[Kinds Of Pain Meds]

There is good article on the local scene in today's National Post. Here is a link which may or may not work.

Ron

http://www.nationalpost.com/arts/story.html?id=431442

[Kinds Of Pain Meds]

The article also appears on Page C1 of today's Sun.
Ron

[MadMark]

Thanks Ron.
However, I think this article is only ‘good’ to the extent that it is ink and column inches - but, apart from that....

"the National Jazz Awards, presented at Toronto's Palais Royale last night, suggest British Columbia is becoming a hotbed of cool."

Becoming a hotbed of cool ?!!
As though that was some new thing happening rather than something fast disappearing ?

Fact is – our region of the west coast, including the island and more northerly reaches beyond what we normally label “the mainland”, produces a greater per capita proportion of top-line performing artists than anywhere else I have known as an outsider. (Oh – you might actually be able to find more in and around the magnet of Manhattan, but most of those people have been drawn from elsewhere.) Odds are more than good that New Orleans would actually score way higher on the per capita yard-stick – and maybe for comparable reasons – but I’ve never been to New Orleans, and it is still an identifiable local phenomenon which deserves recognition.

Given the observable facts, I think there is a much greater story in answering the question of how this enviable situation came to pass and, instead of the belated assertion about becoming a hotbed of cool, why such a great cultural asset should be in the blind process of being wantonly jettisoned.

As far as I can make out, it’s origins have to do with a unique social and economic history that had a profound impact on the development of educational practices and community music – tragically under subtle but constant attack for some time now from political accountants.

So, to me, the core assertion of the article that, “Perhaps the rest of Canada is now overcoming the preconceived notion that those who remain in B.C. aren't good enough..,”, apparently supported by Brad’s alleged agreement that “Maybe there has been a perceived lack of talent here” (I'll bet he was self-servingly mis-quoted out-of-context), is just more of the same old typical under-researched flackery found at an arbitrary distance from truth and relevance.

[tomspoumn]

Classic Vancouver negativity, Lazz.... either people here are grumpily complaining that we don't get no respect, or whining because we get too little and it's too late. The sun is shining (!), the music here is exquisite, and BC jazzers took home half the hardware at the National Jazz Awards... come out from under the cloud of gloom already.

[HartOvara]

I remember talking to Mark Miller (excellent Toronto jazz-scribe) a bunch of years ago. He thought of the three main scenes, that Vancouver had the most interesting.

There is an abundance of incredible musicians and creativity here. The more I travel, the more I realize that. We should be very appreciative what we have here.

[MadMark]

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[Zugaxxsn]

Is it too much to ask that jazz occasionaly be written about without the most embarrasing requisite "hip" lingo?

"Sample swingin' riffs"... yeah man... its like... flip city, man... the Vancouver scene is just so far out, like far out, man. Scoodly-be-bop-shoobee-wah, let me talk to this real hep cat Brad Turner, man, maybe he'll be able to clue me in on what's goin' down on the scene.

Jesus.

Aside from that, I don't really have a problem with this. Its in one of the National papers (the bad one, but still... a national paper), and a local paper (a bad one, but still... read by thousands daily). If even one more person comes to the Cellar because of this, its a good thing, embarrasing lingo and all.

[HartOvara]

Yo daddio, why are you being sooo square and so totally, like, not hip to the scene? I didn't think a cool cat like you would be so hung up and un-groovy. You live in the middle of, like, Squares-ville.

[selayeffethy]

ha ha . . . this forum is such a hotbed of cool

[teridbruse]

Ralph Alfonzo, Vancouver's best known jazz artiste, east of the Rockies.



I wouldn't waste a lot of energy getting bent out of shape about the dopey tone and superficial scope of the article. It's really very much in keeping with the Nasty Pest's house style in covering anything 'cultural,' which in the eyes of their editorial board is only taken seriously by homos and middle class goo goos. The smart-ass tone is a way to poke a little 'gentle fun' at these terminally uncool triflers.

I think Lazz's ruminations about the environment and history that contributed to the scene in Vancouver (and is being dismantled in recent years, both locally and at the national level) is more interesting a subject for discussion.

In fact, I think I'll start a thread about it.

[brraverishhh]

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[MadMark]

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[jPNy2BP5]

Well, it's also just a damn nice place to live. As far as I can tell Vancouver has a lot of talent per capita in many fields where you get people who aren't too concerned about making as much dough as possible. One of my "other jobs" is freelance programming and Vancouver is a freaking hotbed for coders and software companies. You get a field where people don't feel like they *need* to move to Montreal or TO to make dough, so what are they gonna do? Go sit in the snow? So they stay here and we wind up with up ridiculous amounts of talent for a city of this size. I've got friends who were shopped by big names in places like San Fran and they were all like "ummm nooo, not quite enough to go live somewhere else, sorry!" ... =)

[HartOvara]

I know these are kinda off topic...

While walking on Kits beach, Ingrid Jensen said to me, "You can't make art here. It's too beautiful. Not enough angst."
I thought that was funny.


And I have noticed Vancouver has the WORST, most boring architecture in the world (next to maybe, East Berlin). Perhaps when you are surrounded by this incredible landscape there is not a great need to make your environment as beautiful as other cities.

[MadMark]

Hey John - I used to love East Berlin - back before the wall came down - and always kinda liked the back streets and buildings - the old cars and wide boulevardes and poor service - loads of angst.

And funny how in Cardiff, at the renowned school of architecture, they regularly run Vancouver up the flagpole as a paragon of architectural environments - maybe because it's easier to get stuff off the drawing board however far codes are breached - I dunno - but I have never personally known a city where re-development is carried out with such little regard for historic and aesthetic contexts - shocking - boo-hoo.

Very angst-inducing.

I understand exactly what Ingrid was talking about.

Back on topic - the Nanaimo Concert Band played at her wedding, you know.
And it is the oldest community band in Canada - founded in 1872.
That's back when mine managers recruited musician miners and their families to the then-isolated island region by promising band members free coal to keep themselves warm at home.

The resulting high quality of schools and teachers, in regards to music, is part of the Dunsmuir's inadvertant legacy.

[Kinds Of Pain Meds]

I caught Jodi's quartet last night at The Cellar. And the group just smoked with Jesse, Chris Gestrin subbing for Tilden and Steve Kaldestad wailing on tenor. The great news is that Steve has re-located to Vancouver from the UK, to become another vital and creative voice in our ever-changing jazz community.

ron

[teridbruse]

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[panholio]

I like what Ian Hendrickson-Smith said recently. The New Orleans-via -New-York-City-tenor-guy told me he wants to make Vancouver his base. But of course most of the time he'll be on the road touring internationally.
The simple fact - good music gigs here are scarce. The good news is that the internet is an enabler for musicians like Tom Keenleyside (according to an intvu on this site) to stay here. His compositions get transmitted anywhere in the world via a co-axial line. And what about You Tube. It's an awesome vehicle for talented jazz musicians to get known at warp speed, which generates work. Vancouver is also a major gateway to China where more and more Vancouver musicians are popping up for short-term gigs. Kent Wallace is jet back from there. Sure, in the old days, people like Don Thompson and Terry Clark had to go to T.O. to get work. Today it's different. Phil Dwyer can woodshed and write from his Qualicum pad nestled by the paradisially blue seaside. And only now and then does he need to connect to a quick flight down east to collect a pay check.

[emexiagog]

if only.

[teridbruse]

John Korsrud wrote:

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