Morgenstern, Dan. [Article-Jazz-Why Some Are and Some Aren't Festivals]

seldom (or never) heard in other public contexts. A jazz festival should be a judicious mixture of the old and the new, the familiar and the unexpected. A jazz festival should provide an opportunity for musicians to prepare and present work which represents them at their best. A jazz festival should be an annua l ingather ing of the jazz community in toto; it should provi de the fullest opportunity for free and frank discussion of what ails this community. A jazz festival, at its best, should result in an affirmation of jazz as the greatest popular art of our time-the music of America and of the world. In bits and pieces, jazz festivals have been all these things. But they have also been three-ring circuses, crass commercial supermarkets of jazz, cold and unin why 8ome are & 8ome aren't spired variety shows, and unseemly mixtures of pre tentiousness and sham. In the early years of Newport, jazz musicians felt it to be an honor to be asked to participate. After the advent of such acts as the Four Freshmen, The Kingston Trio and Pat Suzuki , the enthusiasm of honest jazz per formers became noticeably dampened. Ironically, the Newport program of 1960 was the best and least com promising since 1957, but the point of this became lost in the riot's aftermath. This year's Newport program is anything but boldly experimental, and while it prom by dan morgenstern ises to present much worthwhile jazz, it can hard!y be expected to become more than an index to the hits of the nightclub circuit and record scene over the past he term "jazz festival" was coined almost eight twelve months-with the addi tion of peripheral materi years ago, at Newport. As seems to be the case als from the popular culture of the day. Monterey with most jazz terms, it has become difficult to promises to keep to the high standar d set in the past, define. In 1960, a year which saw the number and it is to be hoped that the public will this year sup T port this event as fully as it has long deserved. But of ":festival" events rise to a peak which 1961 seemingly won't reach, the term covered everything from pre even Monterey has often looked better on paper than packaged one-night stands to elaborate cornucopias. in the flesh. Randall's Island , the second-oldest festival, Jazz "festivals" were held in ballparks, in tents and in has shown indications of a desire to improve and expand. theatres, indoors and under open skies. Some were dis Being in an enviable position as New York City's only mal failures, other brilliant successes. And Newport, real festival event, Randall's draws its audiences from the the daddy of them all, was cut oft' in medias res when largest single pool of jazz aficionados in the country , Bacchus overwhelmed Dionysus and Apollo with the and, weather permitting, can pull a sizeable audience subtle aid of Mammon. no matter what the fare. Until now, the promoters have not exercised notable imagination in programming It is most encouraging that in spite of the riots, jazz will be back at Newport this year. But one is tempted to or presentation. Great South Bay, one of the best conclude that the motivating force behind this resurrec festivals, bit the dust through a combination of bad tion was financial rather than spiritual. For better or luck and poor promotion . worse, jazz festivals have become big business, and they are here to stay. Newport, during the seven -year reign of George Wein and the Lorillards, becomes in retrospect an index to the trials and tribulations of the jazz festival, a new and uniquely American genre combining high seriousness and low comedy, simple entertainment and mystical rite, commerce and art-a mixture typical of all man ifestations of truly popular culture throughout the ages. A current favorite topic of discussion in jazz journalism is "Art vs. Entertainment." The dichotomy is arbitrary and artificial. Jazz is and always will be both, and this dictum will furnish a clue to the future of the jazz festival. If this very promising form is to grow and survive, it will require better planning and thinking by promoters, directors, musicians and public than have hitherto been demonstrated. oiding the pitfalls of semantics, let us define a jazz festival in terms of what it should be rather than what it most frequently is. A jazz A festival should be a high point in the activities of both musicians and listeners. A jazz :festival should be a forum for free exchange of ideas within the art. A jazz festival should find room for music which is 8 ~ese_ are the large , established events. Two possible the fact that time does not stand still for the creative ~1rect1ons are indicat ed for their future. One, the nega artist. Virginia Beach, in booking such talent as Buck ti_ve, would see