Re: Western Swing book
The further I've gotten into the Jean Boyd "Southwestern Jazz" book, the more the attitude of the thing has made it unpleasantsometimes it does look simply like a "sticking to my thesis no matter what" problem, which was what I'd called it being charitable, but by the 38th time she praises musicians for wanting not to play "screechy" country fiddle or being "that" sort of musician but playing "real jazz, " you kind of have to get the prejudice! She even routinely and matter-of-factly refers to complex jazz chords as "better chords" than those played in country music.. ..and relegates country to a pure folk status; i.e., western swing can't be country music, because the term "country" has no meaning, she says, if it just becomes some sort of commercially defined category! (Well, we've been down that road on P2 lots of times, and have yet to find a moment in the past century when country wasn't commerciay defined and impacted--or in which jsuciains were in some forgotten holler unaffected by, uh, city music trends at al. In fact, Ms. Boyd is unstoppable; let Johnn Gimble, say, win a Grammy, obviously in a country category by the decscription, and she'll not name the category...and the more obviously country or even country-impacted the musician is (including Bob Wills BTW), the more likely she is to deem said western swinger unoriginal and not quite jazzzy enough...Wills gets credit for demanding his musicians be able to improvise, and not much else--because it was kind of understandable that sophisticated jazz musicians didn't want to hang around long with such a rural kind of guy. Better to work for Spade Cooley! (She actually says this stuff.) Well, I'm finishing it for the oral history interviews with Cliff Bruner, etc...It has its points until the author begins to speak! Barry "The Jazz of the Southwest: An Oral History of Western Swing" by Jean A. Boyd, ..was panned for doing just tha (being negative about country) by some western swing expert (Kevin Coffey? Cary Ginell?) in a recent issue of the Journal O fCountry Music.--don .. slammed to pieces for getting facts wrong, belittling country, etc. etc. Slammed hard, in fact. CK
Re: Western Swing book
Barry Mazor wrote: The further I've gotten into the Jean Boyd "Southwestern Jazz" book, the more the attitude of the thing has made it unpleasantsometimes it does look simply like a "sticking to my thesis no matter what" problem, which was what I'd called it being charitable, but by the 38th time she praises musicians for wanting not to play "screechy" country fiddle or being "that" sort of musician but playing "real jazz, " you kind of have to get the prejudice! My own limited experience in talking to Will's sidemen is that he didn't consider what he was doing to be purely either jazz or country, but a new hybrid form derived from all kinds of influences. Wills was certainly not foolish enough to think that he was doing exactly the same thing that Basie was doing, or Roy Acuff either. However, I think he would take offense at the notion that there was anything to be ashamed of in the country roots of his music. Wills was very country, almost a primitive in the sense that he was unable to improvise a fiddle solo (he had to stick to the melody) and that he was unable to grasp the concept of equal numbers of bars in blues songs. He hired Jesse Ashlock to play improvised solos for him and he let the band figure out where he hell he was going next, bars be damned. (You have heard black blues guys do this; they'll jump from the 1 chord to the 4 chord real "early", especially if they are playing solo, rather than just sit there on the 1 being boring. It was characteristic of 20's and 30s blues especially, I believe because the form had not been cemented yet) However, his major influences were Bessie Smith (he sang just like her) and Emmit Miller, the blackface pop musician and writer. In the 40's he had a gigantic big swing band with full horns as well as stringed instruments and he sounds like a big jazz dance band to me. How the hell anybody could have gone to Spade Cooley to be "less country" is beyond me. -- Joe Gracey President-For-Life, Jackalope Records http://www.kimmierhodes.com
Re: [hillbilly] Workin' Man Blues (book) and Western Swing book
I'm interested to hear about that too; I've not read it--but then, it's only out a couple of weeks. I do know that the writer is a professor with a lot of non-fiction under his belt concerning California, especially lives of working class Californians, and that he even wrote a story collection about the Okies While we're at it, I'd mention that what I AM reading right now, the book "The Jazz of the Southwest: An Oral History of Western Swing" by Jean A. Boyd, has become available in paperback at the same mega-onlines and elsewhere as the California book ... This author, as the title suggests, has much to say about how Western Swing is jazz at its root, underappreciated jazz, and maybe underplays the country side in saying so...but there are many interviewsm, and much thought on the topic... She's unrelated to any other Boyd BTW--and a musicologist from Baylor.. .. Barry M. Has anyone heard of a book called Workin' Man Blues by Gerald Haslam (University of California Press). Since no one on the hillbilly list has responded, I thought I'd see if anyone here has read it, and if so, how is it?--don
RE: [hillbilly] Workin' Man Blues (book) and Western Swing book
On Tue, 13 Apr 1999, Barry Mazor wrote: ...the book "The Jazz of the Southwest: An Oral History of Western Swing" by Jean A. Boydhas much to say about how Western Swing is jazz at its root, underappreciated jazz, and maybe underplays the country side in saying so... And the book was panned for doing just that by some western swing expert (Kevin Coffey? Cary Ginell?) in a recent issue of (I think) the Journal Of Country Music. Coffey, in the most recent issue. Jon Weisberger Kenton County, KY [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://home.fuse.net/jonweisberger/
RE: [hillbilly] Workin' Man Blues (book) and Western Swing book
I only want to add that the effort has some value anyway--mainly by way of all those interviews lurking behind the "Oral History" part of the title. The tendency to avoid calling the country aspect of Western Swing country strikes me, in reading this, more on the lines of "I've gotta have an "original" thesis point, and this is mind, and bygard I'm gonna stick with it" than some serious preeejudice against country music...On the other hand. Ms. Boyd seems WAY more at home and familiar with naming, say, jazz violinists who may have influenced Wills or Bruner than country fiddlers; she just doesn't seem to have heard enough of those--or want to bring them up here. A worthwhile addition to the general, undercovered picture though, I think, if from a skewed point of view easily taken into account. Barry M. (Better include the M I guess; I've noticed some other Barrys around again!) "The Jazz of the Southwest: An Oral History of Western Swing" by Jean A. Boydhas much to say about how Western Swing is jazz at its root, underappreciated jazz, and maybe underplays the country side in saying so... And the book was panned for doing just that by some western swing expert (Kevin Coffey? Cary Ginell?) in a recent issue of (I think) the Journal Of Country Music. Coffey, in the most recent issue. Jon Weisberger Kenton County, KY [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://home.fuse.net/jonweisberger/
Re: [hillbilly] Workin' Man Blues (book) and Western Swing book
Hey there, Barry reads... While we're at it, I'd mention that what I AM reading right now, the book "The Jazz of the Southwest: An Oral History of Western Swing" by Jean A. Boyd, And the book was panned for doing just that by some western swing expert (Kevin Coffey? Cary Ginell?) in a recent issue of (I think) the Journal Of Country Music.--don Yup. And was also slammed to pieces for getting facts wrong, belittling country, etc. etc. Slammed hard, in fact. Later... CK ___ You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail. Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com/getjuno.html or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866]
