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Why Our Jazz Magazines are Bad– And Bad for Jazz
by Anthony Medici in Editorials, Opinion Posts
First, full disclosure: I subscribe to both Jazz Times (JT) and Down Beat (DB) (I liked it better when it was “downbeat”) and have for quite a few years. I also have a subscription to Signal to Noise (STN), and until, recently, Cadence. But this has been the year of my discontent with both JT and DB, or, more precisely, this has been the year that my dissatisfaction with JT and DB has creached critical mass, for these two mainstays of the jazz scene are both bad– and bad for jazz.
Let me give you a few of my reasons:
1) JT and DB are feeding from the public relations trough.
This is my most serious concern. Is there really valid reason for both JT and DB to offer cover stories and puff pieces, as they have done this year, on Return to Forever’s (”grab the cash and run”) reunion tour, Freddie Hubbard’s spurious “comeback,” and David Sanborn “I’m really an artist” whine? Is there really enough musical merit for them to both be hyping Esperanza Spaulding, who seems to be the flavor of the day? I have no doubt these stories and many others are driven by the PR- flack- hype – machine, as is so much else these days. When you see identical or similar articles popping up in both magazines, you can be sure they are being fed from the same feed bag. Seeing two articles pop up arguing that David Sanborn is really such a fine and artistically meritorious jazz saxaphone player despite the evidence to the contrary of numerous schlock recording efforts over the years tells me that such puffery is pure PR hype.
2) Mediocre Editing
Jason Koransky is the editor of DB. I have no idea who he is, or how he came to be editor of DB. From everything I can see, he is a negligible factor on today’s jazz scene, outside of course his role as editor of DB. When Koransky talks, does anbody listen? Lee Mergner at JT has much more of a track record, but he is too much of a corporate suit to be a catalyst for the art of jazz.
3) Mediocre Writing
See (2) above, as mediocre editing typically begats mediocre writers and writing. Both magazines demonstrate the Peter Principle at work. Look back to the DB of 40 or so years ago. Dan Morgenstern was the editor, and writers and revieweres such as Leonard Feather, Ira Gitler, Chris Albertson, Don DeMichael, Ralph Gleason, John Litweiler, Nat Hentoff, et al appeared in the pages of DB. Say what you will about any one of them (especially Feather), the writing was sharp, distinctive, literate, well and broadly informed, hip and passionate. It was a Golden Age, compared to today’s Age of Lead, content with vacuous writing, PR cliches, and tame thinking.
4) The Little Magazines
The “little” jazz magazine offer more promise. STN might be worth checking out if your interests extend beyond jazz to electronica, indie rock, noise (both a category and a description) and avant-garde work in all areas of music. Much might not be to one’s taste, but there is no doubting that magazine is intelligently edited, layed-out, and written, and tackles areas that JT and DB don’t even contemplate covering. There is an energy anc curiosity here that is lacking in JT and DB.
Cadence prides itself (one could days preens itself) on being an independent voice, and I have to agree it is. The downside is that if often falls victim to obscurantism and the sort of insider mentality that has always afflicted jazz. Cadence recently went to a new and more expensive format ($15 an issue for a perfect-bound paperback), rather steep for most readers. They never could get my subscription right (especially annoying at that price level), so I cancelled my subscription out of pure frustration. Nevertheless, Cadence covers many worthy jazz musicians who could never get a column inch in JT or F+DB, and it’s musician interviews are often terrific.
I said at the start of this column that JT and DB are bad for jazz. Jazz is an art form, as well as entertainment and business. Putting out hype-driven, uninspired, and tired magazines drags the scene down, prevent new energies and directions from emerging, and fails to provide a full context for the current scene. It’s a waste of time and resources to spend precious column inches (and the cover!) arguing in favor of a hack like Sanborn. He had his choice: Mammon or Art. He chose Mammon and made his money. Please don’t come whining back and try to dispel the evidence of our ears. It does a disservice to artists who have made the tough choices, have stayed true to their art, and have paid the price for that faithfulness (but have had the reward of their work living on, while Sanborn and his ilk are dumped in thrift shop bins). JT and DB have become rent-a-flack operations. These magazines should be about true artists and artistry; about Art, not Mammon. It’s time for them to wake up, stop playing Frick and Frack, renew their commitment to Jazz, and strive to be worthy of the music they cover.
15 Responses to “Why Our Jazz Magazines are Bad– And Bad for Jazz”
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October 28th, 2008 at 1:41 am
I occasionally look at Downbeat on a newsstand and see Jazz Times as well but both seem to assume that jazz started somewhere in the 1990’s and anything at all beofre is just SO old fashioned that I seldom find a name I know.
The reviews hardly ever relate to discs that I buy so that the idea of actually buying the magazine never occurs to me.
