Re: Electricity In Jazz

Date: Sat, 19 Jul 2003 00:45:20 GMT
Newsgroups: rec.music.makers.bass,rec.music.makers.percussion,rec.music.bluenote
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On 18 Jul 2003 15:56:04 GMT, email-address-deleted wrote:
>In rec.music.makers.percussion Brian Rost <email-address-deleted> wrote:
>> Zee Dodo wrote:
>>> * In no case has the electric instrument on which jazz music has been
>>> made been an electric bass --- organ, guitar, etc., but not the bass.
>
>> Sorry, I don't buy this argument. If someone could explain WHY it's OK
>> to use electric organ and guitar but NOT electric bass and piano, I'd
>> sure like to know. How come guitarists get off the hook?
Perhaps the natural volume level of an acoustic guitar could not cut
through the horns, drums, piano, ect.
> Is an electric
>> upright bass OK?
Maybe. As lond as it is not a Clevinger. I worked with a guy that
used one and it did sound good. In a real Jazz situation I wouldn't
use it though.
>
>Brian, the guy is just playing a mathematician's definition game.
>He's saying that jazz = acoustic jazz. Non-acoustic jazz =
>"some other name". But then he isn't even cool enough to
>exclude organ, guitar and others.
>
>So what's he talking about? The sound? What if I play my Carvin
>acoustic bass guitar that sounds like an upright?
The skill involved in playing your Carvin bass versus an upright bass
are miles apart. What sets Jazz musicians apart from most other types
of musicians is their skill level to perform and improvise using the
more difficult to play traditional acoustic instruments. You should be
tarred and feathered if you use the Carvin to play jazz.:-) Oh and
your Carvin does NOT sound like an upright. The body on the Carvin is
much smaller. I would notice in a heartbeat the difference between
the two soundwise. The same can be said about the Clevinger electric
upright.
>Is it the guitar
>shape that does it? Then, how about as you note what about
>an electric upright? Is that "upright" enough? Or maybe it
>has to actually BE an acoustic upright bass. What if it uses a Piezo
>bridge pickup? Is that too "electric"? For that matter is jazz
>played on a plywood upright really Jazz? So long as you are
>going for purity, lets rule out plywood basses as well! How would this
>guy even KNOW what kind of bass is being played if someone didn't
>tell him?
>
>The bottom line here is that jazz is defined by musical structure
>and not by instrumentation.
Wrong. The bottom line is jazz is defined by musical structure and by
instrumentation.
> If his approach had been applied
>historically, only tuba bass would be real jazz!
Wrong again. How many landmark jazz albums used a Tuba? I know I ask
this question often. When I get an answer I will stop asking it.
>The question
>has to be can jazz be played on a theremin? I think we all know
>that the answer has to be "yes" if it works. "Works" has to
>do with music and structure.
Any landmark jazz recordings using this?:-)
>
>All of this I think pretty much establishes the relevancy of
>Rob's question! :)
>
>Benj
>(Who heard Bela Fleck who plays BANJO for crying out loud
>and plays with Vic Wooten who plays Bass guitar and it
>sure sounded a lot like jazz)
Sounds like Jazz and being real jazz is the question. IMHO Bela Fleck
is not Jazz. No matter how much it sounds like jazz it is not.
Mike