Ageing audience for jazz?

[AllenLowe]

Frisell is sincere but, I think, completely misguided. the above sounds like the Dead, but Garcia did it better, in my opinion.

what he misses - what a LOT of the Americana crowd misses - and I also include people like Neko Case in this - is the grit and sweat in that old music; theirs are the interpretations of those who have never really listened to hillbilly music from the 1920s, which is a whole other world. It's like somone doing a tribute to Louis Armstrong who has only listened to Chet Baker.

they just, to my ears, scratch the surface. The solo that Frisell plays on that first piece is, truthfully, not as good as the one I played on my country modal/Tristano tune in 2007; which is meant to say less about my solo than his.

Edited June 17, 2014 by AllenLowe

[uli]

Frisell is sincere but, I think, completely misguided. the above sounds like the Dead, but Garcia did it better, in my opinion.

what he misses - what a LOT of the Americana crowd misses - and I also include people like Neko Case in this - is the grit and sweat in that old music; theirs are the interpretations of those who have never really listened to hillbilly music from the 1920s, which is a whole other world. It's like somone doing a tribute to Louis Armstrong who has only listened to Chet Baker.

they just, to my ears, scratch the surface. The solo that Frisell plays on that first piece is, truthfully, not as good as the one I played on my country modal/Tristano tune in 2007; which is meant to say less about my solo than his

I admit that i am no treally familiar with the genre. Anway tjis country talk made me listen to Wilf Carter this morning a bit and I could post this on the best son g you heard this week thread

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Luabq9EoATI&list=RDLuabq9EoATI

Edited June 17, 2014 by uli

[A Lark Ascending]

A couple of (again anecdotal) observations from the world of folk music in Britain. Folk and jazz share some of the same audience and many of the grayhairs (myself included) would have grown up at a time when 'Jazz, Folk and Blues' were marketed to a common audience.

When I go to local folk concerts the audience is predominately middle aged or older but always with a scattering of younger people. But when I go to Sidmouth, although there is a big greyhair audience, there are always lots of younger people bopping around. Might be that the 'festival' atmosphere with the chance to dip in and out, have a few beers etc is more appealing. I suspect a big part of it is that it has a high level of participatory events - workshops for everything from bouzouki playing to clog dancing; and especially the nightly dance/ceilidh events often with bands with a modern spin to them. Why, you can even bring your mates who might not much like folk music but won't have to sit sullen-faced through a formal concert experience. Thinking of it, the 'festival' atmosphere might well explain why Cheltenham and Brecon jazz festivals seem to have a more diverse audience age-wise.

Secondly, the editorial in the most recent Froots (a British magazine covering folk/world music) seems to be relevant:

http://www.frootsmag.com/content/issue/edsbox/

Now I find Ian Anderson (the one who stands on two legs) inspirational and infuriating by turns. That article displays both his open-earedness and willingness to take constant risks in programming obscure music; and his own prejudices that he projects as the way things are.

But if only commentators on jazz and classical music could communicate with such passion instead of using their access to the media as an opportunity to broadcast the exclusiveness of their tastes, maybe, just maybe,....

His account of the joy of constant discovery, even if that excitement might fade quickly as a new favourite comes along, comes closest to explaining why I'm still absorbed in listening to music. Much as I love to revisit all the things I've known for years, it's the shock of the new (be it a brand new album from a brand new performer or a 16thC Mass that I've never heard before) that brings the greatest thrill. Sinking into a dotage of 'appreciating' a narrow body of music I have whittled down as being 'deep', 'timeless' or 'profound' and thus worthy of my wisdom holds no attraction at all.

I suspect a greater focus on the former is the way to keeping life in any genre.

[i love this line from the article "Sarah Coxson once described in these pages how a particular band swooped and turned as one, like a flock of starlings – murmuration music." Isn't that exactly what happens on those nights when everything seems to go right in a performance (and your own mood is completely in tune):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eakKfY5aHmY

Edited June 17, 2014 by A Lark Ascending

[David Ayers]

Something like a Heideggerian poetics of music is needed. It would not be based on genre, although genre would inevitably be a subset of that discussion. Heidegger on the topic of boredom might be a starting point. Allen might be sympathetic to that. I can't spell it all out here and now, but I am getting round to it. Some day.

[AllenLowe]

now you've got me interested.

[A Lark Ascending]

Well that would certainly scare off the dabblers, leaving it as the exclusive preserve of the initiates.

***************

This article gives some suggestions that might explain why sitting attentively in a concert hall or jazz club is not that appealing to many young people:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-27501984

Really like that one. Turns on its head the myth that young people are all morons, unable to focus like grown ups.

"There is a lot of cynicism about net addiction, losing social skills, being an army of narcissists only interested in Facebook and selfies. I found that none of that is true.

"They are the smartest generation ever."

Edited June 19, 2014 by A Lark Ascending

[Shawn]

Well that would certainly scare off the dabblers, leaving it as the exclusive preserve of the initiates.

***************

This article gives some suggestions that might explain why sitting attentively in a concert hall or jazz club is not that appealing to many young people:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-27501984

Really like that one. Turns on its head the myth that young people are all morons, unable to focus like grown ups.

"There is a lot of cynicism about net addiction, losing social skills, being an army of narcissists only interested in Facebook and selfies. I found that none of that is true.

"They are the smartest generation ever."

Thanks for posting that. I see so much hate directed toward "Millenials" (mostly by middle-aged people who have forgotten what it's like to be young) it's refreshing to know that there are other viewpoints out there.

[David Ayers]

From that article:

But far from restricting access, Mr Tapscott thinks we need to stop seeing online as bad and offline as good.

I lost patience with this article. Who is the imaginary moronic 'we' which thinks like that? Who is the genius Tapscott who has spotted that being online is quite good? And why this fantasy that 'kids' are somehow ahead of 'adults' in knowing that 'we' live in a 'digital' world? That world is prepared and created by adults, and we 'adults' were living in it before these imaginary 'kids' were born. Agreed that you do hear this shallow stuff about 'attention span' peddled in the media, but not by people who you'd pay any attention to. Kids are just learning - don't over-credit that - but I guess many adults stopped learning a while ago. Those are the ones who imagine their 'kids' to be a race of geniuses rather than - as the article accidentally reveals - just kids playing with toys.

now you've got me interested.

Pun aside, you actually might be! I have most elements of this in my head, but whether I'll publish it is a different matter. I do occasionally present work on music but not, so far, on this question.

[AllenLowe]

sorry, wasn't intentionally punning, honest. Yes, let us know.

and btw, I know you did not intend it as so but I found this somewhat amusing: "you do hear this shallow stuff about 'attention span' peddled in the media, but not by people who you'd pay any attention to."

[Chuck Nessa]

Nothing really wrong with a couple of bullets in a couple of heads.