Jazz; as a Commercial Entity

[Mickey Bass]

The disappearance of Jazz Music from Commercially Advertising Radio Stations contributed greatly to a decline in the popularity of this Music.

In light of the fact that there is not now one single Commercially Advertising Radio Station in this Country playing Jazz in their programming; many benefits for the Jazz Community have been lost.

Firstly, Musicians no longer receive those Royalties which were paid to air their Music, on Commercially operating stations. Aside from this fact, Commercial Advertisers such as Record Stores, Jazz Concert and Festival Promoters, Jazz Magazines, Musical Instrument Companies, etc. have lost that place to Advertise & Promote their products. Consequently, there is a need and a demand for commercially advertising radio to promote and sell many products not just Jazz, but the big wigs in these major corporations say that Jazz is not a marketable product, which we all know is false. Jazz was the music used in most TV shows (& Movie) sound scores, during the 50's, 60's, 70's, and into the 80's.

On the other hand, Jazz After Mid-Night was always a good venue for Jazz over the years. It seems to me that someone or some group should seek out a Commercially Advertising Station and present to them the real need and demand for this music. For example, Kathy Hughes owns Radio 1 and TV 1 as well as Inner City Broadcasting which are all primarily Black Owned, yet seem to be doing the same thing as all the other Radio Stations with their Talk Radio formats. If somebody was to approach these stations they may be inclined to do a Jazz After Mid-Night Program format.

Any 'takers'? Who knows nothing beats a failure but a try!

Mickey Bass

[Dr. Nelson Harrison]

Mickey,

You have started a good discussion. Sometimes we have to look in the mirror and discern what it is we can do to promote our own interests.

The entire future of intellectual property is in flux (as is everything else in the world) and will probably wind up in a different configuration than we are accustomed to seeing.

I don't know about anyone else, but I don't care anymore about commercially advertising radio than I do black and white television or silent movies. I'm too busy promoting my brand across cyberspace and I suggest it would behoove us all to do likewise to the extend that we can look ahead and not backward.

[Mickey Bass]

JAZZ - OUR CULTURAL HERITAGE

In 1975 I was invited to teach at the newly formed Ellington School of the Arts, where I remained until 1978. During that time I had the pleasure of first teaching, and then nurturing a Jazz Ensemble, amongst whos’ members were: Wallace & Antoine Roney, Eric Allen and Clarence Seay. This Jazz Ensemble stayed together; becoming a working band with Wallace Roney leading, and went on to win three or four Grammy's. One of my reasons for teaching at Ellington was that I realized that if this music and culture was not passed on, there would not be any future for this music. These students were so eager to learn, that if I taught Wallace something at the Piano, then all of the other students would learn to play it as well; they’d ask Wallace to teach them, and all of a sudden they could all play it! Jazz as we knew it was always a cultural thing. My parents played Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Carmen McRae, Charlie Parker, and Dizzy Gillespie in our household my whole time growing up in Pittsburgh, to the tune of by the time I was nine years old I had every record Charlie Parker ever made. My case in point is that a part of keeping this Music alive, is also about recognizing, and keeping alive a part of our culture.

It seems that every other Ethnic group in this Country has an awareness of their culture. Italians are well aware of Opera, Mexicans; Mariachi bands, West Indian; Calypso & Reggae, Puerto Ricans & Cubans; Afro-Cuban, now called Salsa, Dominicans; Merengue, and the Irish have their Jigs. All of which is to say, that these groups of people have maintained an awareness of their cultural heritage, all except us, the "Blues People" as Imira Baraka so aptly put it. While I was teaching at the Ellington School of the Arts in DC we did a number of lectures on Jazz at the different local schools in the area. At that time "The Jackson Five", "The Commodores" the "Motown Sound" were all ‘on the charts’, and consequently, that was all the kids were interested in hearing. This music is also a part of the Black Heritage in America but, Culturally there is a complete lack of appreciation for, or an awareness of, the richness of this Musical culture we call Jazz.

On the other hand I had an Italian friend once tell that she did not like Frank Sinatra, but because he is Italian she had at least one of his records. What is the likelihood of every African American household owning at least one Jazz recording? Simply because it is a very valuable part of our Culture?
To some, it is so apparent how valuable, and wonderful our Music is, and it is embraced, and supported by those people. It is funny how black people have been so ‘conditioned’ that not until somebody else endorses it, do they even begin to show an interest in their own cultural heritage.
The fact is that in the beginnings of this Music, the Church never embraced Jazz. They referred to it as “The Devil's Music” or Whore House Music ( what was referred to as ‘Sportin’ Life; the beginnings of Nightlife in the brothels of New Orleans). For a long time Black Institutions of study refused to recognize Jazz as being Music. Berkeley School of Music started in 1955, of which Quincy Jones was one of the Founders, and it wasn’t until the late ‘sixties that Jazz started to become a part of the educational system at large. Consequently we play a small part today with perhaps one of the only exceptions being the so-called voice of Jazz; Wynton Marsalis, at Jazz At Lincoln Center.

I close my case.

Mickey Bass

[Doctor Tommy Scott Thompson, Jr.]

