jazzy frenzy (part 1)

September 15, 2003 &bull music

Over the past ten years or so my music of choice has been some variant of “rock.” I feel weird saying that since I generally frown on the use of the term “rock,” much like I frown on the word “party” when used as a verb. Think: “Yeah, I used to drive up there on weekends to party.” Nails down a chalkboard.

I was into alternative rock in high school, punk rock in college, and some type of mainstream, sell-out radio rock over the last few years. See, the problem with being into a so-called “underground” music scene, such as punk, is that it’s just not suited for older folks. You need to be plugged into the music scene to find new bands and new music. This takes work and some connections. Maybe it’s not so hard nowadays with the advent of music on the Internet, but nevertheless, finding good bands that are, well, underground, isn’t as easy when you’re older. If you’ve read the headline of this “article” then you know where this is going. I’ve finally made the turn away from my “rock” roots and am now a bona-fide jazz fan. I’ll most likely grow old listening to Coletrane and Davis, not Blink 182 or Green Day. To steal a phrase from a good friend of mine, who helped my metamorphosis over the past nine months or so, “I’m in a jazz frenzy.”

Prior to college I had never really listened to jazz. I mean, I couldn’t have told you one thing about it. I didn’t know Dizzy Gilespie from Kenny G. But, during my sophomore year in college there was a “History of Jazz” course that was, as rumor had it, quite easy. I needed to knock out a few liberals so I figured what the hell. In two sentences here was my current state of mind after taking the class:

The idea of jazz is incredible; I’m very drawn to the history and stories and lore which surround this art form. However, I can’t stand to listen the music.

Any aspiring beer, wine, scotch, or coffee drinker can probably relate to this. When I turned 21 I started drinking for the first time in my life. When I first started going out to party (see how dumb that sounds?) I was big into the whole mixed drink thing. But, I learned two things rather quickly. 1) Mixed drinks are expensive and 2) mixed drinks are rather inconsistent between bars and bartenders. So, I wanted to start drinking beer. Like jazz, though, the idea was more appealing than the reality. After a few months of training I came around and turned into a beer drinker. Not that this is anything to be too proud of, but I think there’s a life lesson here. Many times the things we are immediately drawn to — those things that are “easy” and provide quick pleasures — are the most shallow. These are the shooting stars, the flashes in the pan. When I listen to a music album and immediately like one of the songs I know I’ll be sick of that song in two weeks. But, the “old” albums I still listen to today are the ones that I didn’t really like upon first hearing. They took a while to appreciate.

I made a similar training effort with jazz while I was living in Fargo, but just as I was climbing up the proverbial hump, I faltered and gave up. At the end of last year I made another run and, with the help of my friend Jonathan, finally made it over the hump. Unless I get a lot of hate-mail from the anti-jazz crowd over the next few weeks, I’ll probably be detailing some of my initial jazz experiences in a couple future blog entries.

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