At 6:53 AM -0700 3/12/01, Steve Catanzaro wrote:
>I agree wtih much of what is said. But, Burns did make one undeniable,
>unassailable point. In the 1920's-40's, "jazz" accounted for 70% of recorded
>music sales. In the 70's and beyond, that number shrunk to about 3%. He
>focused primarily on the so called "golden age" of jazz.
Didja ever stop to think that maybe this dropoff was (at least in
part) precipitated by the self-appointed guardians of the music
limiting the definition of jazz to the point where it became the loss
leader?
When Louis Armstrong embraces white popular culture & does "Hello,
Dolly", it's still jazz, we still get to spend more time on that one
damn song than on a dozen vital jazz musicians. When jazz artists
embrace black popular culture in the late 60's/early 70's, it's
branded pure shucksterism, crass commercial sellout, or at best "just
R&B".
--Jason Witherspoon ICQ #62837760
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