Thanks to all who have supported my efforts as a writer here. It is due to that inspiration that I've been prodded to start writing about the music I love and play here.My intent is to write about the music from an insider's point of view but in a non-technical way so that civilians can "get" what it is we're trying to do and hopefully gain a more thorough appreciation for jazz as an art form.
I hope to strike a balance between music geek and the "gee whiz" type of criticism that often rankles those of us in the biz. When I read, for example, Howard Reich in the Chicago Tribune, my blood pressure usually ticks up a few notches because the man knows virtually NOTHING about creating this kind of music. (I believe he was a "legit" clarinet major in college; I could have that wrong but there's no way he could play his way out of a paper bag on a blues in Bb).
But I digress. I've often been accused of being a jazz snob. The fact is that I love a lot of different kinds of music, so long as they don't involve bagpipes or banjos. I can even deal with the accordion, probably the most maligned of all instruments. Because jazz has such an unjustifiably small audience I do feel protective of it. I want more people to be able to enjoy more great music; if that's snobbery, please explain.
So please check out Jazz Underneath in the coming weeks. There's not much there yet but there will be. Suggestions for topics to cover will be gratefully considered.
