Jazz's long road to religious respectability

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Son_of_Niall

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In 1921, a popular American publication, the Ladies’ Home Journal, warned its readers about the dangers of one musical style, under the glorious headline: “Does Jazz Put the Sin in Syncopation?”
Things have come a long a way since that stark warning which may have reflected a particularly conservative moment in social and religious history. (It’s a striking fact that jazz funerals were popular among all races in New Orleans around 1900, but in subsequent years white people gradually shied away from those exuberant obsequies.) For people who yearn to combine riffs, religion and respectability, there was a breakthrough just over 50 years ago when a “Jazz Mass” was celebrated at Grace Cathedral in San Franscisco, a newly completed Episcopal place of worship. The work by Vince Guaraldi (who was then little known but would later become famous for composing music for the animated Peanuts) has been performed at least twice in the past few weeks to mark the happy anniversary.
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economist.com/blogs/erasmus/2015/09/religion-and-jazz
 
It’s been a hundred years since the genre of Jazz began, and now it’s largely culturally irrelevant. They’re not exactly getting in on the ground floor.

On the bright side, in about fifteen years, talking pictures will finally become acceptable.
 
Jazz was born in the brothels of Storyville, the official (and perfectly legal) red light district of New Orleans in the early decades of the twentieth century, which accounts for its disreputable image when it was a relatively new phenomenon.
 
Darryl_Revok said:
It’s been a hundred years since the genre of Jazz began, and now it’s largely culturally irrelevant. They’re not exactly getting in on the ground floor.

On the bright side, in about fifteen years, talking pictures will finally become acceptable.
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There might not be much of an audience for jazz anymore, but it’s the music genre that all musicians want to play because of the complex chords it uses.
 
Darryl_Revok said:
It’s been a hundred years since the genre of Jazz began, and now it’s largely culturally irrelevant. They’re not exactly getting in on the ground floor.

On the bright side, in about fifteen years, talking pictures will finally become acceptable.
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I’m not sure Miley Cyrus being more culturally relevant the Miles Davis is something we should celebrate.
 
As an aside, Dave Brubeck (of the Dave Brubeck Quartet), one of the great names in American jazz, is a convert to Catholicism.
 
Arizona_Mike said:
As an aside, Dave Brubeck (of the Dave Brubeck Quartet), one of the great names in American jazz, is a convert to Catholicism.
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Make that **was **a convert to Catholicism - he died in 2012, God rest his soul. One of my favorite jazz musicians.
 
louisak said:
Make that **was **a convert to Catholicism - he died in 2012, God rest his soul. One of my favorite jazz musicians.
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He was and is a convert to Catholicism, louisak - we don’t stop being Catholic after we die. We become part of the Church Militant.
 
Darryl_Revok said:
It’s been a hundred years since the genre of Jazz began, and now it’s largely culturally irrelevant. They’re not exactly getting in on the ground floor.

On the bright side, in about fifteen years, talking pictures will finally become acceptable.
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Rock made Jazz culturally irrelevant.
 
DlandFan06 said:
Rock made Jazz culturally irrelevant.
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You make it sound like the popularity of Rock music is unavoidable. My personal course was the opposite. I was raised on secular rock and pop in the 1970s and when I “grew up”, moved to prefer contemporary Christian, and then on to jazz and classical by the 2010s, making rock and pop irrelevant. Furthermore, is the idea of sections of the world or a nation having unique “culture” a relevant one in the jet and computer age?

I just don’t think it is as simple as you put it.

And to the opening post, jazz listening is more in agreement with my religious sensibilities than rock ever was.
 
Mike_tn said:
You make it sound like the popularity of Rock music is unavoidable. My personal course was the opposite. I was raised on secular rock and pop in the 1970s and when I “grew up”, moved to prefer contemporary Christian, and then on to jazz and classical by the 2010s, making rock and pop irrelevant. Furthermore, is the idea of sections of the world or a nation having unique “culture” a relevant one in the jet and computer age?

I just don’t think it is as simple as you put it.

And to the opening post, jazz listening is more in agreement with my religious sensibilities than rock ever was.
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Look at how popular Jazz is nowadays in the U.S. It’s not. I listen to Jazz myself but its golden age was from the late 1940’s to the mid-1960’s before it finally got sunk in the 1980’s.
 
DlandFan06 said:
Look at how popular Jazz is nowadays in the U.S. It’s not. I listen to Jazz myself but its golden age was from the late 1940’s to the mid-1960’s before it finally got sunk in the 1980’s.
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OK. I mostly concede to you. Just that your words, “culturally irrelevant”, they sounded too harsh for me. I agree, there are fewer active jazz groups today and consequently fewer live performances compared to the 1945-65 years of which we have so many great recordings from. There are numerous public radio stations playing jazz or jazz & classical, as well as Spotify & YouTube, so a person may still enjoy a lot of jazz music easily. But in agreement with you, less available jazz is new compared to days of yore.

