any ideas for questions?

[Christiern]

some good ones, some bad ones, some strange ones -

" why do most jazz fans dislike him."

not sure if this can accurately be said of the most successful jazz musician of the last 50 years -

Well, it can, actually, because Wyton's success—though undeniable—is really not based on his performance as a musician, not on his writing.

[AllenLowe]

Uncle Skid - you hit it on the head and it's funny, because I decided this afternoon that our conversation will indeed center on the tradition- one of the things I think I will imply is that the reason he does not like rock and pop music is because he has limited his exposure to vernacular music that comes from that tradition - that the African American musical traditions that many of us covet go wider (if not deeper) than the blues - was thinking I might play him some music if I can drag along some kind of boom box - hope to talk about hillbilly and other country traditions that crossover from the songster tradition to not only the blues but gospel music and string bands of all colors; hope also to make the point that the blues is only one of the streams that these black and white musics come from -

we'll see how it goes..........................

[Teasing the Korean]

If you're so important, why are all your albums in the dollar bin?

[marcello]

I'd ask him questions about music education, which is his real forte' and where he will really make a lasting mark.

[JSngry]

Uncle Skid - you hit it on the head and it's funny, because I decided this afternoon that our conversation will indeed center on the tradition- one of the things I think I will imply is that the reason he does not like rock and pop music is because he has limited his exposure to vernacular music that comes from that tradition - that the African American musical traditions that many of us covet go wider (if not deeper) than the blues - was thinking I might play him some music if I can drag along some kind of boom box - hope to talk about hillbilly and other country traditions that crossover from the songster tradition to not only the blues but gospel music and string bands of all colors; hope also to make the point that the blues is only one of the streams that these black and white musics come from -

we'll see how it goes..........................

Is the thrust of the interview going to be to make a point to him or to get his ideas about that point?

I could see this going really well or really badly, depending on which it is...

Not sure I agree with the notion of "coveting" African American musical traditions, though... The whole "White Negro" thing is at worst a case of arrested development and at best a part of a growth process that is eventually left behind (the part, that is, not the growth process)...And I'm not so sure that the notion of defending against "white folks wanting to be black" is not part of the m.o. that Wynton has used to make his power plays...

[marcello]

Uncle Skid - you hit it on the head and it's funny, because I decided this afternoon that our conversation will indeed center on the tradition- one of the things I think I will imply is that the reason he does not like rock and pop music is because he has limited his exposure to vernacular music that comes from that tradition - that the African American musical traditions that many of us covet go wider (if not deeper) than the blues - was thinking I might play him some music if I can drag along some kind of boom box - hope to talk about hillbilly and other country traditions that crossover from the songster tradition to not only the blues but gospel music and string bands of all colors; hope also to make the point that the blues is only one of the streams that these black and white musics come from -

we'll see how it goes..........................

If you go this route he'll tell you that music is like a gumbo and New Orleans is the nucleus.

Ask him about the universiality of jazz music and how it has expanded from just american folk music to encompass folk music from many different cultures.

[AllenLowe]

"Is the thrust of the interview going to be to make a point to him or to get his ideas about that point?"

in a word, yes -

"I could see this going really well or really badly, depending on which it is..."

I've not had a bad interview yet - Marsalis is personally secure enough, I think, not to mind anything I say in this regard - and I fear nothing -

"Not sure I agree with the notion of "coveting" African American musical traditions, though... The whole "White Negro" thing is at worst a case of arrested development and at best a part of a growth process that is eventually left behind (the part, that is, not the growth process)...And I'm not so sure that the notion of defending against "white folks wanting to be black" is not part of the m.o. that Wynton has used to make his power plays..."

beside the point - I see those African American musical traditions as being part of my own legacy - emphasizing the American here - has nothing do do with white Negritude, has everything to do with listening and understanding -

[JSngry]

I see those African American musical traditions as being part of my own legacy - emphasizing the American here - has nothing do do with white Negritude, has everything to do with listening and understanding -

So why the use of the word "covet"?

[DukeCity]

...one of the things I think I will imply is that the reason he does not like rock and pop music is because he has limited his exposure to vernacular music that comes from that tradition - that the African American musical traditions that many of us covet go wider (if not deeper) than the blues ...

IIRC, as teenagers, he and Branford played in funk bands that played Sly Stone, Earth Wind & Fire, Ohio Players, etc. So are you saying he chose to limit further exposure, or that his exposure was just...limited?

[John L]

If you're so important, why are all your albums in the dollar bin?

That could set Wynton up for a great snappy answer about where your albums might be.

[AllenLowe]

when I say limited I mean that he has likely chosen to withdraw because he sees the music as ephemeral, something he outgrew; I also, however, mean exposure to everything back to about 1901 -

and yes, if there were still dollar bins, I would have my own and expanding section -

it's so bad that I-Tunes has me under "Un-Load" -

[BillF]

First question: Been reading Organissimo forum recently?

[Christiern]

How about "Chris Albertson does not want you to give me a Movado watch"

[Adam]

Uncle Skid - you hit it on the head and it's funny, because I decided this afternoon that our conversation will indeed center on the tradition- one of the things I think I will imply is that the reason he does not like rock and pop music is because he has limited his exposure to vernacular music that comes from that tradition - that the African American musical traditions that many of us covet go wider (if not deeper) than the blues - was thinking I might play him some music if I can drag along some kind of boom box - hope to talk about hillbilly and other country traditions that crossover from the songster tradition to not only the blues but gospel music and string bands of all colors; hope also to make the point that the blues is only one of the streams that these black and white musics come from -

we'll see how it goes..........................

