Opinion: Modern country is the worst musical genre of all time

I’m black. I’m also a jazz musician as my jazz archtop photo and name suggest. I have also invested countless hours studying jazz history. I suggested that jazz was created by black people because what were the odds of the most disenfranchised creating such complex music?

That’s a remarkable fact. Not racist. It’s no different than saying Whites created country music. Whites don’t have to say that because everyone already knows that. But it is simply astounding that the most disenfranchised in a population could even create such beautiful music. And even more remarkable, many musicians couldn’t even read music, yet played beyond one’s imagination. Wes Montgomery, the greatest jazz guitarist ever, self taught, couldn’t read music. That’s a remarkable achievement. And yet, today, jazz isn’t even heralded by many of its only population. Which personally I find pathetic.

Still, there’s no answer to the improvisation aspect to jazz. You think there aren’t dynamics to jazz, and they only exist in classical music? Anyone who has studied music realizes dynamics exist in all music. It doesn’t matter what type of music you’re studying.

My apologies for contributing to this post for the focus should only be on country music.

@coltrane1 we fell off the country music train pages ago. I don’t think anyone questions that Jazz was created by black musicians do they? I wouldn’t feel bad about it not being heralded. That is probably true of most instrumental only music today, even classical who is followed by a smaller and smaller percentage of the population every day. However, I think there are definitely influences of Jazz on R&B, Hip Hop and even Rap and those are definitely heralded by a large portion of the population and I personally believe they have within them, some of the most interesting (and complex) music compared to what else is popular today. You can’t force people to like something or appreciate something just because you do. You can personally expose them, but that is about it.

There is a long list of musical artists over the years who can’t / couldn’t read/write sheet music. Most reading this thread have probably even heard of some of them. Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, Phil Collins, Aretha Franklin, Taylor Swift, Stevie Wonder, Jimi Hendrix, Prince, Elvis, Paul McCartney, John Lennon.

@thespeakerdude, Excellent post, and I heartily agree!!!

@bdp24 

If it’s Soul music you want, there is one current "act" I can enthusiastically recommend: The War & Treaty. An unlikely name, but this husband & wife duo of Michael and Tanya Trotter are absolutely fantastic!

Listening to this now for the first time...great! Thanks for the suggestion.

@thespeakerdude 

There is a long list of musical artists over the years who can’t / couldn’t read/write sheet music. 

True, but perhaps an equally long list of those that can. The great Oscar Peterson comes to mind. His scores are complex!

As an aside, I was maybe 12 or 13 when my dad took me to see my first Jazz concert - Oscar and Joe Pass, just the two of them. Lucky boy.