Brass Monkey On My Back

I firmly believe that modern jazz education as it is practiced in American colleges serves only one purpose, and that is to castrate the student, kill his creative impulses, stamp out the natural ability to enjoy music making, and force him into conformity. The music that is taught and played there is not jazz, but modern American classical music that semi-convincingly emulates jazz.

The following four things can rectify the situation:
* The students should play by ear and from memory as much as possible.
* The focus should be not on individual solos, but on the band sound - namely, the arrangements, the balance, the communication and interplay between the group members.
* As a long-time student in the "jazz combo classes," I know first-hand that it is possible to finish the class and get an A without hearing the original tunes once. This SHOULD NOT be the case. If the students play covers, they MUST listen to the originals.
* The students should be not just encouraged, but forced to take creative control - come up with their own arrangements, write and perform their own tunes.

DIXI