Is jazz overly intellectualized?

[KOB]

Is jazz overly intellectualized?

[Ron S]

[7/4]

[Soul Stream]

Hence, this thread.

[Chuck Nessa]

Duh!

Pretty big question for a 15th post.

By who/whom/whose/etc?

[CJ Shearn]

uh, Wynton, and the like maybe are you inquiring about?

[chuckyd4]

Should have been a poll:

1) Yes.

2) No.

I'll go with Yes. Wait... No. Ah crap, I give up.

[Spontooneous]

Overly intellectualized by the people who play it? Occasionally.

By the people who write about it? Sometimes.

And what art isn't?

Generalizations don't help. Generally.

[ghost of miles]

Let me mull it over for a few years and get back to you.

[Michael Fitzgerald]

Define "over".

Mike

[Michael Fitzgerald]

No - wait - define "jazz".

Mike

[Michael Fitzgerald]

Hold on - define "is".

Mike

[Rosco]

Is jazz overly intellectualized?

←

I'm gonna have to think about this...

[rostasi]

If one examines jazz, one is faced with a choice:

either accept the Marsalis family power relations or conclude that its language,

somewhat ironically, has a real intrinsic meaning.

One could suggest the use of university-based jazz studies to

deconstruct elitist perceptions of class in jazz.

"Society is part of the failure of modern jazz,"

is what we want to hear Stanley Crouch say.

However, other writers have used the term "patriarchial construction"

to denote a mythopoetical totality of this primarily male-based construct.

Just look at Feather's analysis of bebop and what it holds out for academia.

Therefore, the main theme of the works of the unadulterated jazz experience

is the bridge between culture and society.

The subject is contextualised into a patriarchial construction

that includes narrativity as a paradox.

Edited August 23, 2005 by rostasi

[Spontooneous]

Duude, you were supposed to answer in the form of a SESTINA...

[GregK]

how about underintellectualized?

[KOB]

"Pretty big question for a 15th post."

Well,... maybe so if one doen't count the 200+ posts on the old BNBB & 45+ years of listening to jazz.

That aside, to answer your question Chuck, ... let's say my question is directed toward the so-called 'name' critics, musicians in general & the general listening audience. Admittedly, that is a very broad group, but interested in generally broad thoughts on the matter.

[chuckyd4]

[but interested in generally broad thoughts on the matter.

←

Sometimes jazz is overly intellectualized. Sometimes it is not.

Seriously, not to keep beating up on you here, but you should probably elaborate a bit on the original question if you want some serious answers. Who "overly intellectualizes" it? Where is the line between talking about jazz and "overly intellectualizing"?

I'm honestly not really sure what your question even means. Not trying to be disingenuous, it's just too vague to make much sense of.

[Chuck Nessa]

"Pretty big question for a 15th post."

Well,... maybe so if one doen't count the 200+ posts on the old BNBB & 45+ years of listening to jazz.

That aside, to answer your question Chuck, ... let's say my question is directed toward the so-called 'name' critics, musicians in general & the general listening audience.  Admittedly, that is a very broad group, but interested in generally broad thoughts on the matter.

←

My answer is NO, but for some folks the answer is yes.

So, there you go.

Twinkies are a delicacy for some folks and junk food for others.

[mgraham333]

Twinkies are a delicacy for some folks and junk food for others.

←

Dr. Egon Spengler: Well, let's say this Twinkie represents the normal amount of psychokinetic energy in the New York area. Based on this morning's reading, it would be a Twinkie thirty-five feet long, weighing approximately six hundred pounds.

Winston Zeddemore: That's a big Twinkie.

[7/4]

Twinkies are a delicacy for some folks and junk food for others.

←

Dr. Egon Spengler: Well, let's say this Twinkie represents the normal amount of psychokinetic energy in the New York area. Based on this morning's reading, it would be a Twinkie thirty-five feet long, weighing approximately six hundred pounds.

Winston Zeddemore: That's a big Twinkie.

←

I think we need a Twinkie alert with the morning weather.

[rostasi]

Admittedly, that is a very broad group, but interested in generally broad thoughts on the matter.

[Ed S]

Over-intellectualized?

Not by me, I hope.

In the last few years, I have been able to divide jazz into two main categories - stuff I like and stuff I don't like.

[Jazz Kat]

Jazz=something I dig

[KOB]

As to 'who' I am referring to, I thought my list was fairly clear.

I am not referring to anyone specific that over-intellectualizes, but interested if some felt there is too much emphasis these days on rationalization of content, format etc. versus whether the music is simply good or not good depending on what the listener is hearing and feeling.

Maybe it is a big question, but just threw it out there for some thoughts. I certainly didn't expect to generate such criticism for this question.