUF "The Gulf" 98.9 FM.
>
> rough jazz?) station sponsors not a few mainstream/straight ahead gigs.
> I've played a couple. You might make a contact and get a gig of your own
> for the next season. Who knows?
>
> Skip
Good point, Skip. And let's point out that this wasn't some scheme by
Jesse Cook, who happens to be a fine musician if you've heard the stuff.
It was a silly description written by either a staffer at a smooth jazz
station, or someone at the paper who got stuck with the entertainment
listings.
This "deceptions" post (what a silly header) makes it sound like Jesse
stole a potential gig from a "true jazzer". Fact is, as much as you and
I love jazz (yes, the "real" kind), the general public wouldn't attend
such a gig! Most people don't have the appreciation to understand what
jazz players are trying to do.
And that isn't a slam on the public. You name an art form (music,
visual, literary), and the lovers of it think the public have poor taste
in regard to it.
Smooth jazz isn't killing "real jazz". It's a fairly elite art form
(taste-wise, not income-wise) amd if there's more smooth stations than
jazz stations it's because of supply and demand.
I'm rambling, probably. I'm curious to hear other thoughts on it,
though. (Thoughts, not flames.)
Jim Clayton
bd
>Smooth jazz isn't killing "real jazz". It's a fairly elite art form
>(taste-wise, not income-wise) amd if there's more smooth stations than
>jazz stations it's because of supply and demand.
I disagree that smooth jazz radio is increasing due to supply and demand.
Smooth jazz was rolled out from corporate radio in a matter of a year all
over the US. I don't think it was an issue of supply and demand as much as
results of test marketing a pilot product. Corporate radio likely test
marketed the 'smooth jazz' format in a few cities and rolled it out after
success in the test cities. I don't think cities asked for smooth jazz.
Like the rest of the corporate radio world, they develop a formula try it in
a few cities, and if it appears to work, they force feed it on the others.
An interesting thing is happening with the smooth jazz station in KC. The
station was somewhat infiltrated with traditional jazz announcers from local
public radio stations and now has the station playing a great deal of 'real'
jazz in the evenings and late nights. It started with Miles, Herbie
Hancock, Wynton Marsalis, Ahmad Jamal and other contemporaries (full 20
minute jams in evenings) and I even heard Art Blakey the other night. Late
nights I've heard more traditionals like Duke, Monk, Roach, Horn, Ella and
Billie. They haven't quite managed to get to earlier sounds of Bird, Prez,
Hawkins, etc. Atleast no more Kenny G 'cept maybe weekdays to brainwash the
hoi polloi. :-)
Fortunately there are 4 public radio stations that feature traditional jazz
in KC but it's nice to see the commercial smooth jazz station slowly
converted to 'real' jazz.
Peter Renzland
On Fri, 07 Nov 1997 22:59:26 -0500, James Clayton <jcla...@interlog.com> wrote:
>Fact is, as much as you and I love jazz (yes, the "real" kind), the general
>public wouldn't attend such a gig! Most people don't have the appreciation
>to understand what jazz players are trying to do.
What are Jazz players trying to do? Are they playing *for* "most people" or
*to* a few? How do you know that the "Jazz Flamenco guitarist" was
playing Jazz that is less real than what so many Jazz musicians who are
unaware of the existence of Jazz before 1945 play?
In fact, Jazz was wildly popular music for 30 years. It was genuine
American *folk* music, and people *danced* to it in huge numbers during
the Jazz Age and the Swing Era.
Jazz shaped *popular* music and dancing more than anything in this century.
Afro-American Jazz music and dancing was so popular that it was banned in
parts of the U.S. and Europe. The city of Charleston SC ran a huge
worldwide (non)publicity campaign trying to disavow any connection
with the Jazz dance named after it.
>And that isn't a slam on the public. You name an art form (music,
>visual, literary), and the lovers of it think the public have poor taste
>in regard to it.
If you define Jazz as art, and art as arcane, of course you are right, by
definition. From that perspective, the fact that Jazz was so very, very
popular until the end of WWII, was enough reason for "sophisticated"
musicians to denigrate it and to make music for themselves rather than
for the public.
But what do I know -- I'm just a jazz dancer :-)
-- , , , ,
Peter Renzland, Toronto Pe...@Dancing.Org \__@_ {)/ (}, 9 \@ {)/
Traditional Social Dance WWW.Dancing.Org \ /\_._,<_/ (>_/7 /\_._,<_\
Hog Town Hep Cats Je danse donc je suis \ /_\ /_\ /) /\ /_\
Alpine Scandi Celtic Blues *Lindy-Hop* /) /( / )( \ ' ) ( `
James Clayton
Peter Renzland wrote:
>
> On Fri, 07 Nov 1997 22:59:26 -0500, James Clayton <jcla...@interlog.com> wrote:
>
> >Fact is, as much as you and I love jazz (yes, the "real" kind), the general
> >public wouldn't attend such a gig! Most people don't have the appreciation
> >to understand what jazz players are trying to do.
>
> What are Jazz players trying to do? Are they playing *for* "most people" or
> *to* a few? How do you know that the "Jazz Flamenco guitarist" was
> playing Jazz that is less real than what so many Jazz musicians who are
> unaware of the existence of Jazz before 1945 play?
Ahem... the aside I inserted ("the 'real' kind") was intended to be
droll, hence the quotation marks. I personally would rather abolish
labels and simply judge music on its own merits. Jazz has become such a
broad term that it's pointless to discuss its definition.
The only reason I might have for saying Jesse Cook is not any sort of
jazz, is if he plays material with NO improvisation in it. The
improv-content requirement seems to be the only one we can all agree on
(as defining jazz).
Having said that, I'm sure someone can offer examples of jazz NOT
containing improvisation. :-)
Jim Clayton
JFR
In <19971107160...@ladder02.news.aol.com> zapb...@aol.com
(Zapbailey) writes:
>
>
>
>pro...@mindspring.com wrote:
>
>
>>Here's an ad that appeared today in my local paper's weekend section:
>
>>CITY JAZZ: The City Jazz concert series at Cambier Park, 755 Eight
>>Ave. South, in downtown Naples continues with rumba flamenco
guitarist
>>Jesse Cook. He performs at 7pm Saturday. Tickets are $3 for adults.
>>Children 10 and younger enter free.
><end of ad>
>
>>Of course, this rumba flamenco guitarist "jazz" concert is sponsored
>>by the local "smooth jazz" FM station, WGUF "The Gulf" 98.9 FM.
>
>
> rumba,flamenco, and jazz- Smooth jazz is usually a nauseating "blend"
of 20 or
> more musical styles watered down pleasantly so it goes down
> smooooooth....................What the hell is a rumba flamenco jazz
guitarist
> anyway?
>
Just play twinkly major7th chords and be happy.....
John R.