Oggi voglio segnalare un'altro imperdibile sito dove ascoltare in streaming gratuito, o scaricare (a pagamento) in formato Mp3 o Flac, grandi registrazioni dal vivo dei più grandi artisti di tutti i generi musicali, in special modo degli anni '60 e '70.
Il sito si chiama WolfgangsVault.com e comprende anche un immenso e qualificato archivio di registrazioni di concerti di artisti jazz; Miles Davis, Oscar Peterson, Horace Silver, Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie, Dave Brubeck sono solo alcuni degli artisti presenti nella ricca sezione dedicata al jazz.
Di particolare interesse è l'aggiunta recente di una serie di leggendari concerti tratti dal Newport Jazz Festival negli anni compresi tra il 1959 e il 1969.
Per accedere al sito occorre registrarsi.
Il sito comprende anche un interessante blog con articoli riguardanti i musicisti ed i concerti presenti nel sito.
Vorrei segnalare un bel post pubblicato ieri sul blog dal titolo Newport 1969: The Year Rock Invaded Jazz scritto da Victoria Keddie e Peter Lockhart.
History remembers 1969 as a pivotal year for art and music. The Newport Jazz Festival was no exception to this phenomenon. The extraordinary performances that took place at the 1969 Newport Jazz Festival represented a departure from anything the festival had embodied before, or since. This was the the year that rock bands played the same bill as notable jazz musicians. George Wein, tired of the avant-garde jazz movement, envisioned rock music as a translation of the blues, and thus an extension (although distant) of the roots of jazz. For the festival he labeled this music as “Jazz-Rock.” What transpired was a line up placing Led Zeppelin alongside the likes of Herbie Hancock and B.B. King, or Jeff Beck and Jethro Tull with Rashaan Roland Kirk. Anita O’ Day played the same evening as Sun Ra. And James Brown took over an entire Sunday Afternoon.
“The avant-garde movement is going nowhere,” Wein writes in the producers’ forward of the 1969 program. “It’s been around about ten years and all it has done, in addition to destroying the precious quality known in jazz as style, is to confuse an entire decade of young musicians who feel it is necessary to be associated with the so-called forward line.” He goes on to condemn the state of jazz by praising what many genre hard-liners would consider its primary antagonists: “the better rock kids have enthusiasm and drive that many young jazz musicians seem to lack. They know there is a public out there and they go get it. They improvise, jam, play with a beat, play the blues and have many of the characteristics of jazz. But is it JAZZ?”
Well, to answer George Wein’s question: no, it wasn’t jazz. It was in fact something else, something altogether different, that spoke to a new generation. The ‘69 festival brought an unprecedented number of fans. At over 85,000 ticketed guests, the audience broke the record from all previous Jazz Festivals throughout its sixteen year span. George Wein was to book acts like Led Zeppelin, Sly and the Family Stone, and Zappa’s Mothers of Invention that would push the festival into rock music’s mainstream. Although an innovative idea, the festival performances caused confusion and anger among the long-time jazz fans as well as critics. It brought an unruly youth that chose to crawl over the seats towards the stage rather then sit. George Wein took drastic measures to disperse the crowds by stating that one of its key performers, Led Zeppelin, would not play. That announcement was a lie that severed relations with the band from the festival producer. Led Zeppelin did indeed play. As did all the bands on the bill.
The festival became a struggle for control. From the start, Wein wanted to control the seeming divergence of jazz into avant-gard disfunction. He created an avenue into a scene that vibrated with enthusiasm, innovation, and musical structure. What he viewed as the steady erosion of the genre’s artistic direction and commercial viability led him to music revolution over capitulation. However, this was not the kind of revolution of sound Wein was looking for. In chasing off the avant-garde with the jackhammer of rock, many feared he had cracked the very foundation of the music he so loved. In later years, Wein himself would admit regret at allowing rock into the festival. In his book Myself Among Others he states: “I still consider it the nadir of my career. I agreed wholeheartedly with Dan Morgenstern when he wrote, in Down Beat, that ‘the rock experiment was a resounding failure.’”
Although Wein remembers the festival with less enthusiasm than he had envisioned, the festival proved to be an important marker for jazz music, as well as the festival’s future. The musicians who played the festival shook the fields at Newport with their amazing sets. In listening to James Brown perform from the ‘69 festival, we can hear the unstoppable energy of an uncategorized sound. James Brown may be the Father of Soul, but he surely transcends genres. Maybe thats why critics at the festival could only applaude at such a performance of polished, yet undefinable sound and vision. Later years would see the return to more tradtional styles of jazz. The 1970 festival would salute Louis Armstrong and the veterans of jazz music. Although R&B and soul would work their way into the festival line up, the doors were closed for rock.
Regardless of the outcome at the festival, Wein can be certain that he made no mistake at picking the best of the best in his jazz-rock line up. The bands went on to sell millions of records, gold, platnum, you name it. In the effort to speak to Wein’s written regret of the festival, we can only say: George, you always knew how to pick the best.
