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Originally Posted by Billy B  Being in Des Moines is not the point. We have an airport, running water, in door plumbing, etc. Ask Ingrid, she's even been here a couple times.
The artists I mentioned were dead before these guys were in high school. The question is in the last sentence. |
Sorry, I didn't mean to imply that Des Moines was a backwater. Even if it is. But in Chicago, for example, there are lots of guys still alive who played with the elders. They are a living link to the history. Von Freeman, Mwata Bowden, John Baney, John Young, Richie Corpolongo,Franz Jackson, Bob Dogan, Bill Yancey, etc., (I am omitting so many) who played with guys who were The Guys and can provide a living link to younger players. The aural and oral tradition is essentially important in jazz. This is an alternative to the Jazz Education Industry that dominates so much of the education scene at the secondary (and even the college) level now. You can find old guys like that in New Orleans, San Francisco, New York, Philly, DC, Boston, etc. I'd say if you're a youngster and want to learn jazz and you live in Omaha or something you better move somewhere else. I grew up in Minneapolis and got out of there as fast as I could.
Michael McLaughlin