*****I never realized those jazz musicians we admire, could not have made a living without Europe and Japan. I knew about them going over there to escape racism here, but after that was no longer a major problem, I didn't realize they could not make a living without Europe and Japan even today. Have you ever sampled what passes for music on this forum?*****
As the world begin to shrink, due to air travel, esp after world war ll, rather than fly from NY to LA to play a gig, for just a few miles more, you could fly to Europe, and have an all new audience. And one that was starved for entertainment. Not just a city, but an entire continent. Including the Soviet Union.
It just made good business sense.
Escaping Racism? Hardly. They went to a continent that had just recently murdered 50 million people because of race.
The music was something different, the people that played it were different, so it was a natural attraction, esp for the avant garde (hip) crowd. Same in all countries.
But I never bought into the idea that Europeans 'understood' or 'appreciated' Jazz more than Americans. They loved Monk and The Duke, but they loved Elvis and the Beatles more. Just like here, and everywhere else around the world. No one ever said the Great Unwashed had brains or taste.
No one can make a living just in the USA any longer. Not even Ford, GM, Microsoft etc........ It's getting to be one world, and one market, for everything.
Cheers
As the world begin to shrink, due to air travel, esp after world war ll, rather than fly from NY to LA to play a gig, for just a few miles more, you could fly to Europe, and have an all new audience. And one that was starved for entertainment. Not just a city, but an entire continent. Including the Soviet Union.
It just made good business sense.
Escaping Racism? Hardly. They went to a continent that had just recently murdered 50 million people because of race.
The music was something different, the people that played it were different, so it was a natural attraction, esp for the avant garde (hip) crowd. Same in all countries.
But I never bought into the idea that Europeans 'understood' or 'appreciated' Jazz more than Americans. They loved Monk and The Duke, but they loved Elvis and the Beatles more. Just like here, and everywhere else around the world. No one ever said the Great Unwashed had brains or taste.
No one can make a living just in the USA any longer. Not even Ford, GM, Microsoft etc........ It's getting to be one world, and one market, for everything.
Cheers