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How Many of You Came Over From PA? |
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Sean Trane 
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Joined: 19 Apr 2011 Location: Brussels Status: Offline Points: 789 |
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 Posted: 02 Jan 2012 at 3:26am |
Well, the huge majority of us come from PA, like in MMA as well... but I'd say that the side effects are greater here than in MMA So yes, it (PA origins) has a strong influence on the site and obviously it slants the site, but I'm quite certain that all of us are deploring this fact.... because the general idea was to open up this site to all sides of jazz-fans, not just the fusionheads... IMHO this JMA site was probably a greater gamble than the MMA (I actually advised M@X not to try it unless he was willing to lose time and money, because the bet was too risky  ), because if metal fans can be very sectarian, they're probably more open to new ventures like new generalistic sites such as MMA..... but jazz fans can (keyword, here ) be very sectarian (or snobby) as well ,and/but are not (or less) prone to new endeavours like JMA, because they like established publications that concentrate on more traditional forms of jazz. I dare say that jazz circles will generally be less tolerant or amateurish reviewing - I'm not saying we're amateurish since most of us have quite a lot of reviewing experience and a great number of reviews, but unless we're recognized as experts in the jazz scene, our reviews are not likly to be read with any kind of interest by the jazz public I still get four or five mails a month for my PA reviews (including my JR/F reviews), but have yet to get one for my JMA reviews So yes, the actual fusion slant of JMA could hurt the site's attractivity to more general or traditional jazz fans.... it's something that I would like to see corrected and hopefully will happen in time Soooooo aware of this fact, my contributions to the site (past my lazy copy-pasting of my PA reviews here) are to try and review some more standard (read non-fusion) artistes... But even then , despite my efforts, I can see i concentrate my efforts on post-bop and fusion era (read 60's & 70's), which is where I seem stuck in a time wrap.... even if the albums are more trad-jazz styles... Actually when I review a JR/F album nowadays, I tend tio write it more for JMA than PA, nowadays  However, I must say that I've got little or no interest (despite having some knowledge through my father's tastes in jazz) of/for pre-59 jazz.... So don't look for me to review Satchmo, Big Bill, Lionel, Slim or even Duke in the near future (I know I should for the site's sake, but I lack the drive) ... maybe some day... But even then, I'd be worried of writing too slanted reviews (not positive enough), because of my time -wrapped preferrences... So I'd abstain....It would be sad that the only JMA review on a Jimmy rushing album would be unfavourable (even if I actually liked him when a kid), because of my partisan tastes...------------------------------------------------ as for your second question, I'm not much into the new releases, partly ouit of interest (or lack of), but mostly because I still have huge holes to fill in the older stuff, so I'd say I concentrate on buying older stuff I still have yet to discover Edited by Sean Trane - 02 Jan 2012 at 3:40am |
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my music collection increased tenfolds when I switched from drug-addicted musicians to crazy ones....
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idlero
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VIP member Joined: 07 Apr 2011 Status: Offline Points: 2158 |
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Posted: 02 Jan 2012 at 1:55am |
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I discovered JMA through PA but I'm not a fusion fan, the 'fusion bias' is a fact but hopefully in time it will get balanced .
These days I hear a lot more of the new releases, the old greats got a bit neglected also because I'm more into european jazz. |
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I think the problem with a lot of the fusion music is that it's extremely predictable, it's a rock rhythm and the solos all play the same stuff and they play it over and over again ...
Ken Burns |
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js
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Site admin Joined: 22 Dec 2010 Location: Memphis Status: Offline Points: 34271 |
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Posted: 01 Jan 2012 at 11:16pm |
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Thanks a lot, we would love to see more reviews, I have some Wes albums that I need to review myself.
The album genre idea comes from the new site template that Max had started at the metal site, but I like it too. It can lead to extra work in that often it is up to me or someone else to tag all the albums for an artist before they are added. Its amazing how many albums you can find audio samples for these days, but it can still be time consuming work.
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MilesBeyond
JMA Jazz Reviewer 
Joined: 14 May 2011 Status: Offline Points: 28 |
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Posted: 01 Jan 2012 at 11:10pm |
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Great posts, both. Food for thought.
