'insolent noise' version of 'hit the road jack'
Channel: felonious monk
Date: 2012-08-13

Insolent Noise..?     i think not 

"is jazz dead: or has it moved to a new address?"...

after all, the oldest jazz recordings are quickly approaching the century mark. these recordings come from an era when jazz was know as "jass" music, supposedly named for the jasmine perfume of the prostitutes that patroned the dance halls looking for new business.  

one hundred years may seem like an eternity compared to today's top 40. but keep in mind, classical music and opera have been around since medieval times; even the most recognisable classical music was written before our the U.S. constitution. most kids know something about beethoven and mozart, whilst most adults can't tell you much about king oliver or jelly roll morton. many would say that on that basis alone, jazz is dead.

when most people think of jazz, two images come to mind.

a harlem speak-easy, cigarette smoke wisping, perky flappers flash a lot of leg while they dance the charleston or the lindy, and swanky men with tilted fedoras who thumb their noses at the Volstead Act and drown themselves in bathtub gin. the music is bouncy, radiant, and full of mirth. the young and hip crowd dances until the hide-away bar is raided by the coppers and patrons are left to find another place to drink and dance.

next - a smoky new orleans hall, middle-aged and overall-wearing men drink boilermakers and moonshine from canning jars. the smoke comes from homegrown and self-rolled tobacco. the jazz band plays a slower, more methodic music, and has a hint of the blues. the same band that plays on the stage is the same group of men that led a funeral procession to cemetery number one to bury somebody's family member. two types of music filled the streets that day - the mournful jazz heard when a loved one is buried and another that celebrates the lives of the ones we love. 

jazz is noble because it is not common; but neither is it elitist.
In fact, jazz is the most democratic and meritocratic form of music i know. It is art that must be searched for but can be found by all those who seek it; it is art that sells itself solely on talent, not image. 
it is poetry in a marketplace largely comprised of prose.

jazz is also jealous; it demands kinetic energy and abhors idleness. Its message is subtle; it does not require your attention for it to exist. but once it has properly captured your attention, it will hold you in its arms forever.  because of all that, i will listen to jazz until the day i die. that and it always makes my feet tap and my soul resurrect itself...  ; ) 

the video above shows that jass is alive and kicking in lytham st.annes or it was on friday evening 'insilantro's noisy cafe'...   ; )