I own a large number of Downbeats from the 1950’s through to the 1970’s and find there is much better writing and more information there that repeated browsing replays.
October 28th, 2008 at 9:46 am
i totally agree
coda is still a good source
what happened to real reviewers
everyone is the next ella and next coltrane
one was enough!
where is jazz independence – it’s sold to the highest (not even that) bidder
those who are hip – know
they keep playing the real music
check out the note from e.stroudsburg univ and phil in the gap from phil woods!!!
thanks!
October 28th, 2008 at 10:02 am
Your article makes you sound a bit like a fanboy railing against some perceived exclusivism. So who *do* you think should be getting press from the jazz magazines, and are you so sure that they’re being shortchanged? What have you done to promote these “true artists” you want to see in the magazines? Have you ever contacted an editor to stump for an underdog? Have you ever inquired with Jason Koransky about his qualifications to run DB? Or do you just sit in your cruddy little record shop and pontificate instead of making a real difference in anything?
That said, there used to be a kind of mentoring structure in jazz journalism, whereby older, more experienced writers would teach up-and-comers the craft, giving them an essential education in how to listen and write about the music. Despite the best efforts of organizations like the Jazz Journalists Association, that system is no longer in place. This, combined with a lack of critical writing programs in colleges, has contributed to the downturn in competency among many writers. It is foolish, however, to generalize that all jazz writers are mediocre. It simply makes you sound as if you don’t read enough to offer a really informed opinion. I can even imagine that you’ve put in the occasional resume at these magazines and been turned down.
It’s rather funny that you tout STN as a better magazine. Many, many readers find the writing in STN to be largely inbred and elitist, which is why their subscription numbers are so meager. Some of their writers seemingly expect everyone to own the complete catalogs of Genesis P. Orridge, Oxbow, Derek Bailey and Amon Duul II, and would wave off anyone who wasn’t completely attuned to their vibe. Never mind that many of the discs reviewed in STN barely sell in triple digits because no one will ever really care about them. You sound like you might fit right in with that mentality, which gives your anti-mag rant a sad little bitter flavor.
October 28th, 2008 at 1:04 pm
Hey man, I really love this – I thought the same thing about jazz magazines when I tried to make the jump from Wax Poetics (centered around record-collecting and beat-digging, not just exclusively jazz) to these magazines, figuring they would provide an all-jazz version of Wax Poetics. Wrong! Hopefully these mags will hear us and get their game right. In the meantime, I’m going to go sell oranges by the freeway so I can check out a copy of Cadence.
October 28th, 2008 at 1:10 pm
Re: Are these leading magazines bad (and, bad for Jazz)? (OT)
I’ll enter this fray of attacking frick and frack, saying DB and JT
are actually bad for jazz….I have a free few minutes, and my
caffeine is slowly kicking in this morning.
While the opinion below is eloquently written and indeed
entertaining, I will have to disagree on most fronts, especially with
the overarching premise that these two commercial magazines covering
jazz (and some blues and beyond) are somehow bad for the music. My
bottom line point will hopefully center on something like, “so what do
you propose as a solution, what would you cover instead of the artists
you cite, or how would you write about them differently?”
I’ll start with Esperanza Spaulding, as she’s someone I’m so enamored
with, I’ve actually added a link about her to my email signature line
which reads, “http://esperanzaspalding.com/ I haven’t been this
excited in a long time about a jazz artist who will touch a broad
audience on a deep level”. I would ask if the writer has actually
listened to her music, or her performances with such masters as Herbie
Hancock or Joe Lovano, among others. Has the writer viewed any of her
nationally televised performances on Letterman or Jimmy Kimmel or
elsewhere? Can the writer come up with any other young jazz artists
whom would garner the attention of such mainstream media bookers as
those employed by these shows? We can all go to Youtube now, so how
about a discussion after we’ve all actually done so. I’ll continue to
tell anyone who will listen how great I think Esperanza is, and how
great for the music I think she is. She’s got teens and
twenty-somethings actually checking out the music in a way that few
others can accomplish. You dig? Maybe not….your loss as I see it.
On Sanborn, while I understand the writer’s view on his body of work,
I would again ask if the writer has listened to Dave’s most recent
release? I actually like Sanborn’s work over the years for what it
is, very well played instrumental funk/soul/R&B, with a great “singer”
on top of it all which happens to be a whaling alto saxophone whom has
defined his own unique voice and style so deeply that it is one of the
most imitated sax styles of the last 30 or so years. His latest
release strikes me as straight down the pipe delivery from the
tradition of Hank Crawford, Fathead Newman, and certainly Ray Charles,
all of whom have been huge influences and heroes to Sanborn for his
entire career. The arrangements are soulful and gritty, and
colleagues step up strongly like Wallace Roney, Christian McBride,
Steve Gadd, *** figures like Joss Stone, Eric Clapton, and big band
horns I’ll now have to look up, as they sound so good. After actually
listening to the release, I would again look forward to intelligent
discussion of the pros and cons as this writer or others may see. I’m
giving it room on my ipod (actually sansa mp3 player)!! Is it Phil
Woods w big band? Nope….just coming from a different place on the
jazz tree closer to soul and the blues, arguably in a way that even
jazz masters like Woods, Shank, McPherson and others could not deliver.