If you go this route he'll tell you that music is like a gumbo and New Orleans is the nucleus.

Ask him about the universiality of jazz music and how it has expanded from just american folk music to encompass folk music from many different cultures.

If he does fall upon rote answers, then press him for detailed examples, and then address questions raised by those examples.

Ask him why he thinks there needs to be a defined notion of jazz, and then follow-up appropriately.

[Adam]

And ask him what he thinks of Cecil Taylor, and whether he thinks Cecil's work is "jazz" or not.

Does he have an interest in improvised music that doesn't fit his definition of jazz? and in what ways specifically? Who does he find exploring interesting avenues these days?

What does he feel is important in the act of performance, and how he prepares (or not)?

What methods does he use (if any) to help him access his muse (for lack of a better term) in live improvisation?

[AllenLowe]

good idea - I will press him politely but firmly -

[papsrus]

And ask him what he thinks of Cecil Taylor, and whether he thinks Cecil's work is "jazz" or not.

Does he have an interest in improvised music that doesn't fit his definition of jazz? and in what ways specifically? Who does he find exploring interesting avenues these days?

What does he feel is important in the act of performance, and how he prepares (or not)?

What methods does he use (if any) to help him access his muse (for lack of a better term) in live improvisation?

Curiously, the one and only time I've been to Rose Hall was to see Cecil Taylor in a double billing with Masada. They played two nights, and I believe the whole thing was recorded. I read somewhere that Taylor listened to the tapes afterward and was delighted, but that there is little chance of them ever being released, as Marsalis (or the Lincoln Center) own the tapes.

Which makes me wonder: How much stuff does he have on tape and how much will ever see the light of day? (This is not necessarily a criticism. He himself must be overwhelmed).

The whole thing about the influence of other musics on jazz is ultimately irrelevant to many listeners, I'd guess, but apparently quite important to some musicians -- Marsalis among them, and has to do with the unique "American" underpinnings of jazz. But given the broad influences on jazz today from musics outside the blues, what is the place of the blues in the music today?

Historically, yes the blues is important. But is it important today? Is it even necessary today that a piece of music we call jazz be constructed upon the blues? And if so, what the heck was Masada doing at Rose Hall?

Edited September 29, 2008 by papsrus

[7/4]

And ask him what he thinks of Cecil Taylor, and whether he thinks Cecil's work is "jazz" or not.

Does he have an interest in improvised music that doesn't fit his definition of jazz? and in what ways specifically? Who does he find exploring interesting avenues these days?

What does he feel is important in the act of performance, and how he prepares (or not)?

What methods does he use (if any) to help him access his muse (for lack of a better term) in live improvisation?

Curiously, the one and only time I've been to Rose Hall was to see Cecil Taylor in a double billing with Masada. They played two nights, and I believe the whole thing was recorded. I read somewhere that Taylor listened to the tapes afterward and was delighted, but that there is little chance of them ever being released, as Marsalis (or the Lincoln Center) own the tapes.

Which makes me wonder: How much stuff does he have on tape and how much will ever see the light of day? (This is not necessarily a criticism. He himself must be overwhelmed).

A while back there was a concert of Ornette dixie land style, I wonder what that sounded like.

[AllenLowe]

the blues thing is interesting and I have my own complicated feelings about it - one thing I will say is that frequently the things that are ascribed to the blues influence represent much more complicated African American sources and cross influences- strangely enough (or maybe not so strangely) I've more and more become personally bored with music that doesn't in some way reflect those sources - but that's only me; I do have a sense (and this is something I am trying to develop in my own music) that as jazz people we have not even begun to tap into those sources; it's a question, first, of finding them, and than of not sounding like we are slumming when we approach them technically; not to say, of course that people like Hemphill and the AACM (among others) have not minded this; I just feel there is often something lacking in frame of reference. One reason for this (and this is a whole other topic) is a general disbelief by white liberals that rural white Americans who are products of the Jim Crow system (aka hillbillies) can produce real art - which leads to another kind of cultural deprivation, because I think you can't borrow from one source without reaching into the other -

Edited September 29, 2008 by AllenLowe

[Dave James]

because I'm smart, good looking, and have a 12 inch Johnson -

Like this?

Actually, as of a few weeks ago, that would be a 12 inch Ocho Cinco. Not sure that has quite the same impact.

Seriously though, I think there is a way to ask the "why don't jazz fans like you" in a less inflammatory manner. For example; "Why are you so dogmatic in your attachment to the music made prior to the 70's? What is it about fusion and the avant guard, and be specific here, that you find objectionable? Follow up: Who among fusion and outside artists do you find least and most objectionable? Why?

UO2.

[aparxa]

How did the interview turn out?

[Tom Storer]

Yeah, how did the interview come out? I mean, you said it was "strange" on your thread "New Project: Looking for Suggestions," but that was about it.

Meanwhile, Ethan Iverson, pianist for the Bad Plus and not always popular as a blogger here at Organissimo, has posted a lengthy interview with Wynton complete with sound clips. Not uninteresting! Bashers, get out your flamethrowers; defenders, don your asbestos suits:

http://thebadplus.typepad.com/dothemath/20...ders-guide.html