Friday, November 14, 2008

Count Basie In 1979


There's a great deal of internal bickering at the Plastic Sax office complex about whether this site should focus on the past or the present. We take pride in staying on top of recent developments. Nothing makes us happier than promoting a promising young artist who might possess the talent and drive to push Kansas City jazz forward. That's why we lament the paucity of contemporary videos. In this era of $150 camcorders, why does it remain vastly easier to find old jazz footage than new material? That said, the Count Basie Five featured here is sublime. And how about Cleveland Eaton!

12 comments:

punkyjunk said...

looks like there will be some contemporary film soon:

http://kansascityjazzandblues.com/

Happy In Bag said...

That's true, Zender. Sue Vicory reports that her documentary about the Kansas City jazz and blues scene will debut on April 18, 2009. I'm looking forward to it.

But what I'm talking about is basic video uploads of live performances and such. It doesn't have to be elaborate. Off the top of my head, the only local jazz artists who have made such an effort are Miles Bonny, Harold O'Neal, Mark Southerland and Bram Wijnands. I've embedded videos from all four; I'm desperate for more.

punkyjunk said...

you're absolutely right. again we return to the "just how tech-savvy are the musicians?" or "do they really care?" conversation.

for any musicians reading this, that's not a sweeping statement either. there's some of you out there, and you know who you are.

bring yourself into the modern age!

Happy In Bag said...

Low-end Flip video cameras start at $150.00. The cost to upload footage from a public library computer? Nothing.

Anonymous said...

In relation to focusing on the past vs. present....I STRONGLY vote for the present. That's the only way to keep this musical genre alive.

One, we should be promoting musicians who are still out there playing, and people can actually go see and support.

And secondly, younger, current musicians are someone for younger people to relate to. A kid is more likely to get into jazz if there's someone his or her age, or closer to his or her age, already in to it...over someone who looks like their dad.

This is one of my biggest gripes over the few radio stations out there who still play jazz. Promote the living! Quit playing Miles and Monk all day. Play musicians who people can go out and buy NEW c.d.'s of (or in today's world mp3's)...or see at a festival or club...we're not going to get anything new from the dead cats.

Anonymous said...

cool (but short) video of some K.C. jazz...anyone know where this was filmed? Looks like a great room.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nV05JSWCeI&feature=related

Happy In Bag said...

Anon 5:20- I don't recognize that joint. And per my previous point- some cat probably shot that from his cell phone. Consequently, 1,839 people have heard how great Loren Pickford is.

Anon 5:15- I agree completely. I'll reiterate that young musicians need to act young- promote themselves in social media outlets, cover material relevant to a young audience, etc.

Anonymous said...

Case in point about gaining young audiences is The Bad Plus. I know they get a lot of flack for doing a cover now & again, and there's a lot of discussion about whether or not that's really jazz, etc., but they do an occassional cover that the kids can relate to (Nirvana, Rush, Blondie)...and those guys are selling out joints all over the world; all under the name of jazz.

Happy In Bag said...

Great example, Anon 6:05. They're doing everything right- from repertoire to blogging. Do the Math, linked to the right, is one of their sites.

the unthinking lemming said...

Meanwhile, jazz musician's fill the void with "legit" music gigs. Who has time to follow flights of fancy?

Anonymous said...

What is legit music?

Happy In Bag said...

Like Anon 4:04, I don't quite get the gist of your comment either, UL.