Yoshi's "Shamed"

[RainyDay]

I have made a silent vow to never again discuss race in jazz or to post in a thread that touches the topic - too complex an issue, tired of pissing people off - I will only say here what I told a writer friend of mine who published a book with the conventional wisdom about current racial conditions and the powerlessnes of African American jazz artists - as I told him, the most powerful jazz musician in the world (and probably in the history of the music) is African American - speaking of course of Wynton Marsalis. And if you than want to protest about the problems in the programs he leads and about his pronouncements I will say that's irrelevant to the point - because you are than confirming that the problem is not necessarily race.

so this is not to say that the racial issues have been solved, but that in jazz African Americans have achieved a great deal of equity - maybe not the African Americans we would like to see, but that begs a separate question about art and the need audiences and institutions have to hear the same old shit; and that is a problem that transcends race -

Wynton Marsalis is one person. And if he tried to hail a cab on his way to Lincoln Center, no one would stop for him either.

But this is all besides the point. The issue at Yoshi's was not about race. It was an oversight. Except for the few folks in the jazz community with an ax to grind, this is not viewed as a premeditated racial snub. When people ask me about the CD (because they know I have spent many hours at Yoshi's), I explain what happened and they get it. I really wish Peter wasn't taking the heat for this because, you know, stuff happens and as Valerie said, Peter is one of the good guys.

[sheldonm]

Thanks for clearing that up....who are you???

Sorry, I should have make that clear..... I'm Peter Williams, the artistic director at Yoshi's.

[JSngry]

Wynton Marsalis is one person. And if he tried to hail a cab on his way to Lincoln Center, no one would stop for him either.

Especially if the cab driver's a jazz fan...

[Shawn]

Wynton Marsalis is one person. And if he tried to hail a cab on his way to Lincoln Center, no one would stop for him either.

Especially if the cab driver's a jazz fan...

[AllenLowe]

"Wynton Marsalis is one person. And if he tried to hail a cab on his way to Lincoln Center, no one would stop for him either."

re-read my post - I'm not ignoring the big picture of American racism, only saying that it does not help to use template arguments when dealing with specific issues -

[Ken Dryden]

I can't blame Yoshi's for wanting to feature music recorded there on a compilation CD. But it seems like brand new recordings, vs. collecting previously released tracks, would have been the way to go. Then the CD wouldn't have had such limited scope.

[Shawn]

I can't blame Yoshi's for wanting to feature music recorded there on a compilation CD. But it seems like brand new recordings, vs. collecting previously released tracks, would have been the way to go. Then the CD wouldn't have had such limited scope.

However you run into the same issue with securing rights to record the artist...

[BFrank]

Nice of Peter to chime in here. He's a regular over on JazzCorner.

Yesterday Orrin Keepnews gave his $.02 in a letter to the Chronicle:

+++

Challenges in making Yoshi's CD Editor -- Everyone would be better off if the current controversy about the Yoshi's anniversary CD were handled with a bit more accuracy and reality.

Steven Winn's column ("Basic humanity of the arts world -- we hope -- transcends race," Wednesday) commendably seeks to calm things down but doesn't quite seem to understand the situation. As a jazz record producer who has quite frequently been involved in "live" recording over the past half century, I would like to inject a few facts into the issue.

Any list of performers appearing at Yoshi's or any other appropriately operated jazz venue would inevitably include a substantial majority of African American artists. That, after all, is what this music is primarily concerned with. But for a great variety of reasons, most such performances are not recorded. The featured artist may not feel ready to have the material permanently preserved; suitable recording equipment may not be available; the artist may not be presently affiliated with a record company (or may be under contract to a company either not willing or not able to make an on-the-job recording) -- or there could be any one of a dozen other good reasons for not recording.

And if the performance is recorded, the artist and/or company may not want part of it to be issued in combination with the other available selections. And asking a specific record company to handle the assembly and production of such an album (which is a pretty good idea, professionally), could also greatly increase the logistical and permissions problems.

Certainly one or more of these problems could easily make the whole project unfeasible -- I guess we should marvel at Yoshi's being able to put together a CD at all, rather than scolding them because it is less than perfect. At any rate, the club has now graciously apologized (including a paragraph on its Web site). Let us go back to appreciating that they give this area what I consider one of the two or three best jazz clubs I have encountered in almost seven decades of geographically widespread drinking and music- listening.

ORRIN KEEPNEWS

El Cerrito

[ValerieB]

you, go, orrin!! he is always willing to set the record straight! i always enjoy seeing him at monterey every year. what a character and what stories that man has. and, last but not least, he's always more than willing to share them!

[Jazz Kat]

This is stupid.