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11/07/12 - Fred,
Quoting from your news page...
Don't forget, there's free
lunchtime jazz tomorrow at the Floral Pavilion New Brighton at 12.30
p. m. with the Savoy Jazzmen. I believe lunchtime jazz may be the
way forward for our music.
Perhaps you would care to elaborate on your website as to just how
"lunchtime jazz may be the way forward for our music."
Surely the way forward is to get younger musicians and audiences
involved in traditional jazz. Very difficult during lunchtime as
most younger people will be in either education or work. Lunchtime
sessions will only serve the older generation of trad jazz fans /
musicians until they inevitably die off. These lunchtime sessions
may have the adverse effect of further reducing the ever dwindling
audience numbers that make it to evening sessions. Leaving fewer
bands and fewer opportunities for the young, the real future of
"our" music.
Paul Marks
11/07/12 - Hi
Paul,
Well strangely enough what you say crossed my mind as I wrote it, so
I did have chance to think about it before I made that comment. The
explanation is simple. The Doom & Gloom discussion about the lack of
youngsters started on 13th October 2002 on my site, so we've had at
least 10 years to follow your suggestion and do something about it.
The vast majority of gigs in my What's On
are at night, so where are these youngsters? If the revolution
doesn't come soon, we'll all be dead!
Let's face it, the vast majority of young people still aren't
interested yet! In the meantime those who do enjoy it are getting
older, and if they are anything like my wife & I, less keen on going
out late at night as the years go by, unlike musicians maybe? It's a
fact that club attendances are going down, so if the old folk stop
going out at night, the musicians will have no-one to play to
either. If the music stops, what chance have the young folk of
hearing it then?. In the meantime, we might just be able to extend
it a little longer at lunchtimes and give them a more time to
discover it. You never know, lots of grandparents are minding
kiddies these days, so why not take them along and wean them early?
Fred
12/07/12 -
I agree its a
very sorry state of affairs and I don't know what the solution is.
On the brighter side I had the pleasure of sharing the stage with
the young and obscenely talented trumpeter Jamie Brownfield a couple
of months ago. Albeit we were playing at a jazz/funk/fusion gig !
I fear there will
be nowhere left for talent such as his in the not too distant future
except perhaps for festivals or special concerts.
Best wishes and thanks for the explanation. Here's hoping there is a
future for this music,
Paul
12/07/12 -
One of the main
problems with the young coming into 'our jazz' is that the majority
of the elderly musicians are retired, and generally financially OK
on good pensions, and prepared to play for their love of 'our music'
for little reward. These young musicians like Jamie Brownfield, and,
of course Amy Roberts, Adrian Cox Ian Wynne, etc, have fortunately,
after lengthy music college studies, 'made it' and are in demand
with the top more professional bands and festival promoters, and
there would appear to be a financial future for them. But it should
be noted that these young guys are not stuck in the 'classical' and
'traditonal' jazz moulds as the majority of the 'jazz club'
audiences are, and other forms of jazz, as your correspondent 'Paul'
indicated. Maybe some of the 'stick in the mud traddies' should
encourage their jazz promoters to mix their music up a bit, and
bring in occasionally other bands with youngsters playing great
music - they might find they like it ! May I suggest 'Sidney
Bailey's No Good Punchin' Clowns' ( Funny ' Scouse' guys playing
'our music' with a twist, with jug music thrown in ) and the Swing
Commanders' will fill any club over and over again !
Norman
Gibson
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