August Update And Responses

1. All of the videos of Billy’s Recital have been uploaded. I posted two a bit ago–here are two more:

2. New on Aaron’s blog: What he’s listening to, and analysis of one of his tunes.

3. MOO!

4. Last month I had a lunch meeting with my undergraduate professor, the current executive director of the Jazz Arts Group, in which we discussed some of the preliminary findings from the large research project they have undertaken to study jazz audiences. Recently, Howard Mandel and A Blog Supreme have weighed in on some of those findings, and while I would normally be inclined to throw my own opinion into the mix, I’m going to postpone that a bit since the small amount of research I’m doing is related to this area. What I’ll say now is that the most encouraging aspect of this study seems to be its acknowledgement of the diversity of styles housed under the term “jazz” and the diversity of the audience members for those styles. Here at last is one study that doesn’t just advocate “education” to increase attendance, as so many symphonies have, but a combination of attacks on multiple fronts, including the ticketed, seated theater and the standing room club alike.

5. This week ABS asked, “Does A Jazz Critic Have To Be A Jazz Musician, Too?” The answer here is clearly “no,” but it also happens that most critics tend to be musicians themselves. To me what’s interesting about this question is not whether one must be a musician to review jazz, but rather what the few non-musician critics can do to bridge the gap between those who play and those who don’t. I am absolutely convinced that this music isn’t just for musicians, and Jarenwattananon’s reminder to reach out to non-musicians is a crucial one.

6. As for me, I’m working on all of the things I put off all summer. I take the GRE in one week, and two days or so later I head back west for round two. I never could have anticipated how much my relationship to music (and therefore myself) would change in the past year. Who knows what will happen this time around. I’ve got a few plans, though, and I’ll be keeping you posted.

7. Guest post this week…stay tuned.