Jazz Times -- no white writers admitted now? per Nate Chinen

[Dan Gould]

This seems a lot fluffier than before.

Can't wait to see jazz pushed back into popular culture though.

A  thousand eye roll thingamabobs.

 

[Kevin Bresnahan]

When I first read the statement from the new Jazz Times, it screamed "Look at me". It's pretty common today, especially in the political arena. The playbook is simple. Say something outrageous and get people talking about it.

[John L]

What is being discussed and argued here is nothing new.  There has long been a tension between the creative forces in jazz, which have been predominantly black, and the critical establishment that has been predominantly white.  I find it interesting and ironic that the advent of bebop, which was almost entirely a black creation, marked the time when audiences for jazz become more and more white.   

In the end, of course, it is the quality of writing about jazz that matters, not race.  But it is not so simple that we can just wish this tension away.  

[Ken Dryden]

Unless there is a photo of a jazz journalist or I actually met them at a JJA meeting, during IAJE or in a jazz venue, I often had no clue as to the race of the writer. 

 

[Teasing the Korean]

10 minutes ago, Ken Dryden said:

Unless there is a photo of a jazz journalist or I actually met them at a JJA meeting, during IAJE or in a jazz venue, I often had no clue as to the race of the writer. 

I listen to a lot of electronica.  Because of the way the music is packaged and the kinds of names artists typically use, I don't know whether the artists are solo, duo, or group, to say nothing of race, ethnicity, or gender.  

[Joe]

17 hours ago, Rabshakeh said:

Are we not missing the point?

Jazz Times has fired all of its staff and is not proposing to take on new permanent staff, as far as I know.

Instead I thought that the model was going to be paid for advertorials plus near-unpaid fan submissions, probably on a level with the universally lauded Wayne Shorter obit.

I have no objection to an entirely African-American staffed jazz magazine, and in fact think it is a perfectly good idea, but Jazz Times' recent direction is not that.

This is all just marketing led trolling in the wake of the backlash, surely? 

Right. We're not even talking about journalism anymore. We're talking about content. The shifts here are both generational and racial/ethnic/cultural. (Dare we say they are intersectional?)

How long before JT becomes a Substack? Not that there's anything wrong with Substack... in fact, if I am a possible contributor, why wouldn't I just start my own Substack?

[JSngry]

Are there even going to be record reviews?

Or records, for that matter? 

[Dan Gould]

1 hour ago, Joe said:

Right. We're not even talking about journalism anymore. We're talking about content. The shifts here are both generational and racial/ethnic/cultural. (Dare we say they are intersectional?)

How long before JT becomes a Substack? Not that there's anything wrong with Substack... in fact, if I am a possible contributor, why wouldn't I just start my own Substack?

But Substack doesn't really fit a model for a publication with such a wide variety of published material as a magazine, does it? I see substack as a way for writers of all stripes to publish (sometimes) worthy reporting and opinion without limitation of a publisher/editor.

Sort of Only Fans for non-adult entertainment.

[Teasing the Korean]

1 hour ago, JSngry said:

Are there even going to be record reviews?

Or records, for that matter? 

With all respect to Larry Kart and other reviewers, I have questioned the value of record reviews in the digital era, when any of us can listen to samples, YouTube videos, or even entire albums via Spotify.  Reviews were more valuable when you had to drop money before checking out the record.

[Rabshakeh]

53 minutes ago, Teasing the Korean said:

With all respect to Larry Kart and other reviewers, I have questioned the value of record reviews in the digital era, when any of us can listen to samples, YouTube videos, or even entire albums via Spotify.  Reviews were more valuable when you had to drop money before checking out the record.

I like reviews because they often lead to recommendations and references that you would not get in an article.

I find reviews really valuable for that reason alone.

[JSngry]

Plus, I usually need to be incentivized by something to sample at all 

[Teasing the Korean]

19 minutes ago, JSngry said:

Plus, I usually need to be incentivized by something to sample at all 

Sometimes, a recommendation from a friend or even knowing the record label  is incentive enough for me.

[Stompin at the Savoy]

I like reviews.  A well done review is helpful even after you own the record sometimes, by pointing out interesting things about the recording or giving background info, identifying soloists, mentioning related recordings, exploring technical or harmonic details etc etc.

[Eric]

For me, reviews create an awareness of what is out there.  Then you can go stream whatever you like to sample it.

As a practical matter however, I put a lot more weight on what I read about here, which has led to an amazing broadening of my tastes.

But yeah, I received the May issue in the mail.  No reviews, no real artist features.  Not sure what it is going to become.  I will wait and see how it evolves then decide whether I want to renew.

Edited April 18, 2023 by Eric

[clifford_thornton]

3 hours ago, JSngry said:

Are there even going to be record reviews?

Or records, for that matter? 

looks like that is a "no."

writing about music is a skill for sure. I do like reading what certain individuals have to say about releases that I might be interested in buying. And as someone who has done record reviews, I know that my opinion will change over time, or at least the nuances that brought me to a certain conclusion will change. That's part of the fun of appreciating art.

[Peter Friedman]

I find record reviews stimulating me to pull an album/CD off the shelf and listen to it. Having a very large collection, there are very many recordings I have not heard in a long long time. So a review gives me an opportunity to refresh my memory of that recording, and perhaps hear things in it that I  was previously unaware.

[Teasing the Korean]

So much of the music I listen to doesn't get reviewed in any formal publications.  I am relying on samples or word of mouth from friends who share similar tastes. 

[clifford_thornton]

Totally. I've listened to (I think) all of my LPs, but not all of my CDs. So there's still much to discover.

[JSngry]

Did you know that JAZZIZ is still in business? 

[medjuck]

I'm most incentivized to listen to new (to me) recordings by comments on this forum. 

[HutchFan]

1 minute ago, medjuck said:

I'm most incentivized to listen to new (to me) recordings by comments on this forum. 

+1

 

[mjazzg]

+2 

[Dan Gould]

15 minutes ago, JSngry said:

Did you know that JAZZIZ is still in business? 

So does that mean that smooth/contemporary is still selling? Is smooth jazz still a viable radio format?

Its not that surprising to me that JAZZIZ would still be in business.

[JSngry]

I went to their website and the lead story was about Karl Berger!!! 

Apparently they now do print quarterly and regular web updates in between. 

[jlhoots]

13 minutes ago, medjuck said:

I'm most incentivized to listen to new (to me) recordings by comments on this forum. 

Depends who's making the comments. It's all a matter of taste. We don't all like the same music.