Say what?
Also try listening to John Zorn's Moonchild or Naked City projects, the former which features Mike Patton on vocals, and Trevor Dunn from Mr. Bungle on bass.
Last edited:
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Tell me about Jazz
- Thread starter Drop1
- Start date
Also try listening to John Zorn's Moonchild or Naked City projects, the former which features Mike Patton on vocals, and Trevor Dunn from Mr. Bungle on bass.
"Bitches Brew" is a good way as any to be blown away and have your brain expanded.
I sometimes get into conversations where someone hears that I play jazz, and then unloads on me about everything they don't like about it. One former work colleague told me that he liked jazz, but then began to list all of the restrictions, culminating with "No Bass Solos."
I listened politely, then told him: "You'll probably hate my band, and I play lots of bass solos."
Trying to convince people to like any musical style is a fool's errand. There have been many threads like this:
Here's a song, don't you like this?
No.
Well, how about this one?
No.
Well then surely, you'll like this one instead?
No.
There's no magical recording that turns everybody into a jazz lover. Not even The Shape of Jazz To Come.
I listened politely, then told him: "You'll probably hate my band, and I play lots of bass solos."
Trying to convince people to like any musical style is a fool's errand. There have been many threads like this:
Here's a song, don't you like this?
No.
Well, how about this one?
No.
Well then surely, you'll like this one instead?
No.
There's no magical recording that turns everybody into a jazz lover. Not even The Shape of Jazz To Come.
Charles Mingus is another cornerstone, he's a bass player. Composer, author, theorist, outlaw mentality, literally a giant! There's a lot of footage too, where you can see him playing, the acoustic bass four strings, no amp, really the purist, hardest way to play, not compromised and the most expressive ensemble solo style player.
Last edited:
Wouldn't it be a sad, nondescript, and boring old world if we all had the same taste in music...or anything else for that matter? Long may it be a case of..."one person's meat is another person's poison."
At this point, I suspect aWouldn't it be a sad, nondescript, and boring old world if we all had the same taste in music...or anything else for that matter? Long may it be a case of..."one person's meat is another person's poison."
Usually, I find that people who discover that I play jazz will say "ugh, jazz, I hate that!". If I ask why then it usually comes down to there not being lyrics or a tune they can recognise. Therefore, I can only conclude that the people who tell me they hate jazz imagine that jazz means instrumental hard bop, post bop or free jazz (i.e. exactly the stuff I like). I'd not expect those with mainstream tastes to like what could be considered art music performed by musicians for musicians. The Fast Show's old sketches represent how it looks and sounds to such people, I think.
Often, these same jazz haters will be quite happy with jazz if it is something other than the sub-genres mentioned above and if it's presented in an appropriate context for them, e.g. a trad band at a country fair or a straight-ahead piano trio playing background music at a cocktail party.
There are a couple of groups I play with on a regular basis. One is a hard bop band and we find it difficult to get gigs*. Usually, rural venues reject our demo tape, claiming that they need something "a bit more up tempo" (as if "Impressions" wasn't up tempo enough) or "something more tuneful for people to dance to". The other band plays jazz with very simple grooves and some vocals. This band is quite popular in comparison. I had this conversation with an acquaintance about it recently:
"Are you coming to the beer festival?"
"Yes, I am in fact playing there."
"Oh, what sort of music?"
"Jazz."
"Ugh, I hate jazz! Let me know when you're on so I can avoid the stage area."
"Please at least have a listen so you can give me your opinion, even if you think it sucks."
"Humph, OK"
After the show:
"So, what did you think to the jazz?"
"Surprisingly, it wasn't too bad after all, and I even enjoyed it."
Relatively light jazz whilst the listeners are relaxing outdoors in pleasant weather with a few beers did indeed go down very well amongst people who, I am sure, would never listen to a hard bop album.
(*) The few hardcore jazz venues are mostly found in a nearby city and are usually harder to get into unless one knows the right people.
Everyone whose opinion you don't like is a troll? Sorry, no. That's not how that works.
Disagree - repeating the same thing and dismissing examples without providing any context is trolling in my book. I'm all for variety and can absolutely dig differences in taste, but that's not the feel here. Not that it amounts to a hill of beans.No...I don't think so. The guy is entitled to his opinion....like everyone else. As the adage goes...."variety is the spice of life".