On Freddie, I was really hoping the magazine writer/interviewer would
ask the hard questions, rather than enable Freddie’s denial of his
years of drug abuse. But again, what is the alternative when Freddie
is attempting another comeback with a new release and high profile
gigs? Not to write about this? It seems like an easy answer, sad as
the subject is.
I’ll have to dig around for other past issues, but I’ve pulled up the
most recent DownBeat to have another looksy…..Hmm…..a drummer
focused issue…..great piece on the late Tony Williams, one of my
musical heroes. How much better would jazz be if Tony was still
around??? Genius and pioneer are two words used too often and too
lightly, but not in Tony’s case…..a feature on Danilo Perez w Claus
Ogerman, a work I haven’t heard, but will actually buy because of my
deep respect for both of these heavyweights…coverage of Rene Marie’s
controversial interpretation of the national anthem in Denver – all
power to her….a column asking artists which jazz artist would make
the best president – ok, a little fluffy, but providing insight into
the answering artists like Donny McCaslin and Geri Allen….a tribute
to the late Johnny Griffin….a backstage column w Jack DeJohnette -
if you don’t dig Jack discussing his recent work with Chick and Bobby
McFerrin, then we’re just on different trees rather than just branches
of the same jazz tree…..a full feature on a young artist I’ve yet to
check out, Anat Cohen. Based on this piece, I’ll put her in my
Rhapsody library and sansa player…..
I go on and on and on…..but to hopefully make my point of
disagreement with the writer below. DownBeat is doing good work these
days, though they may be covering artists of little interest to some
part of the jazz audience this writer might represent. I’ll dig out
recent JazzTimes to look for the same, and applaud louder for any
commercial organizations such as these whom have the dedication and
cojones to keep heralding the news of the jazz world as they see it.
Respectfully,
Chip Tingle
Bay area freelance musician and educator
October 28th, 2008 at 3:15 pm
The scene in the UK is a little better. Jazz Journal International still has good, literate writing, a wide range of record reviews (although with a bias towards the mainstream) and insightful interviews – IF you can find it. It has refused to move with the times in-so-far as technology is concerned and has, as far as I know, no website.
Jazzwise is relatively new, and hipper than JJI but still pulls off the odd, worthwhile interview.
There is good writing if you look around for it!
October 28th, 2008 at 4:07 pm
I totally agree with this assessment of jazz magazines. I dropped my subscriptions to JT and DB a couple of years ago and now subscribe only to Cadence. Even at the new price, it’s still meeting my needs in ways that the others did not, and the new Cadence format is considerably improved. As a former radio and now Internet jazz DJ (taintradio.org), I just didn’t need the dumbed-down content those so-called “leading” jazz pubs offered. Just to contemplate that these pubs are primary infomatin sources for many jazz fans is depressing. And I can depend upon Cadence to tell me stuff I didn’t know and can definitely use. For me, I guess it’s the difference between fanzines and trade pubs.
November 2nd, 2008 at 1:55 pm
I just want to make clear that I do not own or work in a record shop,”cruddy” or otherwise (although I wouldn’t mind it either!), and that I and most, if not all, of the other bloggers, do not work for Princeton Record Exchange. PREX offers the site so that music fans have a place to discuss their musical interests, which, yes, includes gripes, beefs, as well as faves. I appreciate the comments, pro and con, as my intent is to generate thoughts through discussion. Keep writing, keep reading, keep listening!
November 22nd, 2008 at 11:22 am
I find it crude to slag individual editors, just as I find it ungentlemanly to slag jazz listeners for expressing their opinions. The jazz world has expanded incredibly in the last 50 years. Jazz and improvised music has been an international phenomenon for a long time.
There are fine magazines in Canada & Europe that have existed for a long time that pay attention to US, Canadian, and artists from the multiple European countries. Jazz and improvised music are a “many splendored thing” with countless variations. Furthermore, there are in-depth on-line sites, such as Bill Shoemaker’s “Point of Departure” and my own publication, http://www.misterioso.org. Don’t forget Jazzhouse, organ of the Jazz Journalists Association.
