Alex, these are the words I am guided by;
When I find myself in times of trouble, Mother Mary comes to me
Speaking words of wisdom, let it be
And in my hour of darkness she is standing right in front of me
Speaking words of wisdom, let it be.
Keegiam, I have never been to New Orleans, nor have I any desire to go to New Orleans. I consider the musicians you mentioned "Dixie Land", and unfortunately, they are mostly absent from my collection. I don’t collect records just to say I have them, I buy records to hear music that I like, no other reason, and I don’t like "Dixie Land"; take me out back and shoot me if you like, but that’s the way it is.
Books are composed of words written on paper, records are composed of music that is recorded on vinyl, such as "modern jazz" which is somewhat different from a lot of music that was recorded before it’s time. The same musicians who were playing before it’s time responded by changing their tune.
Writers have to write, and jazz musicians have to blow. Writers can not become jazz musicians, and jazz musicians don’t want to write, but writers have decided that they must write about modern jazz (that which they do not understand) but just like birds got to fly and fish got to swim, writers got to write, and some people believe what they have written.
You read books and listen to records, since abstract modern jazz can not be put into words, you might have a problem if you can only understand words. Jazz aficionados perceive abstract modern jazz; maybe this is a case of "You have to have sung the song before you can understand and feel it". Jazz expresses so many abstract emotions that are unique, primarily to the city, that maybe if one is from the country, they haven’t experienced those emotions and don’t get the message that Miles, or Bird, or Monk, or Charley Rouse, or Mal Waldron or so many other people are sending out. ( as much as I like Herbie Mann, I intentionally left him out because as well as he can play jazz, he wanders all over the place)
Modern jazz does not "resonate" with everyone; this is what happens when the music excites something deep inside yourself; maybe you have it and maybe you don’t, but modern jazz is not an intellectual exercise, it’s about emotions, if you don’t feel it forget it.
