wayne@ada-uts.UUCP (11/14/85)
JAZZ: America's Classical Music
by Grover Sales
Foreward by Gene Lees
Prentis-Hall, 1984
256p soft-cover
"This is an introduction to jazz intended for -- but not limited to --
those those who cannot read a note of music and do not know the name of
a single chord."
Thus Mr. Sales writes, and rightly so : this book is a non-technical,
historic guide to jazz, meant for everyone with an interest in jazz, be
it the professional who wants to know his "roots", the absolute beginner,
the collector, the curious, or someone who is interested in the evolution
of a form of music.
Grover Sales is an jazz critic who has produced several jazz concerts
and helped promote the Monterey Jazz Festival in its formative years.
He has promoted many jazz performers, and he teaches in Jazz Studies
programs in three Californian colleges, so he speaks with authority.
He has written the book around a set of recordings available through
the Smithsonian Institute. Although the book stands alone as a
very informative social history of jazz, the readers are encouraged
to compare styles and to hear how jazz developed through these
recordings. I myself am interested in purchasing them, because
the collection is a sampling of the best music played by the best
(or at least the most well-known) jazz performers.
A relatively thin book such as this cannot be claimed to be a complete
coverage of this genre. Indeed, Mr. Sales claims he never intended
this to be complete. He does recommend a couple books in the preface
those who want a more thorough coverage, and he includes a rather
good list of books, magazines and newsletters, and a brief list
of records that are a must in every serious jazz record collection.
Although this covers the history of jazz and relates it with some of
the important events that happened in US history, Mr. Sales raises
and attempts to answer some of the more controversial topics
surrounding jazz, such as:
- sexism in jazz (he attributes it to the times surrounding the
developement of jazz rather than through the medium. He often
cites as an example of the decline of sexism in jazz the work
of guitarist Emily Remler -- so much so, that one could wonder
if there are any other emerging female jazz performers, although
the presence of performers such as Carla Bley deny this).
- racism in jazz (a rather hot subject. He states that jazz would
not have developed if it weren't for the rhythms and structures
slaves brought from Africa. True, jazz was developed initially
by African-Americans, but to state that white men or any other
race had little or no effect on the jazz is ludicrous. Miles
Davis publicly stated that white men cannot play jazz. He was
proven wrong in a Blinfold Test in down_beat magazine. Sales
takes argues this point rather strongly in this book. This
as well as other similar social topics add to the book's appeal.)
- Ornette Coleman : genius or fraud? Although Sales tries to walk
the fence and compare both sides, I get the opinion he favors
the works of Ornette (there is a rather good article in one
of the past Atlantic Monthly Mags about Ornette, should you be
interested).
I think this is an excellent book. There are some points of his
I disagree with, more notably is his discussion of jazz-fusion,
or jazz rock. He hardly discusses it, except that it was developed
out of a phase of Miles Davis' career. Although he briefly mentions
a handful of the prominent fusion musicians in his "Jazz Today"
chapter, I couldn't help but notice his displeasure in it when his
discography of jazz fusion only lists one album: Miles' In_a_Silent_Way.
(My opinions, for what their worth: to keep the elements of jazz or
the elements of rock or the reggae or whatever within themselves is
condemning that genre to stagnation. Mixing styles skillfully is not
only refreshing and welcome, it's also important for the growth
of that genre. One cannot deny that South American dance music,
the Bossa Nova, had a strong if not important effect on jazz.
Similarly, I would use this idea to justify the acceptance of reggae
crossover music.)
His dislike for rock is also very apparent. Even though he accepts
the splitting of jazz to form Rhythm and Blues, he states that rock
(also termed "pop" by him, although they are separate and inter-mixed
mixed as well) is a degeneration of jazz, and in some cases a note-
for-note rip-off of the jazz artists of the 40s and 50s. I tend to agree
with him that many of the jazz artists were ripped-off, (Elvis Presley's
"Hound Dog" was note-for-note ripped-off from Willie Mae Thornton, and of
course the Stones ripped off a few noted blues songs, and were sued
because of it), but that's where our agreement ends. Rock and roll is a
legitimate offspring of jazz just as jazz is a legitimate offspring
of the blues. Pop music, however, is a different story...
I reccomend this book for everybody. It belongs on the book shelf
next to The_New_Music and The_Rolling_Stone_Record_Guide, at least for
the beginner and the average jazz listener (an ambiguous term if I've
ever heard one). The expert might want to borrow this from a library
and copy the bibliographies and discographies in the back. There is
wealth of information in just the appendices themselves.
Some great quotes from the book to append to your news articles:
"To know no History is remain a child all one's life." (Cicero)
"A wave of vulgar, of filthy and suggestive music has inundated the land.
Nothing but ragtime prevails." (1899, Musical_Courier journal)
"Jazz is too good for Americans." (Dizzy Gillespie)
Wayne Wylupski ...!{ihnp4,ima}!inmet!ada-uts!wayne
"Talk talk...it's only talk.
Debates, discussions, these are words with a "D" this time.
Dialogue, dualog, diatribe.
Dissention, declamation,
Double talk... double talk..." -- adrian belew