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| An interview with Wynton Marsalis, a noted jazz musician 1_____ There were the older jazz musicians who hung around our house when I was young. I saw how much they practiced, how serious they were about their art. I knew then I had to work just as hard if I wanted to succeed. Of course, my father inspired me a lot, and many teachers took the time to nurture my talent and the talents of other students in our school. 2_____ Yes. We've done such a poor job with music education because, as a society, we haven't maintained the kind of education that a true artist and musician needs. Young people haven't been able to equate romance and talent with music. For instance, most of the people who make it in the music industry today have to look good. How they sound is secondary. Sarah Vaughan, Bessie Smith, Ella Fitzgerald-those big, romantic queens of jazz music wouldn't make it in today's music industry, and that's a shame. We need to teach young people about the alternatives. 3_____ Around the world people make music that, if you listen carefully to it, sounds a little like the cadence of their language. I'd call it folk music. When I'm away from home, I make a point of listening to regional folk music, not what' on the radio. 4_____ The same music is on the radio all over the world, and the American sound is overwhelming. Even the pop music that's produced and created in foreign countries has that American beat, that underscore of funk. As a musician, I'm not interested in hearing recycled versions of the same genre over and over. Any music that doesn't have a development section just isn't interesting to me. 5_____ The music press has so much to introduce these days, and jazz is just a small fraction of it. Because some people are intimidated by jazz, they don't cover it unless it's a big name. New jazz musicians don't get much of break. A lot of editors don't say anything about jazz these days unless it's Marsalis. That's a shame. What VH1 is doing with their Save the Music campaign is phenomenal. They're getting all these instruments out to needy kids. It's the kind of thing all networks should be doing. |