the se fest ivals turned into mammoth Clayton's truly all-star eight-piece band, has shown in d1sp~ays of popular favorites, going through established sight that should be demonstrated by the major league routmes and offer ing the spectator nothing more than as well. It is quite conceivable that the well-planned, a vast panoramic view of the contemporary night-club well-run smaller festival eventually will supersede the and concert scene . The best that could be said fo1• such giants in quality and artistic relevance. It could become ~nterprises is that they would provide well-paid book something like Hollywood as opposed to "art" films mgs !or established jazz acts. Which is all right, but with the important distinction that most jazz, happily far from fulfillmen t of th e promises inherent in the is less recherche and arty than other contemporary festival form. The other, unlikely to occur elsewhere creative endeavours. but at Monter ey, would lead to the presentation of carefully pl anned and stag ed special events: commis d that brings us to an impartant point: the sioned works , staged histo rical surveys, reunions and rise of the jazz festival is a logical and generic unorthodox combina tions, etc. This would be all for result of possibilities long inherent in jazz. the good, unless it should veer in the direction of self A The "art vs. entertainment" dilemma is ficti conscious and slick calcula tion. But in any event this tious. Jazz has always been more than just music. Jazz direction is much prefera ble to the other. ' is exciting to watch as well as exciting to hear. Jazz is an art possessed of such great vitality that it needs no here can b: no doubt that large fes.tivals have frills and devices to become marketable. We often tend to become highly expensive propositions. The forget that jazz grew out of an environment in which the sanctimonious western isolation of "art " was unknown. general jazz publi c is probably not aware of Jazz was "art" long before a handful of intellectuals pro the high price of name talent in the field. Jazz T nounced it to be such, and much jazz which today is today is top-heavy with expensive acts, and if the trend slighted and disparaged by these discoverers and their continues the results may be most unfortunate. There heirs still is-perhaps more so than the other kind. is, however, a vast reser voir of talent available at Time will tell. Suffice it to say that jazz is naturally reasonable prices . Very often , this talent is not at all theatrical, and that a jazz festival has certain decisive inferior. Furtherm ore, it provides the added value of advantages over conventional music festivals. Jazz is novelty to some, nostalgia to others, and freshness to also a cult, a phenomenon which offers the initiate an all. This is where the smaller , regional festivals come opportunity for total involvement. This, too, is a factor in. It is to be strongl y hoped that more of these "little" favoring the development of jazz festivals. The boorish festivals will be staged this year than the few which bachannal at Newport in 1960 was only a grotesque have been announc ed thu s far. Of these, the Virginia caricature of the trul y dionysian spirit which jazz is Beach Festival could serve as a model. It is, as a festival capable of arousing-even in the 20th Century. And last should be, situated in a pleasant outdoor setting. It offers but not least, jazz is a unique manifestation of the spirit a variety of fare. And it relies, for a goodly portion of of freedom-not hedon istic freedom, but the democratic the program, on regional talent. There are gifted jazz kind , in which each individua l is free to realize his own musicians, young and veteran, in almost every nook fullest potent ial only through respect for and collabora and crann y of the United States. The opportumty to tion with others. That , too, is something the gentlemen play to larger audi en ces, alongside some of the giam who organize jazz festivals should remember. orous names in jazz, is invaluable to such players. And It is curiou s but true that jazz has always been sold for the enterprising tal ent-scout, such festival program short by the very people who profess to value it most ming is a godsend. Virginia Beach also shows a healthy highly. (The reader may recall a recent comment by respect for tradition. It is unfortunate that the large, Nat Hentoff in this magazine to the effect that any prosperous festiva ls have consistently slighted musicians writer past his early thirties who is totally involved in of the "mainstream " gene ration, seemingly unaware of jazz is a petrified adolescent or somesuch.) The pres ent state of affairs in jazz, of which festivals are only one aspect , reflects this attitude.

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