There is no sense in totally discouraging potential listeners by saying it “got sunk” (in the 1980’s). Several veterans are still out there making good music and some younger players are filling shoes too. Here are a few I like,

Recently in jazz I found and enjoyed: fretless bassist Mark Egan formerly of Pat Metheny Group release Direction Home (2015) it is excellent. And Jimmy Heath Big Band released Turn Up the Heath (2006) love that one and he has another big band release in 2014, I haven’t heard that one, it’s titled Togetherness. Vibe player Bobby Hutcherson with Wise One (2009) is awesome and he has a 2012 live album. A good recent release by young trumpet player Roy Hargrove, Earfood (2008). Another 2015 release by sax player Scott Hamilton called Scott Hamilton Plays Jule Styne is exellent. He and Harry Allen released a great one in 2012 called *'Round Midnight *. There are many traditional jazz artists of recent years featured by German label nagel heyer records like clarinetist Allan Vache’s CD Raisin’ The Roof as good as anything by Benny Goodman and other CDs with his brother cornetist Warren Vaché are fantastic. Guitarist Bill Frisell cranks out incredible modern jazz albums, like one or two a year, most recently Guitar In the Space Age (2014) which is all classic pop covers but they are so inventive they hit you like brand new jazz.

All these players are alive today with good releases and live shows since 2000. This is my limited experience in the last year or two and I’m not a music specialist in any way. I don’t go out at night to shows or clubs. Mostly I browse allmusic.com for info and listen on spotify.com then maybe order something on amazon. Rock-n-roll is over for me.
 
Mike_tn said:
OK. I mostly concede to you. Just that your words, “culturally irrelevant”, they sounded too harsh for me. I agree, there are fewer active jazz groups today and consequently fewer live performances compared to the 1945-65 years of which we have so many great recordings from. There are numerous public radio stations playing jazz or jazz & classical, as well as Spotify & YouTube, so a person may still enjoy a lot of jazz music easily. But in agreement with you, less available jazz is new compared to days of yore.

There is no sense in totally discouraging potential listeners by saying it “got sunk” (in the 1980’s). Several veterans are still out there making good music and some younger players are filling shoes too. Here are a few I like,

Recently in jazz I found and enjoyed: fretless bassist Mark Egan formerly of Pat Metheny Group release Direction Home (2015) it is excellent. And Jimmy Heath Big Band released Turn Up the Heath (2006) love that one and he has another big band release in 2014, I haven’t heard that one, it’s titled Togetherness. Vibe player Bobby Hutcherson with Wise One (2009) is awesome and he has a 2012 live album. A good recent release by young trumpet player Roy Hargrove, Earfood (2008). Another 2015 release by sax player Scott Hamilton called Scott Hamilton Plays Jule Styne is exellent. He and Harry Allen released a great one in 2012 called *'Round Midnight *. There are many traditional jazz artists of recent years featured by German label nagel heyer records like clarinetist Allan Vache’s CD Raisin’ The Roof as good as anything by Benny Goodman and other CDs with his brother cornetist Warren Vaché are fantastic. Guitarist Bill Frisell cranks out incredible modern jazz albums, like one or two a year, most recently Guitar In the Space Age (2014) which is all classic pop covers but they are so inventive they hit you like brand new jazz.

All these players are alive today with good releases and live shows since 2000. This is my limited experience in the last year or two and I’m not a music specialist in any way. I don’t go out at night to shows or clubs. Mostly I browse allmusic.com for info and listen on spotify.com then maybe order something on amazon. Rock-n-roll is over for me.
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I’m not discouraging it at all for anybody. There are a lot of good artists from the period of the late 40’s to the mid-60’s that are still being listened to today and are good today. Jazz is still popular internationally today but not in the U.S.; not at the level of Rock. There’s still a listenership though.
 
I have CD’s of both Guaraldi’s and Brubeck’s Masses… both very respectful and devout works, and also musically interesting (even rousing at points). Both are recommended. I too am a huge Brubeck fan… have all his stuff.
 
oldrover said:
I have CD’s of both Guaraldi’s and Brubeck’s Masses… both very respectful and devout works, and also musically interesting (even rousing at points). Both are recommended. I too am a huge Brubeck fan… have all his stuff.
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Those two are wonderful, any discussion on Brubeck has to include Paul Desmond. Funny story how he and Brubeck got started together, for another time. Those guys, Guaraldi too, all cool jazz, aka west coast jazz. Love it. Not enough of it.

Mary Lou Williams, one of the best jazz pianists of all time, a rare one who transitioned from early jazz to late jazz time periods, has a good album called “Black Christ of the Andes” . The first track is titled St Martin de Porres.
 
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