Archives for December 2005

Carl Doering has given me permission to show Rifftides readers the message he posted yesterday on the Jazz West Coast listserve.

Folks,

I am so excited. The day before yesterday, Miles Davis was elected to the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame. What a great day for the jazz world. Finally one of its own has gained enough stature to be included with such luminaries as Elvis Presley, The Animals, Michael Jackson and the never-to-be-forgotten AC/DC. Miles
can now rest in peace. His legacy will live on.

I wonder if anyone can nominate someone to the hall of fame.
Think what it would do for the reputation of Stan Kenton.
I know Duke would have been proud.

Let’s start a campaign to get some more jazz folks in.

I’m proud to be a jazz fan.

Carl Doering

Sweet Home, Chicago

To find out how to join the Jazz West Coast listserve, send a message to this address.

In my Jazz Times review of a Bill Charlap concert, I included this observation:

The complexity and clarity of Charlap’s work and the trio’s unity were compelling, nearly mesmerizing. Their listeners were frequently so engrossed that they abandoned the self-conscious rote clapping after each solo that jazz audiences have come to believe is an obligation. The audience’s concentration on the music was a far greater expression of appreciation than little explosions of applause.

That provoked Bill Kirchner to try an experiment for his own concert at the New School in New York Monday night. He called the concert “Everything I Love.” This was the band:

Bill Kirchner, soprano saxophone
Eddie Monteiro, MIDI-accordion, vocals
Ron Vincent, drums
Jackie Cain, vocals
Nicki Rivers, vocals

This is the paragraph Kirchner added to his program notes:

Most of us as jazz listeners learned early on that it is considered “good manners” to applaud at the end of every solo–good, bad, or indifferent. There are even “jazz for kids” books that tell youngsters that if they don’t clap for every solo, the performers will be offended.

This mindless custom serves no purpose other than to interfere with truly hearing the music, especially the beginnings of each solo. If you want a key to a jazz performer’s intent, listen to how he or she starts a melody or an improvisation.

So for tonight, we’d like to relieve you, the audience, of the burden of rote clapping for solos. At the end of each selection, if we’ve done something that moves you, we of course hope that you’ll respond enthusiastically.

If this new concept of “jazz etiquette” appeals to you and enables you to hear the music better, please tell your friends. Maybe together we can start a movement!

This is Bill’s report on the experiment:

Well, the concert went very well–full and enthusiastic house, and
all the cats played and sang great. Despite my program notes, people
still clapped for every solo, which perhaps indicates that 1) some
folks don’t read programs too carefully and/or 2) the
clapping-for-every-solo habit is so ingrained in so many jazz
listeners that’s it’s automatic.

But if an audience digs the music and responds, I can hardly complain.

If you missed the concert, you’ll find the same group, minus Nicki Rivers, in top form on the new Kirchner CD, also titled Everything I Love. (Patience; it’s a slow downloader.) For my mini review of the album, click here.

The deadline and I are neck and neck heading down the stretch. I have every intention of winning, so bear with me. I may be able to post some little Rifftides bauble tomorrow. The article, for Jazz Times, is only a couple of thousand words, but it requires an extensive amount of listening, so much that by the time it’s done, there will be a violation of the writers minimum wage law. Where’s my agent?
What do you mean, I don’t have an agent?
Oh, that’s right. I fired him.
What do you mean, there’s no writers minimum wage law?
Now you tell me.