Il sito si chiama WolfgangsVault.com e comprende anche un immenso e qualificato archivio di registrazioni di concerti di artisti jazz; Miles Davis, Oscar Peterson, Horace Silver, Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie, Dave Brubeck sono solo alcuni degli artisti presenti nella ricca sezione dedicata al jazz.
Di particolare interesse è l'aggiunta recente di una serie di leggendari concerti tratti dal Newport Jazz Festival negli anni compresi tra il 1959 e il 1969.
Per accedere al sito occorre registrarsi.
Il sito comprende anche un interessante blog con articoli riguardanti i musicisti ed i concerti presenti nel sito.
Vorrei segnalare un bel post pubblicato ieri sul blog dal titolo Newport 1969: The Year Rock Invaded Jazz scritto da Victoria Keddie e Peter Lockhart.
History remembers 1969 as a pivotal year for art and music. The Newport Jazz Festival was no exception to this phenomenon. The extraordinary performances that took place at the 1969 Newport Jazz Festival represented a departure from anything the festival had embodied before, or since. This was the the year that rock bands played the same bill as notable jazz musicians. George Wein, tired of the avant-garde jazz movement, envisioned rock music as a translation of the blues, and thus an extension (although distant) of the roots of jazz. For the festival he labeled this music as “Jazz-Rock.” What transpired was a line up placing Led Zeppelin alongside the likes of Herbie Hancock and B.B. King, or Jeff Beck and Jethro Tull with Rashaan Roland Kirk. Anita O’ Day played the same evening as Sun Ra. And James Brown took over an entire Sunday Afternoon.
“The avant-garde movement is going nowhere,” Wein writes in the producers’ forward of the 1969 program. “It’s been around about ten years and all it has done, in addition to destroying the precious quality known in jazz as style, is to confuse an entire decade of young musicians who feel it is necessary to be associated with the so-called forward line.” He goes on to condemn the state of jazz by praising what many genre hard-liners would consider its primary antagonists: “the better rock kids have enthusiasm and drive that many young jazz musicians seem to lack. They know there is a public out there and they go get it. They improvise, jam, play with a beat, play the blues and have many of the characteristics of jazz. But is it JAZZ?”
Well, to answer George Wein’s question: no, it wasn’t jazz. It was in fact something else, something altogether different, that spoke to a new generation. The ‘69 festival brought an unprecedented number of fans. At over 85,000 ticketed guests, the audience broke the record from all previous Jazz Festivals throughout its sixteen year span. George Wein was to book acts like Led Zeppelin, Sly and the Family Stone, and Zappa’s Mothers of Invention that would push the festival into rock music’s mainstream. Although an innovative idea, the festival performances caused confusion and anger among the long-time jazz fans as well as critics. It brought an unruly youth that chose to crawl over the seats towards the stage rather then sit. George Wein took drastic measures to disperse the crowds by stating that one of its key performers, Led Zeppelin, would not play. That announcement was a lie that severed relations with the band from the festival producer. Led Zeppelin did indeed play. As did all the bands on the bill.
The festival became a struggle for control. From the start, Wein wanted to control the seeming divergence of jazz into avant-gard disfunction. He created an avenue into a scene that vibrated with enthusiasm, innovation, and musical structure. What he viewed as the steady erosion of the genre’s artistic direction and commercial viability led him to music revolution over capitulation. However, this was not the kind of revolution of sound Wein was looking for. In chasing off the avant-garde with the jackhammer of rock, many feared he had cracked the very foundation of the music he so loved. In later years, Wein himself would admit regret at allowing rock into the festival. In his book Myself Among Others he states: “I still consider it the nadir of my career. I agreed wholeheartedly with Dan Morgenstern when he wrote, in Down Beat, that ‘the rock experiment was a resounding failure.’”
Although Wein remembers the festival with less enthusiasm than he had envisioned, the festival proved to be an important marker for jazz music, as well as the festival’s future. The musicians who played the festival shook the fields at Newport with their amazing sets. In listening to James Brown perform from the ‘69 festival, we can hear the unstoppable energy of an uncategorized sound. James Brown may be the Father of Soul, but he surely transcends genres. Maybe thats why critics at the festival could only applaude at such a performance of polished, yet undefinable sound and vision. Later years would see the return to more tradtional styles of jazz. The 1970 festival would salute Louis Armstrong and the veterans of jazz music. Although R&B and soul would work their way into the festival line up, the doors were closed for rock.
Regardless of the outcome at the festival, Wein can be certain that he made no mistake at picking the best of the best in his jazz-rock line up. The bands went on to sell millions of records, gold, platnum, you name it. In the effort to speak to Wein’s written regret of the festival, we can only say: George, you always knew how to pick the best.
Nessun commento:
Posta un commento