{"id":1324,"date":"2013-04-21T20:21:04","date_gmt":"2013-04-22T00:21:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/?p=1324"},"modified":"2019-09-12T17:25:34","modified_gmt":"2019-09-12T21:25:34","slug":"jazz-video-canon-for-nyu-tisch-students-jazzapril-week-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/2013\/04\/jazz-video-canon-for-nyu-tisch-students-jazzapril-week-3.html","title":{"rendered":"Jazz videos for troubled times, JazzApril week 3"},"content":{"rendered":"

Is it hard to sustain four weeks of Jazz Appreciation Month? With the defeat of gun-control measures, bombings in Boston, ricin attacks on the President, fertilizer explosions in Texas — promotion of jazz as a\u00c2\u00a0positive cultural entity might have seemed\u00c2\u00a0less than relevant.<\/p>\n

\"robeson\"<\/a>

“Tote that barge, lift that bail” —
bear the burdens, sing it out – JewishCurrents.org<\/p><\/div>\n

But when I addressed students at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, as a substitute for temporarily ailing vocalist Lisa Sokolov<\/a>, the value of jazz to America (and the world) seemed as powerful as ever.<\/p>\n

I’ve subbed for Lisa before, and enjoy introducing classic performances of jazz, blues, Americana and enduring, truly popular U.S.-born or adopted culture to college students eager to act, sing, dance — to enrich themselves and others by becoming entertaining, and yet to my astonishment (and Lisa’s) have seldom seen some of the iconic works from whose shadows they will emerge. I show my own NYU classes (in Blues, Jazz, World Music and the Roots of American Music) video clips from Youtube or dvds and videos of my collection, too. But the Tisch students are among the most responsive, even when I show relics like hammy, blackfaced Al Jolson singing “Mammy”<\/a> at the end of The Jazz Singer<\/em>, or Paul Robeson’s majesterial \u00c2\u00a0“Ol’ Man River\u00c2\u00a0“<\/a> from Showboat. <\/em>Judy Garland\u00c2\u00a0‘s heart-rending “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,”<\/a> the vision of hope from the Wizard of Oz,<\/em> though, gets across directly.<\/p>\n

By then, I’ve introduced one of the indelible film clips depicting delight in life — Louis Armstrong before a Danish audience in 1933, singing, muccing and playing “that good ol’ favorites, ‘Dinah.'”<\/p>\n

<\/object><\/p>\n

Then, to demonstrate that yes, jazzer’s know life’s not all a bowl of musings about one’s happy partnerings but we can prevail even over mean mistreating, I bring on Billie Holiday with true all-stars, singing “Fine and Mellow” from the the CBS tv’s The Sound of Jazz<\/em>.<\/p>\n

<\/object><\/p>\n

And finally here’s the John Coltrane Quartet expressing some of the most profoundly sorrowful, enraged, serenely and committedely resistent of minor blues, “Alabama” —<\/p>\n

<\/object><\/p>\n

To me, Coltrane’s music here with drummer Elvin Jones, bassist Jimmy Garrison and pianist McCoy Tyner stands as a timely reaction to the horrors of attacks on the innocent, sadness at the refusal of too many public figures to take serious, obvious steps to right age-old wrongs and regulate ever-dangerous circumstances. There is more upbeat jazz — Fats Waller<\/a>, Lambert Hendricks and Ross<\/a>, Bobby McFerrin <\/a>top the list of videos to restate the joy Louis Armstrong brought to our undeniably beautiful, but also so terrible, world.<\/p>\n

All these videos are evidence that jazz grasps the spirit people have within that sustains us. I can’t think of anything I’d have rather have done, or better have done, to celebrate Jazz Appreciation Month<\/a>\u00c2\u00a0culminating in International Jazz Day <\/a>— the two initiatives which the Jazz Journalists Association calls JazzApril<\/a>,\u00c2\u00a0that to show emerging artists the standards they can look to, perhaps live up to.<\/p>\n

howardmandel.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Subscribe by Email or RSS<\/a><\/p>\n

All JBJ posts <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Is it hard to sustain four weeks of Jazz Appreciation Month? With the defeat of gun-control measures, bombings in Boston, ricin attacks on the President, fertilizer explosions in Texas — promotion of jazz as a\u00c2\u00a0positive cultural entity might have seemed\u00c2\u00a0less than relevant. But when I addressed students at New York University’s Tisch School of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1324","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-main","7":"entry","8":"has-post-thumbnail"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1i3CL-lm","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":875,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/2012\/04\/rhymin-simon-swings-3-6-mil-wyntons-way.html","url_meta":{"origin":1324,"position":0},"title":"Rhymin’ Simon swings $3.6 mil Wynton’s way","author":"Howard Mandel","date":"April 24, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Jazz at Lincoln Center has released a \"Post Gala Report\" on the April 18 concert debut of Paul Simon performing his career songbook with both his band and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis, plus special guest vocalist Aaron Neville. \u00c2\u00a0$3.6 million was raised at the black tie\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "main"","block_context":{"text":"main","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/category\/main"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/Paul-Simon-Wynton-Marsalis-300x213.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":759,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/2012\/01\/nea-jazz-masters-jazz-at-lincoln-center-live-and-webcast-smash.html","url_meta":{"origin":1324,"position":1},"title":"NEA Jazz Masters @ Jazz at Lincoln Center live and webcast smash","author":"Howard Mandel","date":"January 11, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"The glory of living American jazz musicians filled Jazz at Lincoln Center last night to celebrate the 30th annual National Endowment of the Arts Jazz Masters fellowships -- and some of the best news was the vitality of the music they played\u00c2\u00a0(webcast audio by WBGO and Sirius Radio,\u00c2\u00a0video at arts.gov).\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "main"","block_context":{"text":"main","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/category\/main"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/images.jpeg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":762,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/2012\/01\/who-should-the-next-nea-jazz-masters-be.html","url_meta":{"origin":1324,"position":2},"title":"Who should the next NEA Jazz Masters be?","author":"Howard Mandel","date":"January 11, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Who should be the next NEA Jazz Masters? With last night's triumphant and deeply moving webcast of the NEA's 2012 Jazz Masters induction ceremonies came welcome news the annual fellowships for these major American artists will continue -- at least the financial awards of $25,000 per Master. More significant to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "main"","block_context":{"text":"main","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/category\/main"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/2012-jazz-masters.jpeg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":182,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/2009\/04\/nycs_surviving_summer_jazz_fes.html","url_meta":{"origin":1324,"position":3},"title":"Vision Festival, NYC’s sole surviving summer jazz big bang","author":"Howard Mandel","date":"April 15, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"With no news confirming -- or denying -- that there will be a mainstream New York City jazz festival next summer like those produced by George Wein since the late '60s and for the past 25 years supported by the JVC Corporation of America, the artist-organized \"avant-jazz\"\u00c2\u00a0Vision Festival stands as\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "main"","block_context":{"text":"main","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/category\/main"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":120,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/2008\/09\/chicago_hears_ornette_coleman.html","url_meta":{"origin":1324,"position":4},"title":"Chicago hears Ornette Coleman — This is our music","author":"Howard Mandel","date":"September 1, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"An estimated 20,000 to 30,000 listeners of all ages, genders, races, religions -- Americans and visitors from abroad, too -- enjoyed the directly expressive, highly personalized music of Pulitzer Prize-winner Ornette Coleman as the finale of the outdoor Chicago Jazz Festival last Sunday night. 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