Jason Parker

As I wrote on my blog (read the post here), while it’s great to get some high-level press for anything related to jazz, this rings VERY hollow to me in the face of all the budget cuts to arts funding and John McCain’s recent ridiculing of jazz from the floor of the Senate.

Sure would be nice if they practiced what the preached!

2 months, 3 weeks ago onWordpress in volokh.com

Hey Curt,

Thanks SO much for including my CD “No More, No Less” on your list! I am humbled to be in such heavy company!

Thanks for all you do to spread the word about LIVING jazz musicians!

Cheers,

Jason

http://oneworkingmusician.com

2 months, 3 weeks ago onWordpress in curtjazz.wordpress.com

Sounds freakin’ great! Glad to hear my man Mike Dodge tearin’ it up. I just recorded with him on a hip-hop record by Spekulation: http://spekulation.bandcamp.com.

2 months, 1 week ago onWordpress in industrialjazzgroup.com

Amen!

Funny you should say “people want to feel involved in the art of their time”. I posted on a different site today about the same thing:

I recently saw the documentary film “Icons Among Us: Jazz in the Present Tense”. The most salient point was made by writer Paul DeBarros who observed that music only resonates with the mainstream when people feel that it has “something obvious in the present culture they can connect it with.” From the 20’s up through the 60’s, maybe 70’s, jazz has obvious connections to the culture of the time. Since then, most jazz has not had these connections. It’s either been a rehashing of what has come before it or an attempt to fuse it with other music. I like bebop as much as the next guy, but what does it have to do with 2010?

However, there are many artists out there these days who I believe are making an effort to connect the music to present culture. Many of them happen to be European. Many can be found at http://nextbop.com, a great site spotlighting many fine young musicians.

Until we as jazz musicians find those connections to present culture, our music will continue to be on the margins. I don’t necessarily think that’s a band thing, but that’s a subject for another time… ... See all content Hide content

2 months ago onWordpress in jazzandliberalpolitics.wordpress.com

I would MUCH prefer to play for a crowd that’s laughing, dancing and having fun than one that is sitting silently staring at me. The traditional jazz club model is the latter and really turns of younger crowds.

There’s a new club here in Seattle called Lucid (http://www.lucidseattle.com) that has expressly set itself up to be a club that plays jazz but caters to a younger crowd . I have all but stopped playing other rooms in town because the energy in the room at Lucid is so electric. Sure, there are people there who want to drink and socialize and talk. But this adds to the energy in the room.

This whole “sit there and be quiet while I play you all my tasty licks” mentality has all but scared off every perspective young jazz fans, save for a few hardcores and other musicians. What good does that do us?

Come. Talk. Laugh. Dance. Have fun. And enjoy the music! ... See all content Hide content

2 months ago onWordpress in jazzandliberalpolitics.wordpress.com

Great idea, and I’m proud to be involved. I was already blogging and tweeting about giving 100% of my CD and download sales to Haiti relief, but I have written a whole new blog post to spotlight the Help Haiti Blog Challenge.

My dear friend David, who runs the coolest jazz club in Seattle, couldn’t get ahold of his mother, who lives in Haiti, so he got on a plane this morning to the Dominican Republic without even knowing how he’d get to Port-au-Prince from there. He has landed and through the good graces of other aid workers has found a ride. This hit real close to home and I knew I had to do something.

We’re also planning a fundraising multi-club multi-band show for Wednesday night. If you know anyone in Seattle please send them to my blog for details.

Thanks for spearheading this and I hope many other pick up on it.

Jason

http://oneworkingmusician.com... See all content Hide content

2 months ago onWordpress in www.kellydiels.com