JAM: December/January 2001 Issue: Into the '00's We Go... But Will Jazz Survive

Into the '00s We Go...
(But Will Jazz Survive the Trip?)

by Bill Fogarty

Where is jazz heading?

I knew before I started asking this question that it would mean something different to everyone, so it was no surprise when I ended up with an interesting variety of answers.

I did decide to anchor the question a bit, so when it was asked it had become: Where is Kansas City jazz headed, economically and artistically? I then cornered three veteran Kansas City musicians for their takes on the subject.

Mike Ning is a pianist, now retired from his Hallmark day job, who stays as busy as he wants, "mostly just to have fun." He is an optimist.

"There is plenty of work, depending on your instrument; except most of the jobs are not pure jazz. From an artistic standpoint, Kansas City jazz just keeps getting better. One of the reasons is that great musicians like (bassist) Bob Bowman and (guitarist) Danny Embrey have come back to town and have raised the general level of playing and musicianship.

"I also find more and more young musicians playing further beyond the mainstream. They are certainly more advanced than I was when I was young. Musicians like (trombonist) Tim Perryman and (saxophonist) Gerald Dunn, as well as products of Paseo Academy and the UMKC Conservatory are taking the music to new levels."

Gerald Dunn handles the booking for what many consider this town's finest jazz venue, the Blue Room at 18th and Vine. As for the economic climate, he feels it can be better or worse depending on the individual and what he or she wants from jazz.

"There's a thin line between art and entertainment. Some musicians encompass both, they have good social skills and they use them well. Other musicians spend more time with the music itself and don't always interact in ways that get gigs. They play for themselves and a few other musicians.

"But there are a lot of playing opportunities in this town -- from country club gigs to straightahead jazz."

As for artistic quality, Dunn had this to say.

"The newer cats on the scene don't always take the time to research what has gone before them. So, they don't develop the depth that the older musicians were able to achieve. Those older guys played every day, they traveled a lot, and the experience allowed them to develop styles.

"Today, there aren't as many opportunities out there to play and develop, so the young kids try to pull somebody else's style into themselves. They're mostly trying to sound like what they think is hip."

Kerry Strayer, baritone saxophonist and leader of the New Kansas City 7, agrees that, in terms of making a living, there's a lot of work to be had in KC. He's constantly playing weddings and society dates, and he says, "We get to do a lot of jazz and swing at those gigs. You wouldn't be able to do that in many other cities; you'd have to play rock all night.

"But that's not playing creative jazz -- as in art music. And Kansas City doesn't have much in the way of listening clubs. Also, we have a lot of jazz fans here who want to buy a Coke and just sit for four hours. Then they wonder why the management stops booking jazz."

So, Strayer finds the chances to deliver highly creative jazz fairly limited. He has praise, however, for Gerald Dunn's booking policy at the Blue Room.

"Gerald has stuck to his guns."

Some would say that, as the larger jazz picture goes, so goes jazz in Kansas City. So, the other question might be: Where is jazz heading beyond our local scene?

Once again, different people will have differing answers, but I asked one jazz fan whose credentials give his words plenty of weight. New York-based Terry Teachout, once the jazz writer for The Kansas City Star, has established himself as a prominent music critic, not only in the jazz world, but in other musical fields as well. This is what he had to say:

"Walter Piston once said to a student composer, 'I don't care what ideas you have, so long as you have ideas.' That's how I feel about jazz -- I don't care where it's going, so long as it's moving.

"At the same time, I don't think there's any such thing as forward movement in art. It's true that the musical language of jazz has become more complex -- larger, if you like -- and in a narrowly technical sense that's a kind of progress. More than a few musicians of the '40s, Coleman Hawkins famously among them, really did think the music they were playing was not merely different from the jazz of the '20s, but better. Not so. I would no more say Charlie Parker was 'better' than Johnny Hodges than I would say Cezanne was 'better' than Watteau (or vice versa). Art isn't science. It doesn't progress, it evolves. Great art remains great, no matter what comes after it.

"One of the things that interests me about the contemporary jazz scene is the willingness of so many younger musicians to draw freely on the jazz styles of the past, believing that they are all equally valid and available for use. I'm not interested in attempts to literally reproduce those styles, which is why I'm a bit skeptical about the jazz repertory movement, and about the uncreative conservatism of such players as Wynton Marsalis.

"But neoclassicism -- the notion that one can take earlier styles and transform them into something new and personal -- seems to me as potentially fruitful a development in jazz as it was in the hands of Stravinsky. I like the idea of a historically conscious jazz, and I think that may be where the creative action is to be found right now. But that's only a guess, no more."

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© Kansas City Jazz Ambassadors 1996-2001. All rights reserved.






