The Future of the Jazz Industry

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I started this group because I am curious as to what your thoughts are on: the main problems facing the industry, what you think can be done to resolve these problems, and what actions can be taken to ensure a flourishing future for jazz music.
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Can the awareness of Jazz and great music be revived in today's world?

by Dr. Nelson Harrison

Jan 12, 2015

The other day Nelson Harrison and I were talking about the state of Jazz music generally. We agreed on many things including the fact that jazz listening and buying is on a decline and has been for many years. Here are some of the reasons that I believe this is so; the neighborhoods that housed the great jazz joints no longer exist like they used to prior to the riots in the 60's, the record labels that focused on jazz no longer exist (Prestige, Riverside, Pacific jazz, Fantasy, etc.), the radio play is slim or none in many markets, the great originators have passed on, people didn't teach the younger folks why so and so was famous, the importance of the artists and the music was never explained in a way that young folks could learn, musicians now learn to play at schools instead of clubs, juke boxes are a thing of the past, liner notes and that tell the story of the artist or the session are gone. I could go on for a while longer but what's the point.
The question I want an answer to is "what can we who love and play and sell this music do about it". I'm not interested in a walk down memory lane since no amount of reminiscing can bring back 1959. Those of you who have the resources, time, passion and willingness can surely solve the dilemma.

---Travis Klein

  • up

    Melissa Jones

    Agree! 

    My thoughts.....Music schools graduate musicians who have no audience. Education and listening exposure is the solution for developing that new audience. Unfortunately, arts programs are at best dormant and jazz appreciation is virtually non-existent. 

    • As a starter - Louis Armstrong's "Satchmo" should be required reading in all middle schools. It is a story of motivation coupled with insight into American history.
    • Jazz history is a pathway that can most completely tell the story of American history. Jean Baptiste Le Moyne's recognition of slave customs overtly displayed at Congo Square; Plessy, Jim Crow and the Great Migration can all be taught within a jazz history context.
    • If arts appreciation is to be taught in schools, the first choice should be the music America gave the world. Armstrong, Bechet, Redman, Ellington, et al should be household names. Instead, Billie Holiday has been has been referred to as "him" by uninitiated jazz students. (True!)
    • Finally.......The younger crew may have access to a vast directory of data (ITunes, etc), but knowledge about the data is sparse.  Access to a gazillion songs becomes meaningless if a Miles Davis search turns up as "Miles Davis" whether  it is his record date or Charlie Parker's and Birth of the Cool and Walkin have no differentiation.

    Education is the key and the first step by school districts and universities is acknowledgment!

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    Jan 12, 2015