con struct
Platinum Member
The other day I went into my little local record store to pick up a couple of CDs. I wasn't looking for anything in particular. I chose a Mingus record I didn't have and a Lee Morgan record that I'd listened to a lot but had lost my copy years ago.
The guy who runs the store is very, very knowledgable about all things jazz. He and I spent a happy half-hour chatting about the music. That's the main reason I go there, just to talk about the music with him.
The point is that it's all there. No matter how much the times may change jazz is still there, it's being composed and played as we speak, new records are being released and new artists are being discovered.
I reject the idea that it should matter to jazz musicians, or to any musicians, what it is that the public wants to hear. What matters is what you yourself want your life to be, what you want to do with it based on what you love, based on what presents the path that makes the most sense for you to follow.
If you're following that path with true intent then nobody can alter your course or make you change your mind, no more than you can change anyone else's mind about the path they've chosen.
The reward is always in the work you do. If you're doing that work right and you're happy doing it then you've made your life a succesful one.
The guy who runs the store is very, very knowledgable about all things jazz. He and I spent a happy half-hour chatting about the music. That's the main reason I go there, just to talk about the music with him.
The point is that it's all there. No matter how much the times may change jazz is still there, it's being composed and played as we speak, new records are being released and new artists are being discovered.
I reject the idea that it should matter to jazz musicians, or to any musicians, what it is that the public wants to hear. What matters is what you yourself want your life to be, what you want to do with it based on what you love, based on what presents the path that makes the most sense for you to follow.
If you're following that path with true intent then nobody can alter your course or make you change your mind, no more than you can change anyone else's mind about the path they've chosen.
The reward is always in the work you do. If you're doing that work right and you're happy doing it then you've made your life a succesful one.