sheldonm Posted April 11, 2005 Report Posted April 11, 2005 ....well not really Buster. A few of us went to see Buster Williams at the Jazz Showcase a week ago Friday and the show was very good. While at the Showcase yesterday, I found out that during the Sunday show (the one I usually attend), Buster invited someone from the crowd up on stage to do some rappin' . Buster asked one of the employees to turn the sound up and Joe Segal (sitting in the lobby) heard it. Now those of you who know (or know of) Joe, know that he is not fond (he hates it) of Rap music. He opened the door and told them to turn the board off. Buster kept playing and the guy kept rappin'. Joe then walked in and turned all the lights off !!! bringing the show to a quick close. I was tring to get more details but some patrons strolled in so I didn't get the rest of it. I asked Joe about it yesterday (my boss calls this "stirrin' the pot") and he said he just did what he had to do......man, that's crazy!!! I love Joe!!!! Mark Quote
Noj Posted April 11, 2005 Report Posted April 11, 2005 (edited) Good for Joe, nothing like letting your own tastes dictate what gets censored. It's like being your very own oppressive government! Edited April 11, 2005 by Noj Quote
Michael Fitzgerald Posted April 11, 2005 Report Posted April 11, 2005 His court, his rules. People start crying "censorship" when it's nothing of the kind. You want to work in that club, you toe the line. There's nothing preventing those who don't like the rules from going elsewhere to find a gig. Mike Quote
Noj Posted April 11, 2005 Report Posted April 11, 2005 Waaaaahhh! Waaaaahhh! OK, I'm done. I don't really care about them pulling the plug on another dude who thinks he can rap soiling up a jazz club full of people who don't want to hear it. Quote
sheldonm Posted April 11, 2005 Author Report Posted April 11, 2005 I'm not sure what the reaction of the patrons were. If I had been there as I am most Sunday's, I would have been unhappy to see the show end early. Although I'm not a fan of rap, I would have probably thought it funny provided it didn't go past one tune. Joe is certainly a big band, bop, hard bop kind of guy. He certainly will not be convinced to bring any type of music into the Showcase that he doesn't like. He's even a little "sqeemish" about the Roneys/Hargroves/Paytons of the world with the electronics involved. Mark Quote
Jim Alfredson Posted April 11, 2005 Report Posted April 11, 2005 And thus we see, in full bloom, the attitude that is killing "jazz". Put it safely away in academia or the museum and keep it away from the streets, for its own good!!!!!!!! Quote
sheldonm Posted April 11, 2005 Author Report Posted April 11, 2005 the attitude that is killing "jazz". ...mine or Joe's??? Quote
Jim Alfredson Posted April 11, 2005 Report Posted April 11, 2005 Joe's. Granted, the guy can do whatever he wants... it's his club. But didn't somebody just start a thread on the popularity of jazz? We hear time and time again how jazz only accounts for 1-2% of CD sales in the US. Why? Because of people with attitudes like Joe's. Quote
Michael Fitzgerald Posted April 11, 2005 Report Posted April 11, 2005 It's been said that anything that people claim is "killing jazz" is actually a good thing for jazz. Mike Quote
sheldonm Posted April 11, 2005 Author Report Posted April 11, 2005 It's been said that anything that people claim is "killing jazz" is actually a good thing for jazz. Mike I love Joe but he does draw a line in the sand with the types of music he'll bring in! It freaks me to go see some of these players (G. Coleman, Bobby Hutcherson and so on...) and have 30 people show up. I'm always told that Chicago has a lot of other things happening in the city but they also have a lot of people (visitors and tourists) in the city. It's a great club with no pushy waitresses, a cheap cover charge and no drink minimums. It only holds about 150-175 people at the most; they should be packed every week! They (Showcase) may have to be a little more creative on the marketing part of it. Mark Quote
ejp626 Posted April 11, 2005 Report Posted April 11, 2005 I like the Showcase, but it does feel like it is for old-timers. I think the average age of the headliners they book is about 75. There's no question in my mind that HotHouse or Empty Bottle has more interesting acts on a weekly basis, though of course I will go and see the legends when they come to the Showcase. I guess I would have to disagree a bit with Michael. I figure Joe has a firm idea of the kind of acts he will book (and I was pleasantly surprised that he did book Stefon Harris and Blackout) but once he's booked them, it's pretty much their stage. Would it be cool to say, it's his club, so he gets to dictate the set list of every act -- or maybe just that every act during "Bird Lives Month" has to play Cherokee? Unless he said explicitly upfront, no rap -- which is unlikely -- it seems a pretty extreme over-reaction. I would have been pissed if I had paid for that Sunday show and he pulled the plug on it. Quote
ejp626 Posted April 11, 2005 Report Posted April 11, 2005 In fact, if I was a young guy and felt that this old dude ripped me off by ending the show early cause he hated rap, that would be the last time I would ever go to the Showcase. I've seen a lot of great jazz in Chicago, but generally the most memorable and exciting shows have not been at the Showcase. Quote
