Results for "Opinion"

829

Article: Opinion

Remembering Shawn Lane: 1963-2003

by Souvik Dutta
December 14, 2003

Shawn Lane was a dear friend of mine and though he wasn't a household name outside the world of fusion and prog-rock, the impact he had on guitarist around the world was profound. His contribution to music can only be understood by listening to his collective works which crossed many genres. An endless ...

355

Article: Opinion

Ornette Coleman is Still the Future of Jazz

by AAJ Staff
December 12, 2003

Most of us would agree that Ornette Coleman is an important musician, a significant innovator as a saxophonist and a composer. I want to open a forum to re-evaluate Coleman in that I think he is the most significant force in jazz since Charlie Parker, and the fact that Coleman's innovations are widely misunderstood gets in ...

169

News: Opinion

Jazz Matters: 'Visually Sound: Perspectives on Jazz Photography'

December 8, 2003

The NY Chapter Jazz Journalists Association concludes its four-part fall “Jazz Matters" panel discussion series with “Visually Sound: Perspectives on Jazz Photography" This slide show presentation and discussion takes place on Wednesday, December 17th from 6-8PM at the New School University Jazz and Contemporary Music Program, located at 55 West 13th Street in the 5th floor ...

147

News: Opinion

Jazz Matters Nov. 19 and IAJE conference in January

November 17, 2003

Dear JJA members, The JJA's panel discussion series Jazz Matters continues with “The New Jazz Map: Where To Go To Listen," moderated by Jazz Journalists Association member Steve Dollar, author of the newly published survey Jazz Guide: New York City (Little Bookroom), on Wednesday, November 19, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the New School Jazz ...

299

Article: Opinion

Is There Freedom in the Groove?

by Ronald B. Weber, MD
October 29, 2003

Recently a friend showed me an article that appeared a “gentlemen’s” magazine in 1957 entitled “Can Jazz Be Progressive?” It stunned me with its narrow definition of jazz (“it ain’t real unless it’s dirty, hungry, and lowbrow”) and the way in which the author derided young, conservatory trained musicians and denigrated some of the finest modern ...

285

Article: Opinion

Jazz and Social Protest

by AAJ Staff
October 28, 2003

Submitted on behalf of Russ Musto The timeliness of Lincoln Center's Jazz and Social Protest panel discussion was ominously appropriate, convening the evening following Bush's prime time delivery of his St. Patrick's Day Iraq manifesto. All of the members of the gathered group of educator-speakers - revolutionary writer-poet-performer Amiri Baraka, activist playwright-poet Sonia ...

662

Article: Opinion

The Hi-Lo's: An Appreciation

by James Bridges
October 28, 2003

Looking back on the long history of popular music in the U.S., there are fewer periods as overlooked or misunderstood as the post WWII to pre-rock ‘n’ roll period---or roughly 1946 to 1956. Tucked away in that ten year time frame, hidden away in the awful dreck of novelty tunes and saccharine love songs so common ...

1,522

Article: Opinion

Sade, a Smooth Operator, sings of No Ordinary Love, and Is That A Crime?

by Daniel Garrett
October 25, 2003

An Appreciation of the Music of Sade Adu, Andrew Hale, Stuart Matthewman, and Paul S. Denman, who write and perform songs about friendship, love, and sympathy in both cosmopolitan and common lives in a world driven by money and roiled by politics “Wisdom is the flame, wisdom is the brave warrior who will carry ...

600

Article: Opinion

Secret Jazz: The Swinging Side of Western Swing

by Norman Weinstein
October 14, 2003

Western Swing is a musical genre wonderfully described by its leading historian Cary Ginell as “a bastard child that neither country nor jazz is willing to accept into their own house. In my opinion they are an important part of both genres." Jazz historian Ted Gioia in this thoughtful The History of Jazz, while also omitting ...

244

Article: Opinion

The New Obligation Of The Jazz Critic

by Walter Kolosky
October 4, 2003

Jazz critics are supposed to like jazz. Yet, some of the most pseudo-intellectual and vitriolic music reviews in print are turned in by jazz writers. The current truth of the matter is that with every nose-lowering review, these writers are helping to hasten the demise of jazz as a commercially viable product. These critics, and they ...