With respect, you’re twisting some of what I wrote. First, I did not say Wynton is not significant. He is very significant (“Fabulous legacy”). He is insignificant as far as being part of where Jazz has been going for quite some time. His stuff with JALC is very significant as is much of his other work. I also did not say that new jazz is not being recorded. I said little of it is being recorded relative to how much is going on live and certainly relative to how much was recorded in the past. This is not news; we know this.
The argument that there is no good new Jazz simply doesn’t hold water. Any given listener may not like new Jazz for stylistic reasons and that is fine. But there is plenty out there and and some of it is being recorded. The idea that no new Jazz is happening at a very high level is simply nonsense; doesn’t mean everyone will like it. When was the last time you wore your purple bell bottoms? My objection to the constant pessimism is that it does the art form a disservice in more ways than are obvious. Moreover, what is the point, on a more human level, of constantly putting down what others, who are obviously not idiots, find value in; other than to try and put oneself on some sort of pedestal? Btw, Frank Wess and players like him don’t promote younger players like Robinson because they need opportunities to play. They do it because they believe in their artistic vision and where they are taking the music.
The argument that there is no good new Jazz simply doesn’t hold water. Any given listener may not like new Jazz for stylistic reasons and that is fine. But there is plenty out there and and some of it is being recorded. The idea that no new Jazz is happening at a very high level is simply nonsense; doesn’t mean everyone will like it. When was the last time you wore your purple bell bottoms? My objection to the constant pessimism is that it does the art form a disservice in more ways than are obvious. Moreover, what is the point, on a more human level, of constantly putting down what others, who are obviously not idiots, find value in; other than to try and put oneself on some sort of pedestal? Btw, Frank Wess and players like him don’t promote younger players like Robinson because they need opportunities to play. They do it because they believe in their artistic vision and where they are taking the music.