sheldonm Posted April 11, 2005 Author Report Posted April 11, 2005 Although I'm not a big fan of the electronic stuff and I came to the show yesterday kind of expecting to be a little dissapointed due to the review (damn critics B-)! ), I thought Stefon played his ass off and I would certainly go see him again. Although I'm sure Joe doesn't tell them what to play, I would bet most artists that know him probably have a good idea of what to "bring". I dig the older guys but think Joe probably needs to keep guys like Harris and the younger guys coming in to keep things fresh. Eric and I talked about this at the show the other day. Joe does some advertising but are the younger crowd reading those particular papers....our guess is "probably not". Quote
JSngry Posted April 11, 2005 Report Posted April 11, 2005 Joe Segal's done a lot of great things for jazz over the years, but that was not one of them. Where's Mingus and his crazy-ass mouth-punchin' self when you really need him? Quote
sheldonm Posted April 11, 2005 Author Report Posted April 11, 2005 Where's Mingus and his crazy-ass mouth-punchin' self when you really need him? .....brought to you through the courtest of love ! Quote
sheldonm Posted April 11, 2005 Author Report Posted April 11, 2005 Tough love, that is. ....that's what I thought! Quote
JSngry Posted April 11, 2005 Report Posted April 11, 2005 Well, I mean, really - Buster Williams didn't do anything that even remotely deserved a reaction like that. The word "plantation" keeps coming to mind. I don't even remotely know why... Quote
sheldonm Posted April 11, 2005 Author Report Posted April 11, 2005 Well, I mean, really - Buster Williams didn't do anything that even remotely deserved a reaction like that. The word "plantation" keeps coming to mind. I don't even remotely know why... I asked if there were "words" after the show about the situation but was told that neither one of them mentioned it! It's as if both of them just accepted it and went on with life. I wish I had been there to witness it but chose a different day to attend. I think they both need each other to survive! Mark Plantation???? It was bad but I'm not sure it was that bad!!! B-) Quote
JSngry Posted April 11, 2005 Report Posted April 11, 2005 The word "plantation" keeps coming to mind. I don't even remotely know why... Plantation???? It was bad but I'm not sure it was that bad!!! It's as if both of them just accepted it and went on with life. I've taken the liberty of rearranging the sequence of your words to, perhaps, illuminate my point, such as it is. Think about it, though - if somebody had pulled a stunt like this on Mingus, what do you think would have happened? OUCH! Quote
sheldonm Posted April 11, 2005 Author Report Posted April 11, 2005 The word "plantation" keeps coming to mind. I don't even remotely know why... Plantation???? It was bad but I'm not sure it was that bad!!! It's as if both of them just accepted it and went on with life. I've taken the liberty of rearranging the sequence of your words to, perhaps, illuminate my point, such as it is. Think about it, though - if somebody had pulled a stunt like this on Mingus, what do you think would have happened? OUCH! I'm sure Mingus would have kicked some ass (he may not have done it to Mingus ). I'm certainly not in agreement with killing the power during the show. Maybe letting the show finish and saying something afterwords may have been more appropriate! Why make the paying customer suffer??? m- Quote
JSngry Posted April 11, 2005 Report Posted April 11, 2005 Ya' know. Buster probably just went back to his hotel room and chanted... Quote
maren Posted April 11, 2005 Report Posted April 11, 2005 From the press release for this tour: The Buster Williams Quartet featuring legendary bassist Buster Williams will perform for a limited engagement at the Jazz Showcase. They will feature the music from their highly acclaimed new CD “Griot Liberte.”... Williams said the songs he composed for “Griot Liberte” are an expression of his life, and were inspired by the experience of his wife who suffered through a major illness and then recovery. “The ‘griot’ is this storyteller that liberates the soul and the spirit. To be liberated is to express yourself as you see it, to have no qualms, to be able to lay your head down on your pillow at night and go to sleep instantly because your day has been fulfilled with victory. The real victory we seek is how to defeat our own devils – our own limitations,” explained Williams. Quote
Michael Fitzgerald Posted April 11, 2005 Report Posted April 11, 2005 We're obviously not getting the entire story (either side of it), but I could see the fact that someone from the crowd was onstage might play a part in this. "What is that? *Who* is that? I never booked that!" Mike Quote
Jim Alfredson Posted April 11, 2005 Report Posted April 11, 2005 We're obviously not getting the entire story (either side of it), but I could see the fact that someone from the crowd was onstage might play a part in this. "What is that? *Who* is that? I never booked that!" Mike I don't see why that would factor into it. Quote
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