Hey js, just so you know - I almost crapped myself when this site went live. I love the format of PA and to see it happening with jazz music is amazing. You guys have done some fantastic work - it looks amazing, and the artist listings, bios and discographies seemed extensive from the get-go. The idea of having genres assigned to an album rather than an artist was brilliant. I'm going to try and put in some solid review time. I've got a backlog of older jazz albums that I'd love to see reviews of on here. Especially Wes Montgomery. Possibly the greatest guitarist who ever lived. There's no way I could forgive myself for not submitting reviews of his stuff.
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js
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Site admin Joined: 22 Dec 2010 Location: Memphis Status: Offline Points: 34271 |
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Posted: 01 Jan 2012 at 9:25pm |
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To answer your final paragraph, I am all for moving forward and looking back as well as any horizontal movements in between. To lock yourself into either perpetual progress or lack of progress is like having narrowing blinders on.
As one of the people who helped put this site together before it went public I knew this site's association with a prog-rock site would pose certain challenges. From the beginning I knew fusion artists (especially from the 70s) would receive a lion's share of the attention, and to this day I am always happy when I see knowledgeable reviews about jazz's past as well as its future on our front page. Right now jazz is going through an excellent phase as popular artists are choosing innovative modern post bop and hard bop over smooth jazz, and other artists are pushing boundaries in the avant-garde and in places where jazz is combining with modern electronics. Today's world of jazz is more diverse, intelligent and open than ever. I really enjoy working on this site, artist evaluations are almost always a pleasure as I am always learning more about both jazz's past and future. My interest in rock is minimal compared to my interest in jazz, RnB, funk, exotica, avant-garde improv, jazzy rock etc, so this is the site I like to work with.
Edited by js - 02 Jan 2012 at 1:29pm |
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dreadpirateroberts
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Joined: 06 Jul 2011 Location: AU Status: Offline Points: 1836 |
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Posted: 01 Jan 2012 at 9:00pm |
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I came from PA and now spend much more time here - but I've noticed the same trend - the fusion genres have more reviews etc and the lazy copy & paste thing is a shame, but it's a start, huh?
So I'm looking forward to seeing the balance even out over time - and I think it's happening now, but you're right, there are some giants that need (more) reviews! In that respect, I can only blame myself for not reviewing more of them myself hahaha! But I will get there - and it'll be a good excuse to better familiarize myself with some of those greats. For instance, I don't know early jazz very well at all, and bebop isn't as fun for me as hard & post bop and genres beyond, so there are gaps in my knowledge. Shameful gaps! But undoubtedly what's best about this site is that it introduces me to SO much. I'm lapping up the old greats and have been for the last ten or so years when I first got into Jazz. It's taking me so long because there are so many greats with massive discographies! However, I do like to try and keep an eye on newer jazz artists from here in Australia (partially because I have a chance of seeing them live) |
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We are men of action. Lies do not become us.
Reviews... |
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MilesBeyond
JMA Jazz Reviewer
Joined: 14 May 2011 Status: Offline Points: 28 |
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Posted: 01 Jan 2012 at 8:28pm |
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And how do you think that influences this site?
I'm especially curious about what those of you who aren't from PA might think. I noticed that at first, and even still now, there was a huge bias towards Fusion in general, and Miles in particular. This makes a lot of sense, as with all the PAers coming over here, I'm sure a lot just copy/pasted any relevant reviews over from that site, although that does raise the occasional awkward moment (such as Kind of Blue reviews stating that while it's great music, it shouldn't really be on this site). It has, however, left us in the rather awkward position of being a website where many giants of jazz have little to no reviews to their name (Diz and Monk come to mind). While I'm sure that will change in time, I'm curious as to whether that might be a turn-off to straight jazzers, if they come here and see very little attention given to certain artists. Please note that this isn't a criticism of the website, I think it's fantastic. But it's something that's been on my mind a bit. Also, a question about how this relates to jazz philosophy in general (thus justifying this thread being in this forum, heh): Where do you draw the line between looking back and moving forward? In other words, to focus more on recent artists and styles, in your mind is that a good thing? I can see either side of the equation. On one hand, I do believe there has been a great deal of progress and innovation made in jazz in the last 40 years or so, and I think celebrating and propagating that is huge. On the other hand, jazz is still to a large sense defined by its principal figures, many of whom are musical legends who still have yet to be surpassed, and I think that there's a lot to learn from them, as well as a lot of homage to be paid. So where do your buying habits trend? Seeking out new artists, or lapping up the old greats?
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MilesBeyond wrote: