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Chicago's Avant-Garde Musicians


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edc, a formerly world-ranked zither player, would hightail it to--

* Houston

* Austin

* Atlanta

* Las Cruces

* St Paul

* Portland

* Seattle

* Montreal

* Trenton

* Savanna-La-Mar

* Cincinnati

* Dunedin (Florida)

No, see, the goal would be to be a part of a fluid local scene, one that offers opportunity to get out as well as to stay put. A big part of that is dissemination through recordings, and Chicago's got that (where else can you do a vanity project, play your games right, and get it out on a label with distribution like Delmark? No money, but when is there ever?). Another part of it is potential national visibility from a local platform. Chicago's got that too. Chicago's got a lot of stuff that none of those places you list don't.

Remember, the objective isn't a "perfect" "jazz scene" where one can live happily ever after and get happy and fat. You can do that in any of the places you list (or I guess you could. Dunedin? Uh...) The objective is to be in an environment where you can move your shit ahead on at least somewhat your own terms (and that's why NYC is off the map, and has been for a good long time), get something good going, and then see what comes out of it. No doubt Chicago is not without "quirks" and/or "issues", and there might be a lot of "hype" to the rep, but this is (or would be...) not about all that, but rather beyond all that.

Dig it - I stayed here for a good long time because I had playing opportunities, regular "creative music" gigs, ongoing weekly spots at the same venues. Cats from NYC would marvel at that, saying that they get to do something like this maybe a few times a year, saying that you got a good thing going. Well, ok, yeah, all well and good, but then what? Granted, my own lack of business acumen at the time coupled with an unrehabilitative desire to be an "important sideman" rather than a leader are as much a factor as anything, but after a while, hey - no real "creative music community" of fans, no press support at all, any/all recording has to be 100% self-financed & promoted/pimped (and no amount of pimping can get it on the one jazz station in the area), the venues start out wanting "something different" and then slowly but surely freak when they realize that they're actually getting it, on and on and on. You start becoming a legend in your own mind just to think that what you're doing might, on some slim chance, possibly "matter" . After a while, it all just gets silly, and...hey, I love my wife now more than ever, that's about all I'll say about that.

Granted, I'm on the outside looking in, but it sure seems that Chicago jazz scene is alive in every sense of the world. It may be the only city in America where that's the case to the degree that it is, which is a symptom of something else, and a big part of why it is that I decided to fall back in love with my wife all over again.

Jazz is not healthy, and jazz - as I fell in love with it - may already be dead, but from here anyways, it looks like of all the (many) places you can say that about, Chicago ain't one of 'em.

That's all I'm trying to say.

Edited by JSngry
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edc, a formerly world-ranked zither player, would hightail it to--

* Houston

* Austin

* Atlanta

* Las Cruces

* St Paul

* Portland

* Seattle

* Montreal

* Trenton

* Savanna-La-Mar

* Cincinnati

* Dunedin (Florida)

No, see, the goal would be to be a part of a fluid local scene, one that offers opportunity to get out as well as to stay put. A big part of that is dissemination through recordings, and Chicago's got that (where else can you do a vanity project, play your games right, and get it out on a label with distribution like Delmark? No money, but when is there ever?). Another part of it is potential national visibility from a local platform. Chicago's got that too. Chicago's got a lot of stuff that none of those places you list don't.

Remember, the objective isn't a "perfect" "jazz scene" where one can live happily ever after and get happy and fat. You can do that in any of the places you list (or I guess you could. Dunedin? Uh...) The objective is to be in an environment where you can move your shit ahead on at least somewhat your own terms (and that's why NYC is off the map, and has been for a good long time), get something good going, and then see what comes out of it. No doubt Chicago is not without "quirks" and/or "issues", and there might be a lot of "hype" to the rep, but this is (or would be...) not about all that, but rather beyond all that.

Dig it - I stayed here for a good long time because I had playing opportunities, regular "creative music" gigs, ongoing weekly spots at the same venues. Cats from NYC would marvel at that, saying that they get to do something like this maybe a few times a year, saying that you got a good thing going. Well, ok, yeah, all well and good, but then what? Granted, my own lack of business acumen at the time coupled with an unrehabilitative desire to be an "important sideman" rather than a leader are as much a factor as anything, but after a while, hey - no real "creative music community" of fans, no press support at all, any/all recording has to be 100% self-financed & promoted/pimped (and no amount of pimping can get it on the one jazz station in the area), the venues start out wanting "something different" and then slowly but surely freak when they realize that they're actually getting it, on and on and on. You start becoming a legend in your own mind just to think that what you're doing might, on some slim chance, possibly "matter" . After a while, it all just gets silly, and...hey, I love my wife now more than ever, that's about all I'll say about that.

Granted, I'm on the outside looking in, but it sure seems that Chicago jazz scene is alive in every sense of the world. It may be the only city in America where that's the case to the degree that it is, which is a symptom of something else, and a big part of why it is that I decided to fall back in love with my wife all over again.

Jazz is not healthy, and jazz - as I fell in love with it - may already be dead, but from here anyways, it looks like of all the (many) places you can say that about, Chicago ain't one of 'em.

That's all I'm trying to say.

Well said. ... And as for Dunedin (up the road from here) I'd guess you would do well to have some bagpipes in your bag of tricks.

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Thought I might mention another Chicago artist, D Bayne. His septet record, PREMONITION is fantastic. His compositions have a little Don Grolnick influence, a little Gil Evans too maybe. Really fine, haunting stuff.

His piano playing is definitely informed by Paul Bley. His trio record with Tim Daisy and Kurt Johnson also merits repeated listening. Bayne's also worked with Keefe Jackson and Frank Rosaly - to tie in with some previous posts.

I think both his cds are available through Cadence and/or Jazz Record Mart.

(BTW, Hate making all these comparisons, but sometimes with a new artist it helps give people a frame of reference.)

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oh the partisans will cry foul but ask-- i dunno-- Clifford Thornton: rich (or rich enough) jackoffs from "greater" (sic) Chicago have done more to ruin the midwest than the good folks have contributed in the last, say, twenty years.

Don't bring me into this - I don't know shit about Chicago, just went to school there is all.

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this is one of those threads that I'm too tired to read all the way through and I just pop in occassionally and I can't figure out what the hell we're talking about - something about Clifford Thornton and Larry Kart ruining jazz in Chicago - well, if they're willing to admit guilt, that's the first step - and let's not forget Nessa's responsibility in all this -

personally, I'll take the blame for Connecticut and Maine -

where's Al Capone when we need him?

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When was the last time Moye was around town? Baby Dodds? Dave Tough? Ike Day?

He's playing tonight at the Velvet, no joke. He's actually played a few times there lately. I went once and it was a bit of a circus - tons of people on stage. Some absolutely transcendent percussion jams interspersed with some powerfully mediocre jazz, in the idiomatic sense. Oh yeah, and some Moye ranting in there as well.

If I'm feeling bold I might stop by tonight.

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Is Robert Barry alive and playing in Chicago?

Robert Barry is alive but not really playing out. He was scheduled to play a Walter Dyett tribute a year ago in Chicago but had to cancel due to health issues.

Edited by The Danimal
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