obscurity

[Niko]

this is something i have been thinking about for a long time though i just realize that i can't really explain it well: when reading about jazz records one frequently reads the word obscure applied to musicians who did not become as famous as the rest of the band... as a native speaker of german i find that the word has some connotations of mysterious, spooky which may apply to someone who runs a homepage like this

http://www.dickinson.edu/~zieff/index.html

(don't know what's behind that) or to someone like dupree bolton who suddenly appears on the scene and doesn't want to say where he comes from, but i feel it is completely the wrong word for someone who just moved back to his home town / home country, quit music or just didn't record much in a long professional career for some other reason...

does it have to do with my lacking knowledge of the English language that i find the word is used a little too much (yes i should give examples) or does someone else see it that way too?

niko

[jazzbo]

It's use in English is accepted, is a "cliche" really. Whether it is the best word to use is up for debate, probably not. BUT it is used and read I think without the extra ominousness imparted to it by your native tongue to her speaker.

[jazzbo]

from Webster's.com

ob·scu·ri·ty P Pronunciation Key (b-skyr-t, b-)

n. pl. ob·scu·ri·ties

Deficiency or absence of light; darkness.

The quality or condition of being unknown: “Even utter obscurity need not be an obstacle to [political] success” (New Republic).

One that is unknown.

The quality or condition of being imperfectly known or difficult to understand: “writings meant to be understood... by all, composed without deliberate obscurity or hidden motives” (National Review).

An instance of being imperfectly known or difficult to understand.

obscurity

n 1: the quality of being unclear or abstruse and hard to understand [syn: obscureness, abstruseness, reconditeness] [ant: clarity] 2: an obscure and unimportant standing; not well known; "he worked in obscurity for many years" [ant: prominence] 3: the state of being indistinct or indefinite for lack of adequate illumination [syn: obscureness]

[Niko]

It's use in English is accepted, is a "cliche" really. Whether it is the best word to use is up for debate, probably not. BUT it is used and read I think without the extra ominousness imparted to it by your native tongue to her speaker.

thank you for your thoughts and for pointing me to Webster's... of course everyone knows what is meant by obscurity (in the case of jazz musicians) and that should be reason enough to just use the word without further thinking about it... what i think is strange about the way the word is used is that on one hand even jazz musicians who are by no means obscure are not leading a "glamourous" life in the light or are particularily well understood... on the other hand, e.g., playing trumpet or piano on Mingus Tijuana Moods is more artistic success than most individuals achieve in their lifetime so why call those guys obscure...

[jazzbo]

Well, I think you have to consider the use of the word within the genre itself. Yes, compared to the world at large most jazz musicians are "obscure." Within the world of the musicians and the fans though there are big names, known figures, and also many who are "obscure" even to musicians and fans. (Which makes them invisible and completely unknown to the non jazz multitudes. . . ).

Sure, I agree that another phrase would be nice to have and have used; "obscure" has become a cliche and it rolls right the pen without effort.

Edited June 23, 2006 by jazzbo

[Niko]

in the amg review of elmo hope's sounds from rikers island there is a strange use of another word which is used extensively in jazz journalism: legendary.

"Hope surrounds himself with musicians whose reputations are now legendary: Philly Joe Jones, John Gilmore, Ronnie Boykins, Lawrence Jackson, and Freddie Douglas."

I immediately aggree that each of these artists is legendary in some sense or another in which the word is frequently used when writing about jazz... nevertheless it will be hard to find a meaningful definition of "legendary reputation" for which the reputation of Philly Joe Jones is about as legendary as the reputation of Lawrence Jackson... (whatever the difference is between being legendary yourself and having a legendary reputation) and the author (Thom Jurek) seems to know that, otherwise he hadn't arranged the names in that order...