	Search our site:		Into the '00s We Go... (But Will Jazz Survive the Trip?) by Bill Fogarty Where is jazz heading? I knew before I started asking this question that it would mean something different to everyone, so it was no surprise when I ended up with an interesting variety of answers. I did decide to anchor the question a bit, so when it was asked it had become: Where is Kansas City jazz headed, economically and artistically? I then cornered three veteran Kansas City musicians for their takes on the subject. Mike Ning is a pianist, now retired from his Hallmark day job, who stays as busy as he wants, "mostly just to have fun." He is an optimist. "There is plenty of work, depending on your instrument; except most of the jobs are not pure jazz. From an artistic standpoint, Kansas City jazz just keeps getting better. One of the reasons is that great musicians like (bassist) Bob Bowman and (guitarist) Danny Embrey have come back to town and have raised the general level of playing and musicianship. "I also find more and more young musicians playing further beyond the mainstream. They are certainly more advanced than I was when I was young. Musicians like (trombonist) Tim Perryman and (saxophonist) Gerald Dunn, as well as products of Paseo Academy and the UMKC Conservatory are taking the music to new levels." Gerald Dunn handles the booking for what many consider this town's finest jazz venue, the Blue Room at 18th and Vine. As for the economic climate, he feels it can be better or worse depending on the individual and what he or she wants from jazz. "There's a thin line between art and entertainment. Some musicians encompass both, they have good social skills and they use them well. Other musicians spend more time with the music itself and don't always interact in ways that get gigs. They play for themselves and a few other musicians. "But there are a lot of playing opportunities in this town -- from country club gigs to straightahead jazz." As for artistic quality, Dunn had this to say. "The newer cats on the scene don't always take the time to research what has gone before them. So, they don't develop the depth that the older musicians were able to achieve. Those older guys played every day, they traveled a lot, and the experience allowed them to develop styles. "Today, there aren't as many opportunities out there to play and develop, so the young kids try to pull somebody else's style into themselves. They're mostly trying to sound like what they think is hip." Kerry Strayer, baritone saxophonist and leader of the New Kansas City 7, agrees that, in terms of making a living, there's a lot of work to be had in KC. He's constantly playing weddings and society dates, and he says, "We get to do a lot of jazz and swing at those gigs. You wouldn't be able to do that in many other cities; you'd have to play rock all night. "But that's not playing creative jazz -- as in art music. And Kansas City doesn't have much in the way of listening clubs. Also, we have a lot of jazz fans here who want to buy a Coke and just sit for four hours. Then they wonder why the management stops booking jazz." So, Strayer finds the chances to deliver highly creative jazz fairly limited. He has praise, however, for Gerald Dunn's booking policy at the Blue Room. "Gerald has stuck to his guns." Some would say that, as the larger jazz picture goes, so goes jazz in Kansas City. So, the other question might be: Where is jazz heading beyond our local scene? Once again, different people will have differing answers, but I asked one jazz fan whose credentials give his words plenty of weight. New York-based Terry Teachout, once the jazz writer for The Kansas City Star, has established himself as a prominent music critic, not only in the jazz world, but in other musical fields as well. This is what he had to say: "Walter Piston once said to a student composer, 'I don't care what ideas you have, so long as you have ideas.' That's how I feel about jazz -- I don't care where it's going, so long as it's moving. "At the same time, I don't think there's any such thing as forward movement in art. It's true that the musical language of jazz has become more complex -- larger, if you like -- and in a narrowly technical sense that's a kind of progress. More than a few musicians of the '40s, Coleman Hawkins famously among them, really did think the music they were playing was not merely different from the jazz of the '20s, but better. Not so. I would no more say Charlie Parker was 'better' than Johnny Hodges than I would say Cezanne was 'better' than Watteau (or vice versa). Art isn't science. It doesn't progress, it evolves. Great art remains great, no matter what comes after it. "One of the things that interests me about the contemporary jazz scene is the willingness of so many younger musicians to draw freely on the jazz styles of the past, believing that they are all equally valid and available for use. I'm not interested in attempts to literally reproduce those styles, which is why I'm a bit skeptical about the jazz repertory movement, and about the uncreative conservatism of such players as Wynton Marsalis. "But neoclassicism -- the notion that one can take earlier styles and transform them into something new and personal -- seems to me as potentially fruitful a development in jazz as it was in the hands of Stravinsky. I like the idea of a historically conscious jazz, and I think that may be where the creative action is to be found right now. But that's only a guess, no more." RETURN TO DECEMBER/JANUARY 2001 MAIN INDEX © Kansas City Jazz Ambassadors 1996-2001. All rights reserved.