Many, many school districts when finding thrmselves deep into the throngs of a CASH SHORTAGE become desperate and rationality and foresight are sacrificed at the altar of ineptitude and well meaningschool board members sacrosanctk declare that in order to trim the budget they they are eliminating the ARTS, PHYSICAL EDUCATION and ATHLETICS and these schools brgin to emerge as the schools with the poorer performance records, the most obese children, and "RAP" becomes the students' "MUSIC" and CELLULAR PHONE TEXTING" provides physical exercise for their fingers. I lerned the basics of music theory at my elementary school and when you have generations of parents who have no appreciation for aesthetics then you are most likely to lose your audience in all venues of artistic expresssion that require formal training. There are hundreds of JAZZ FOUNDATIONS that do absolutely nothing to help improve the finances of JAZZ MUSICIANS and that's when society KILLS THE GOOSE THAT LAYS GOLDEN EGG.

[Diva JC]

Mickey,
Listen to this interview with jazz aficianado and DJ Ed Williams and others this past Wednesday, www.wijsf.com. Just go there and it will come on immediately. The show is about THE STATE OF JAZZ and will be archived forever at www.wijsf.com/radio.htm

[Mark Mosley]

What ever is coming down the pike is due to apathy, ignorance, arrogances,love of money,selling out and stupid non critical thinking might be well deserved. Plenty of those who stood on the sidelines and kept their mouths shut also support ridiculous system of priorities in this money as viewers not participants, gleefully ignoring ethics and morals as though they were playthings to be be juggled at will so to remain agood ole boy/girl. Jazz in the right hands always spoke truths,"told stories" and broke down barriers to it real creators/innovators and folks who looked like them.Jazz and historical knowledge of those who created jazz is mind boggling. Look online,Olmec's of Mexico." Still described as baby Faces and jaguar faces in many current"history" books. I think not. There is an almost complete disregard of history and a lack of curiositiy among too many older "players of this stupid system" that has infected the young.potential carriers of great jazz and other legacies. It's amazing to me to be able to see so clearly why things are affecting the whole planet,while knee jerk reactions thrive everywhere missing certain basic violations of basic info that continues to be overlooked my the current ass kissing crops of miseducators and their administrators to raise grades mainly. What hypocrisy and stupidity. Of course this B.S affects the state of jazz and everything else. Bet if people woke up enough historically, B.S music promotion and other stupid ideas that are funded through ignorance of the consumers would be cut. Especially if real musicians became the music teachers in public school systems and didn't have to skip basics in order to prepare for their concert evalutions by getting kids to 'run before they can even walk" instrumentally or musically in Public schools. The bestjazz folk came out of segregated school systems that had teachers who were denied staff positions at others schools . Now, it seems even while schools are just as segregated especially in 'ghettoes",the teachers are worse and often reflect a lower level of musicianship. Interesting! If the playing field was equal alongside accurate historical data, with schools supporting, the mental,physical, and spiritual sides equally,many things would improve overall. Doesn't take rocket Science to know this country really doesn't care about its people unless there is a money problem. Stay tuned, we haven't seen anything yet ,because too many folks are stilltoo apathetic/ignorant to really even to want to know crucial truths to demand that heads roll everywhere figuratively and literally. We jazz musicians have to persevere and really be thankful enough to not tolerate B.S and be flexible enough to move on and be a part of the solution. Jazz always had renegades who really after examing them showed social awareness enough to go to meetings as Harry Belafonte described of Charlie Parker and him attending in a book that Dr. Cornel West used as glimpses of what's happening through interviews of various folks who "fought" for truths.

[Rich Pulin]

Hey Mickey,

Thanks man!
In time(hopefully very soon)I'll unveil our program which is simple, relevant to the times, and very obvious...
I look forward to sharing the news with you asap!

Rich

[Diva JC]

To counteract the absence of Women jazz and blues composers on the commercial radio airwaves and in concert halls, I host a weekly online radio show that is better than commercial radio because each show is archived at www.blogtalkradio.com/musicwoman and the shows are all linked at www.wijsf.com/radio.htm. Any female composer who wants to be my guest should email me at [e-mail]. I need 8-10 mp3 files of your recorded music. MUSICWOMAN LIVE! airs live on Wednesday from 6-8 p.m. EST. Men are welcome. In the past, we've had Dr. Nelson Harrison and Jay Edwards of WCLK-FM in Atlanta.

Love and Music,
Diva JC
Women in Jazz South Florida, Inc.
www.wijsf.com

[edward darden]

ok, looks like i'm getting better at leaving messages. as i re-read your intro, two things came to mind although i don't have many details. first, there is a parallel example here in dc that tracks your idea. when local stations changed formats to country etc., there was going to be no programming dedicated to european symphonic music. local mogul dan snyder, who owns the redskins football team didn't think it was right, so he put up the money for a channel that would maintain the classical format. it seems that's the difference between money people like hughes and snyder. one set puts up money to provide for continuation of what represents them while the other set seems absent. you are hoping for a snyder-type who will step up to preserve jazz. who ever that might be will surely be someone not famous to the public.

the other thought is really a question. the new HD channels are begnning to come online here. it probably won't be long before enough folks buy HD receivers to make that new market viable. since the abundance of HD channels makes niche programming more possible, how about cornering one of them for jazz only? do you know how that might work?

[Mickey Bass]

Dear Ed. My original premise is what began this blog yes; and that's what this discussion is intended to be about, from my point of view. Many Thanks for your comments Ed.

[edward darden]

hey mickey. i'm not too sure that i know how to work this blog thing. i set it up to e-mail when new comments appear but these are old ones although i am getting the e-mail notice. anyway i wanted to send a shout out.

are you still on the same subject?