Marc Myers, the Man Behind Jazz Wax

[Brad]

 

[JSngry]

[paul secor]

I've never read his blog. Seeing him here, he seems so full of himself that I have no desire to check it out.

[mr jazz]

I read and have read his blog for a number of years. He's opinionated, sure, but he's working hard to keep jazz alive. Coincidentally, he just posted about Johnny Richards-Something Else-calling it one of the best big band albums ever made.    Comments? 

[soulpope]

6 minutes ago, mr jazz said:

I read and have read his blog for a number of years. He's opinionated, sure, but he's working hard to keep jazz alive. Coincidentally, he just posted about Johnny Richards-Something Else-calling it one of the best big band albums ever made.    Comments? 

Not being a dedicated big band follower .... nevertheless this ranking seems a bit excessive .....

[JSngry]

17 minutes ago, mr jazz said:

I read and have read his blog for a number of years. He's opinionated, sure, but he's working hard to keep jazz alive. Coincidentally, he just posted about Johnny Richards-Something Else-calling it one of the best big band albums ever made.    Comments? 

The more you like "that kind of thing", the more you'd like this kind of thing. It's a specialized taste, the whole Johnny Richards thing is.

Overall, I think Myers is  "valuable" in that he does get good information from a lot of people to whom their stories have not been paid a fuller attention. But Cadence used to do that, and maybe(?) better. And I sometimes sense (admittedly subjectively) the he possibly confuses the importance of his work with his own personal importance. I've read some of his record reviews and have not been in the least bit impressed.

But maybe I'm wrong about that.

[Brad]

37 minutes ago, paul secor said:

I've never read his blog. Seeing him here, he seems so full of himself that I have no desire to check it out.

I'm a subscriber to his blog and while I don't read every post, he does bring some unknown or neglected artists to the fore. I'd recommend taking a look. 

[HutchFan]

12 minutes ago, JSngry said:

Overall, I think Myers is  "valuable" in that he does get good information from a lot of people to whom their stories have not been paid a fuller attention.

I agree. I think he's filling a much-needed niche.  I don't read his blog religiously, but there's some cool stuff there.

Sure, I sometimes disagree with Meyer's assessments.  But so what?  That's true of everyone -- even my younger self sometimes.  

 

Edited January 10, 2019 by HutchFan

[makpjazz57]

I've read Marc's blog for quite a few years and I've learned a lot.  Love the in-depth interviews he conducts from time to time with well known and not-so-well-known jazzers.   Also love the format of jazzwax.com.  I find it very easy to navigate and can always easily go back to past interviews/stories with ease.

[sgcim]

I always wondered who he was. Thanks for posting. I learn a lot from his interviews that I couldn't learn anywhere else.

[JSngry]

If I was going to align him historically...Gene Lees, maybe?

[Chuck Nessa]

He seems to lean toward the white players, even more than Lees.

[Larry Kart]

3 hours ago, Chuck Nessa said:

He seems to lean toward the white players, even more than Lees.

Especially the NYC and LA studio guys of the '50s. It's a bit circular, but to some degree that can be chalked up to Myers' taste for those big band sounds, and it was those players who were making those sounds by and large.

Backtracking a bit, that Johnny Richards album that Myers extolled, "Something Else," is fairly nutty/surreal even by Richards' standards -- albeit nutty/surreal in an entertaining manner IMO. Its saving grace is that, unlike some other Richards' efforts, it's not particularly pretentious.

[Dave James]

When jazz is holding on by its fingernails, Myers is doing as much as anyone to keep it relevant.  You may disagree with his methodology, but I don't see how anyone can question his motives.   

[Brad]

1 hour ago, Dave James said:

When jazz is holding on by its fingernails, Myers is doing as much as anyone to keep it relevant.  You may disagree with his methodology, but I don't see how anyone can question his motives.   

Agreed. He’s out there busting his hump and doing something and I’m glad he gets a little recognition. 

Edited January 12, 2019 by Brad