State of Jazz
Article I
Senior Editor Dr. Rick

Jazz is one of America’s great artistic contributions to the world. In fact, this genre has spread worldwide, and there are many festival concert venues in Europe and Asia that sell out from it’s enormous popularity.

In America, this is not always the case. Despite college educational programs producing more “Jazz” majors than anytime in recent history, the question becomes, what happens to all of these musicians who have begun the long journey of mastering a craft that only few really attain to? What are some things they can look forward to? 

JR247 will  be running Spotlight articles each and every month. In these articles, musicians will be asked their take on this subject. These will be people who have released a body of quality recordings and have attained a certain standard of professional accomplishment. We will also be asking the same question of educators, radio personalities and concert promoters. I’m aiming for perspective and positive input to help keep a vital and active artistic organism healthy and alive.

How has the present day educational programs contributed to Jazz music’s current climate and disposition?

Kerry Strayer, (www.kerrystrayer.com) a working Jazz musician from Kansas City says:

“It is true that jazz is a healthy musical idiom with many creative artists contributing. However, I wouldn’t be too quick to attribute that to the number of graduates from “Jazz Studies” programs. There have always been and will always be talented, creative artists contributing to the music and they will continue to do so with or without the aid of “Jazz Studies” programs.” 

“I find the focus of many “Jazz Studies” programs is very narrow, very dogmatic and far too academic. We are entering an era where many of the professors at these institutions are young people who went straight through and earned a “Doctorate in Jazz Studies”. They haven’t been out in the real world where you have to communicate the music to an audience to have success and earn a living. They tend to favor one style of playing and writing and are not open minded to the many varied approaches †that are out there. The result is students who, for the most part, all sound and write the same and are not very versatile. It seems developing one’s individual style is often discouraged in favor of conforming to and satisfying the tastes of the professor. (I remember a young musician telling me once that his professor chastised him for listening to Stan Getz. He was told to not waste his time listening to anything before Coltrane) Most of what is produced in these settings is very academic sounding and not something that reaches a very wide audience (they mostly “preach to the choir”). It isn’t these degree programs that will keep jazz viable in the long run but the musicians in the local trenches who are developing their own voices and communicating them to an audience.”

A lot of tidbits here worth examining. First of all, what made Jazz so unique before the age of recording technology, was the uniqueness of one’s voice. I think this still exists in today’s Jazz world.  However, it’s not necessarily transparent. There are not the number of unique artists that are being recorded by the major labels. There is often much similarity and a given disposition to what sells to an audience.

Secondly, in many “Jazz” programs, kids only have 2 years of exposure. The amount of time educators have to expose and expand a students horizon is sometimes limited This becomes problematic, especially when a philosophy of education is embraced, and there is only so much time to complete a given coursework.

I find the focus of many “Jazz Studies” programs is very narrow, very dogmatic and far too academic. We are entering an era where many of the professors at these institutions are young people who went straight through and earned a “Doctorate in Jazz Studies”. They haven’t been out in the real world where you have to communicate the music to an audience to have success and earn a living....Kerry Strayer

But an important notion was suggested by Strayer, is to having an “openness” to all great artistic contributions. This is extremely important. Someone once told me that Clifford Brown was so positive and inquisitive, that he could learn and hear something good in even the worst of players. This is something all of us in Education may need to consider. Being open to creative input and achievement from a variety of sources.