bloke wrote:
It isn't easy to find "great" stuff, period. If you are an out-of-towner somewhere and drive past a bar in a strip mall that has "jazz", the likelihood that the musicians are exceptionally fine is about the same likelihood of finding an exceptionally fine TUBA or EUPHONIUM for sale in a strip mall music (combo) store.
True, but at least if it's labeled a "tuba" or "euphonium," one would hope they labeled the horns correctly (well, there's the whole age-old ignorance on euph vs. baritone and tuba vs. sousaphone). What bugs me is they will put blues in a jazz club and think nothing of it. Takes away gigs for the jazzers. Then again, it may have never been a good gig to start with.
bloke wrote:Most cities have some good jazz musicians around...You just have to ask questions...and hearing them play just might not
be associated with buying a drink in a dive.
Of course. But, for instance, when I was in Savannah once on a date, she took me to a place called "The Jazz Corner" or something like that. Savannah has a great deal of fine jazz, we tend to drive from Jax on a regular basis to go hear great musicians or gig, which led me to believe this may be a good place to hear live jazz. This particular "jazz club" was very upscale, and you had to pay a good deal to get a beer or martini. The band playing was a bunch of middle aged guys in a blues band who were playing wrong notes left and right.
bloke wrote:Around here, there are a LOT more "blues" bands than "jazz" bands, and jazz musicians (sometimes - particularly some who have migrated here from New Orleans) actually take offense at being referred to as "blues" musicians.
I don't mind going out to hear a good blues band. Emphasis on GOOD. However, they should be playing in a blues club. Not jazz. Just as I wouldn't go to Hard Rock Cafe to hear some new hip-hop artist, I don't think there should be blues in a jazz club. If you know me, you would know I have nothing against ANY genre of music. God knows, I've been playing in a country band lately to pay the bills. But I wouldn't call up Simon's jazz club (here in Jax) and try to get this band a gig there.
bloke wrote:"and great jazz musicians don't necessarily have to be members of the Negro race, either
"
Of course they don't. My list of favorite jazz musicians is absolutely loaded with white people. If Miles and Mingus, who are well known for their dislike of white people in general, hired whites on a normal basis because of their playing and not their color, why should I be prejudice about that, either? I'm just noting the irony in the blues genre in that it was started and popularized with black people, and I just find it interesting most of what you see playing nowadays are white guys. Most of them have just recently learned their instruments, which they bought with the money they have laying around from their good jobs.
Nick
PS: Sorry to take yet another thread off subject.
