It's been awhile since my last post. Not that I have anything to say of relevantsy however it seems as if I am in a different time zone and the changes in this industry called Jazz radio. I've written about changes in distribution to stations (i.e. downloading product as a .wav file and then downloading the album info as a .pdf file). I stood on my soapbox to scream "too many untalented female vocalists with no talent"...(which asks the question, why/how did this project become a CD?)...poorly produced home made living room CD's...I've asked the question, "what is smooth jazz?"...I hate this term...and the radio format that it developed...my boss at Hawaii Public Radio has asked me more than once, (and I'll paraphrase)...what's wrong with Jazz programming and why are so many stations backing away. I don't know if there's an answer but I received something the other day that I would like to share with you.

It came to me through JPL (Jazz Programmers List) that is a posting site for Jazz DJ's through the country. It's used to list play lists, ask questions of our fellow DJ's and start "round table" conversations etc. etc. etc. The person who wrote the following is Jay Thomas.

Jay Thomas is a jazz multi instrumentalist specializing in trumpet and saxophone. In 1969 Jay first emerged on the jazz scene in NY recording with James Moody and playing with Machito’s world famous Cuban jazz band led by Mario Bauza. Gigs and recordings with various jazz luminaries have continued through the years. Jay Thomas is a jazz multi instrumentalist specializing in trumpet and saxophone. This is what he wrote and as I told him, I wish I would have written it.

Just a few things i would like to hear more of on jazz radio:
How about Donald Byrd with voices...or Grant Green..pre Rocket Herbie Hancock, Horace Silver etc. ...the hard bop stuff was the last time jazz intersected with Blues , R&B, Latin, Swing, Modern,Bebop, Dance etc. ...the list of people from that rich era are Joe Henderson, Kenny Dorham, some Coltrane, Cannonball Adderly, Hank Mobley, Johnny Griffin, Art Blakey, Benny Golson, Jackie Maclean,60's Dexter, Jon Hendricks, and on and on and on,....when i go to Japan I hear all this in coffee shops and stores...just all over the place... that was "our" music and now they know more about it than we do. I think it's more a matter of WHAT happened rather than WHEN it happened.

I go to schools and many of the younger players don't know who these people are...they don't know yet that they would dig it!
These are all user friendly and should be a part of the enjoyment of jazz as an art form....then we can see the connection to a lot of today's players who are also playing stuff that has groove and feeling. Joel Frahm, Seamus Blake, Grant Stewart , Branford, Jeff Tain Watts, etc.
I heard someone say how Trane was a great example of stuff that people liked...ha ...sure Ballads and earlier stuff....but believe you me when Elvin and McCoy left it was hard for club owners...I was living in Spanish Harlem and some Latin musicians were at my apartment and they said" let me hear what your listening to"...I had a Trane record I had recently bought titled Expression....i put that on and they listened for a minute and a half ...next cut....30 seconds and then they said " that's no good"( i think they would have liked the stuff with Elvin and McCoy better...this had Alice and Rashid Ali) ...." next"....I put on a miles 60's album....( this was the 60's ...ha) they immediately said yeah we like it! they could hear the layering of time going on with the" Herbie-ron-tony"...so what I'm saying is many players change and become something else completely as far as people being able to hang. Plus some cats were just more user friendly as far as their presentation....Dizzy for example had so much humor and humanity...he really said through his music and demeanor c'mon everybody let's go... there is a party goin' on and it's called life.

Interesting huh? Jay, as they say, was in the pocket.

I have always felt that Jazz is a big tree with many limbs. Many types of Jazz...however it always goes to the core, the bottom line...it has to swing! If you are a fan of let's say Kenny G, my friend you are NOT into Jazz. In my day it was called elevator music today it just plain sucks...dig? Dave Koz, Will Donato, Nelson Rangell, Richard Elliot, Bony James and Rick Braun might be great guys but musically can't hold a candle to Pete Christlieb, Lanny Morgan, Gary Foster, Joe Romano or Joe Magnarelli.

As my last thought...if it says "smooth jazz" on the promo sheet it won't get played on my show. That's it but I have other opinions you may not be interested in, however, as a heads up, I will use this space (because I pay for it) to share these thoughts with you in the future.  You can always respond by eMail:dongordon@hawaii.rr.com or dgordon@hawaiipublicradio.org.   Seriously, if you read this let me know what you think, I'd like to know.

Best wishes,