Why don't kids nowadays know about Jazz and classi

Too soon to tell, they will, catch up in time.
In my younger days as a custom car audio salesperson, i have had the opportunity to hear the type of music, i'd almost not even bothered to listen too. But apparently the kind of job i was exposed to made me listen to very obscene language from groups like 2 live Crew. I could almost ask WHAT is 2 LIVE crew? but that was like 13 to 15 years ago. I am an 80's person but could live with 70's music accustomed to what i hear from my elder bro.

So fast forward to the FUTURE 2000+ and am now listening to music , "MY younger clients HALF my age would never ever listen to" so there is something definitely relative about this scenario. So now THEY let me listen to their USHER, but on occassion, i educate them about listening to good SQ music and recordings, Miles Davis,art p,coltrane and the likes, vocalists Rebecca Pidgeon, Sarah K, Etta J, Jacintha.

Some of them eventually developed the liking and some did not ... at least maybe not as yet.

Hack, I believe, has identified half of the problem. Kids are sponges. They are unlikely to listen actively for long, but they hear everything, and it has an enormous effect. Music is like language, children have to hear it at home to become sensitive to it. The better the music they hear, the more likely they are to develop an "ear" for it. If parents don't expose their children to good music, it is much less likely that the children will develop much passion for good music later in life. Most of my contemporaries listen passively to pretty schlocky music. It stands to reason that their children are not drawn to music, or are drawn only to the most formulaic stuff they hear on the radio, or via downloads.

The other half of the problem is that music education has been removed from most schools. When I was a kid in Philly, there would be periodic presentations by Jazz bands, chamber ensembles, small orchestras, and vocal groups. Nothing like that exists in the overwhelming majority of public schools, even in the affluent areas. This has a huge impact. There is very little in life that is more impressive than being near a big band, or large orchestra going full tilt. The pressure wave alone will knock you on your ass. I was overwhelmed by this when I first heard it, and remember it like it was yesterday. I'm certain that this was part of what ignited the passion for music that I have to this day.

Why should it be surprising. The first Allman Brothers album was released in 1969, thats 36 years ago. In 1969 I was 13 and I certainly wasn't listening to music recorded in 1933. Let kids find their own way.

Mandatory testing and too much money to bureaucrats instead of a broad liberal arts based education and a living wage for teachers.

"Because the corporate powers that control the media and bought politicans with cash payoffs decided in the early 80's to "dumb down" the entire US population.

By introducing "info-tainment" and confusing fact with fiction (a specialty of the current president) and deleting arts education, we've arrived at the abysmal place where we are today."

Got to agree with that. The attention span of the average American today appears to be about 5 minutes. Local TV news in the Boston area is absurd. Sad, very sad.

Paul :-)