I attended the Corporate Woods jazz festival this beautiful evening with some friends. I'm telling you, it was a truly gorgeous evening to be outside with thousands of other Kansas Citians. I adore going to large community events where people have a good time, particularly when the proceeds go to a good cause--it's a win-win situation.
I expect to get somewhat razzed for this, but one of my friends made the comment that he didn't have cable television at home, and that the jazz music to which we were listening was like flipping through cable and landing on The Weather Channel. And it was, but without a verbal daily forecast for the region.
I tried to appreciate the jazz--truly tried--but it is just not my thing. A tiny part of me feels like I should like jazz, being from Kansas City...I do appreciate the time and effort and love that the jazz musicians have for their music and I respect the listeners who have an ear for the stuff...but I just can't get into it. You can't expect me to like jazz music just because KC has a history of it. I do like the idea that jazz can bring Kansas Citians together, like it did at the festival, but I must admit that I was a bit disappointed when I figured out that Don Harman was not in anyway affiliated. Perhaps next year.
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4 comments:
Saying "jazz" is like saying dessert. There are so many different kinds, from light chiffons to delicate tiramisu to heavy death by chocolate fudgecake. So jazz has many flavors and genres. Give it another chance ... perhaps try going in through a different door.
i struggle to like it as well, but agree with winston. growing up in the burbs i thought jazz is what us white people listen to in the grocery store until i heard coltrane and charlie parker and all that. that shuff is the shit. granted i dont put it on and listen to it very often, but it has a spirit that very few things in the modern era have.
Winston and WWE are right. I'm no expert by any means, but three albums I would recommend to anyone who is curious but uncertain are Kind of Blue by Miles Davis (in this post, I provide a link to "So What," the first song from that album), Coltrane's A Love Supreme, and Diana Krall's When I Look in Your Eyes. Other good places to start are the CDs that came out when Ken Burns' documentary on jazz came out a few years ago (great and reasonably-priced) samplings of music by the most important jazz artists), and the list of "Jazz Essentials" that Borders provides for customers.
So I'm watching KCPT's special on Kansas City Jazz tonight on 1/18/07. I am trying to figure out the appeal. Because Kansas City and jazz become a worldwide phenomenon, there must be more to this than I am understanding. I want to know. Obviously jazz and Kansas CIty became big for a reason and obviously jazz and Kansas City came to a stand-still for a reason, even if the reasoning came from ill-reasoned idiots. I do want to know.
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