Magazines like Down Beat and Jazz Times are businesses who cater to a wide variety of interests, especially music students. If these magazines only spoke about the contemporary artist I am most interested in, then the field would be a far less interesting place. Editors of large circulation magazines have an incredible balancing act to pull off. I applaud when an Evan Parker or a Bobo Stenson or a Francois Houle/Benoit Delbecq recording or interview gets published, but I cannot expect that all the time for two reasons: marketing and advertisement pressures, and frankly, American chauvinism.
The last category has undergone significant shift in the last few years as European musicians have come to be recognized by journalists who attend the Canadian Vancouver International Jazzl, Guelph Ontario, and Victoriaville Quebec festivals as well as multiple European festivals.
There are a large number of veteran professional journalists around who write for a number of magazines, and there are always new professionals coming along. My opinion, however, is that most writers simply do it for the joy of writing. I’ve been at writing and photography for over twenty years and seen a lot of writers just stop because it is not a well-paying craft. Very few can make a living at writing (and teaching) exclusively about jazz, the Mandel’s, Martinelli’s, Jenkin’s, and deBarroes’
On the other hand, hack-from-the-publicity-release journalism is not the exclusive to jazz and improvised music. The good thing about jazz is there’s always some things to look forward to, and many things to look back on.
-Laurence Svirchev
November 25th, 2008 at 3:49 am
Hi Laurence,
I like your sense of fairness and honesty concerning the jazz mags and the demands that they have to deal with. I’m an avid reader/fan of most of the magazines out there that make it their ‘business’ to keep us abreast of the many nuances and flavors of jazz , blues and beyond. I’ve been a reader, and collector of DB, JT, Cadence and others since they each started to hit the stands. I’m a senior citizen by some standards but I try to keep my mind open and stretched to appreciate new ideas and writing syles, etc. Frankly, DB is still after all these years “top shelf” because of its range and I feel that Koransky et al at that magazine do a great job. What can I say, I read them all and learn alot about the many eststablished “legends”, artists/artisans and the newer(E.Spaulding for example) practicioners of the art form that I would not ordinarly be able to get access to musically. Yes, you are absolutely right about there always being something to look forward to and of course to look back on and I will continue to do so with an open mind concerning the talented editors and writers out there letting us into their worlds.
Norm Harris
November 30th, 2008 at 3:29 pm
Laurence . I have only been on air in jazz & blues radio for 34 years so who knows if my opinion counts / when I first heard David Sanborn ,,he played as a side – man on the John Simon album Journey ,, staight ahead and the real deal ,, Sanborn is a player no doubt / It is unfortune that too many cats decided to take the funky or smooth route for sake of income / Mass appeal sells — not all of us were raised in a household under parents with tasteful musical leadership and culture / sign me ”born in Panama and raised in the south ” George Fuller , Facilities Director KRML Carmel , Ca.
November 30th, 2008 at 3:40 pm
Laurence ,, I need to mention that ” yes downbeat and jazz times ,, and even living blues magazines ”are needed as there is so much in this industry that to illiminate these publication would be the beginning of an end to further the knowledge of the evolving art of jazz and blues – works for me – George Fuller Facilities Director KRML Carmel , Ca.
December 11th, 2008 at 3:52 pm
Thank you Patricia for the plug for CODA (in the interest of full disclosure let me say I have been writing for that publication on and off – but mostly on – since the late 1980s) …the pay isn’t so great (but to quote Adam Nussbaum: You heard the joke about the jazz writer who was in it for the money…that’s the joke…) but at least every one of its long and distinguished string of editors has not only allowed contributors to speak in our own voices but – to varying degrees – has pretty much insisted on it, which is why, finally, some time ago, I ceased contributing to DB and JT, both of which seemed intent on making their texts as stylistically featureless as possible, in keeping with the predominance of marketing sizzle over creative substance. Yawn. I couldn’t even tell you when my subscriptions ran out, I just know I don’t miss that corporate-driven drivel. Sometimes I got the feeling that those editors spent their days worrying that if they didn’t leave their own fingerprints all over everything they touched, someone up their food chain might start to question why they were actually needed, which is, in my experience, an all too valid question…
And thank you George Fuller for mentioning one of my all-time favorite albums, John Simon’s JOURNEY, which was also my own introduction to Sanborn’s playing. “Living in a Land of Sunshine” remains a favorite obscure masterpiece of the 1970s, and Sanborn’s contribution to it ranks right up there alongside Simon’s own and Dave Holland’s. Too bad his subsequent oeuvre has been pale by comparison. So it goes.
December 28th, 2008 at 8:53 pm
Sanborn a hack???? Come on! What musical qualifications do you have to come up with a judgement like this? Do you know that Sanborn is probably the most influential sax player living today? Because he chose to go down the commercial road does not mean he is less of an artist or player. Be careful of your words, you make yourself look like the hack you describe!
September 10th, 2009 at 1:03 pm
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