jazz politics

BewarenBewarenBewarenBewarenBewarenBewarenBewarenBewarenBewarenBewaren - I just read an article in SPIEGEL that in the city of Mainz, Germany, there are 38 teachers for 67 jazz students. Every year more than 100 jazz students graduate from the 18 institutions... Whattttt??? (About the same situation is in The Netherlands.)This is not equivalent to the possibility for jazz concerts at all and jazz clubs and festivals have to pay horrendous amounts of fees and taxes to they reduce their program and have to raise their prices.Studying music, especially jazz, has become one of the most pointless studies. Especially because often the teachers are still trying to get concerts themselves and compete with fulltme musicians. I personally think one big problem is also that young jazz musicians are narrowing down jazz to much. Jazz is improvisation. Improvisation is being inventive, letting it flow, don't be so f.cking intellectual about it. Tell musical stories, look at your audience, what do you see in them, play what you see in their faces. Don't feel too good to try new things, cross-overs, try folk (the world is big), try dance (the pop music of today), make things happen. Yes. And you sometimes will not be able to buy a new car, or go on holidays because you have to invest in your b(r)and... I could go on about it.. I am convinved out of my own experience that you CAN make a living out of being a jazz musician. I play with dj's a lot, as a jazz musician, so this is a cross over. Jazz-puritans have told me that this is a 'commercial activity'. I don't agree. I am crossing over to the party people to jazz and funk them up a bit..Is it art? 'They' will see later. It's not up to me to decide if what i make is art. I am doing try my best in writing and releasing music, as good as i can. Hopefully 'they' will like it it the future, if not than not....