THE 5th SHARP

I found the link above to offer a refreshing portrayal of music and its meaning to human beings.

There must be some theory of marketing represented here, yes?

As the media, the politicians and citizens sort through all of the economic turmoil we are experiencing, one thing occurs to me. The United States is a culture of risk takers. As relates to the financial mess, executive contracts for the large companies in the current spotlight had been written to richly reward success and not penalize failures. These parameters encourage the taking of large risks to find the large reward. This philosophy wouldn’t last long in Las Vegas.

But, the theme of risk doesn’t only lie in casinos and finance. Since the early 90’s, the sports media has been calling every other NBA rookie “the next Jordan”. If you spend enough time with the “cable news” channels, you’ll encounter a culture of prognostication about every kind of topic. One “expert” is predicting when the recession will end. Another is predicting the winner of the NCAA tournament, or the winner of the World Series, or the Super Bowl. For years, every Dec. 31st broadcast predicted that the Dow would hit 10,000…until it did and somehow no one was predicting our current predicament.

Why do we take risks? Why are we addicted to the gamble? It’s not always about the financial rewards. Many times it is simply about creating a mystique of intellect. If I take a big risk and make a wild guess that becomes reality, then I now possess this mysterious illusion of power. How did I do it? I’ll never tell my secret. I just knew.

It’s just another game in our endless pursuit of importance. Pardon me while I go chase my tail.

Think about it. Musically or personally, I try to determine whether what I say is for the purpose of communication or a means of manipulating someone’s perception of me. I prefer to communicate sincerely, but have been programmed in a variety of ways to get in the way of that. It’s most frustrating in a musical context but I’m working on it.

what is the current “market correction” that we are experiencing? i contend that it is a wake-up for all those who have been distracted by the pursuit of the tangible in order to facilitate their misguided goal of “keeping up with the jones’”. appearances have become more important than character and our society has been defined by bling. we are judged by how big a battery we can be for the economy rather than how much spiritual wealth we can produce.

now in the time when one’s cd collection is more in line with the value of one’s home, especially if you happen to live in a depressed community, we can understand the value of art. a catharsis can be worth more than the bling one may crave and it may be the difference between life, death and loneliness. art can be the proof that someone understands us and we aren’t alone.

in the absence of the aforementioned bling, one may crave togetherness and art can provide the template. good can come from bad and a society can embrace ideals.

good luck all…..

dg

here is some video from doug wamble’s faulkner project dec 2008
with doug wamble, roy dunlap, jeff hanley, peter miles, chad eby, brandon lee, branford marsalis and dg.

I was having a recent conversation with an icon of the current jazz scene. He drew several parallels between our time and 50-60 years ago. Computers are better. Technology, as a whole, is better. Telecommunications are better. Transportation is better. The quality of musicianship is not better.

He proffered that one could easily tell the difference between a jazz recording made today versus one made in the 1950’s, and that the quality of the 50’s recording would be superior based on a number of criteria. Personally, I agree and have some specific criteria on which I base my “opinion”.

But, this topic is not about picking apart recent recordings or ones from the past. This is a topic about tempered optimism.

I had another conversation wherein a fellow musician was sounding the alarm bells about the state of the arts in the U.S., as it relates to the current state of the economy. I was intrigued but not buying what she was selling. Here is why.

The arts will become more important in a time of trouble. The vapid offerings from the corporations seeking to program us and make money will certainly diminish. Those folks who aspire to make money as artist will be challenged to do so more than any time in recent memory. The result will be a Darwinian “survival of the fittest”. In fact, I think that it will be a survival of the committed. It will be a survival of those who have the depth of spirit to soothe the emotional stresses and wounds of a culture or time.

We may be at the beginning of a huge artistic renaissance. I think we are. The Great Depression Era spawned much of my favorite musical innovation. I don’t wish for another economic depression, but I would welcome a commitment to artistic depth for its own sake.

There are those who are already prepared to traverse these tough times and those who will continue forward and be challenged to find the essence of what they do and why they do it.

I am optimistic that art will grow in its cultural prominence and entertainment will be seen for the cognitive anesthesia that it is.

That is just my prognosticating opinion.

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