C. S. Lewis once said that an atheist could not choose his reading too carefully [the dreariness of the writings of professional atheists being well know even today].
Same for negrophilic jazz fans. Last July, local college station WKCR informed me that Louis Armstrong had to teach Fletcher Henderson's orchestra how to swing, thus refuting the myth of "natural rhythm" or whatever else is supposed to amount to "that way black folks play."
Today, I learned from the same source that that irritatingly revered [Church of St. John Coltrane, anyone?] charlatan, John Coltrane, admitted that "We'd all like to sound like Stan Getz."
Bet you never heard that in your "jazz appreciation" classes.
Faced with such a rival, it's no surprise Coltrane petulantly evolved his ugly, noisy, swanking trademark sound, [often clothed in ludicrously inappropriate "Eastern Spirituality" trappings, of which he knew nothing, of course] in a desperate attempt to sound "innovative," finding an all-too-ready to be bamboozled audience, mainly White, to hail him as another post-civil rights era "voice of black rage."
White man in white clothes, beating the pants off Negro musiciansLater in the same broadcast, we thrilled to hear how during the Captain Marvel sessions, despite playing almost exclusively Chick Corea compositions, with the whole Return to Forever ensemble, gets managed to "turn out a real Stan Getz album, always sounding like real jazz, not some jazz-rock hybrid." Once again, the White man asserts his natural dominance.
Of course, one must note that despite these breaks in The Wall of Negro Mythology, the station itself continues to operate on a propaganda level, with various jazz legends given day-long birthday celebrations each year, Armstrong himself given two week-long marathons [like most negroes, he had no idea of his true parentage, so he celebrated the wrong day, and rather than just silently correct this, the station uses it as an excuse to double up on the partying], while White Getz is fobbed off with a three-hour afternoon special.
Of course, one must note that despite these breaks in The Wall of Negro Mythology, the station itself continues to operate on a propaganda level, with various jazz legends given day-long birthday celebrations each year, Armstrong himself given two week-long marathons [like most negroes, he had no idea of his true parentage, so he celebrated the wrong day, and rather than just silently correct this, the station uses it as an excuse to double up on the partying], while White Getz is fobbed off with a three-hour afternoon special.
2 comments:
I am surprised and not a little disappointed that we would even listen to "jazz".
Well, in general, of course, NR; a search of my blog will reveal I yield to none in my contempt for "jizz" music. You'll find no trace of it in my cd collection, or even, as far as I can determine, any negro musician. Yes, it is possible!
However, my current situation of involuntary employment gives me ample opportunity to pursue research in various areas. Since I don't have to go into "the office" now I have been listening to WKCR in the mornings, which not only offers classical music without commercials or inane selections and commentary [unlike the loathsome WQXR, formerly owned by the New York Times -- ugh] but also Dick Schapp's daily morning exploration of Charlie Parker [as described in the Louis Armstrong posting].
Apart from wanting to expose myself educationally to the noise that is this Parker Bird [actually a phrase from Dorthy Sayers] I find that Schapp offers a wonderfully nostalgic look into the details of pop culture and the music business of the 40s-50s. i love how he stops to explain, in excruciating detail, exactly how record making and purchasing differs from today's iPod world -- indeed, what's a 'record' anyway?
All this, of course, is quite neutral, whatever Mr. Schapp might think he's doing -- who celebrates his 40th year of broadcasting this day!
Also, of course, it provides occasional nuggets of info which can serve to deflate the PR campaign of "only negroes can make music" as illustrated by my posts on Armstrong and Getz.
Never fear -- my allegiance to White Music is unwavering!
Post a Comment