Wednesday, July 04, 2007
God Bless American Music
It's the Fourth of July and Shelly and I are sitting at home watching DC's and New York's firework shows on TV (Boston is coming up in a minute, and I sure hope it's still as good as it was when we saw it in 2004--the Best Fireworks Show Ever).
I have previously expressed in this space my dismay and consternation that every single fireworks program director feels the need to perform the most pro-Russia piece in the classical canon, featuring both the Russian and French national anthems, simply because it has unusual percussion, so I won't belabor that here.
Fortunately, other than Tchaikovsky, we're hearing a lot of American music tonight. From Irving Berlin to John Philip Sousa to John Williams to John Philip Sousa to Leonard Bernstein to John Philip Sousa to Stephen Foster to John Philip Sousa (poor Sousa--outside of high school bands, he's only played on the Fourth of July, and then he's overplayed), we've heard a lot of sounds of America.
But here's my question: why is there no jazz?* Jazz is the most important cultural contribution the United States of America has made to the world. With the possible exception of modern dance, it is the only uniquely American art form. In the pantheon of American composers, Duke Ellington is at or near the top of anyone's list. Maybe it's just that it doesn't have a lot of mass appeal anymore (though I would wager that at least familiar big band classics like "In the Mood" or "Stompin' at the Savoy" could get people moving as they watched the fireworks). Maybe people don't think it's patriotic enough (though that doesn't stop them from playing other non-patriotic songs). Maybe the pops orchestras that play these big shows just don't like jazz.**
We'll never know. So in the meantime, Happy Birthday, America! May you always produce better music than Mother Russia!
* "It's a Wonderful World" doesn't count, even if you play a recording of Louis Armstrong singing it. That's a pop song, not a jazz song. There's nothing jazz about it except Satchmo's voice.
** But please. You're telling me they enjoy playing the annual "1812 Overture," each time with more ear-splitting percussion?
I have previously expressed in this space my dismay and consternation that every single fireworks program director feels the need to perform the most pro-Russia piece in the classical canon, featuring both the Russian and French national anthems, simply because it has unusual percussion, so I won't belabor that here.
Fortunately, other than Tchaikovsky, we're hearing a lot of American music tonight. From Irving Berlin to John Philip Sousa to John Williams to John Philip Sousa to Leonard Bernstein to John Philip Sousa to Stephen Foster to John Philip Sousa (poor Sousa--outside of high school bands, he's only played on the Fourth of July, and then he's overplayed), we've heard a lot of sounds of America.
But here's my question: why is there no jazz?* Jazz is the most important cultural contribution the United States of America has made to the world. With the possible exception of modern dance, it is the only uniquely American art form. In the pantheon of American composers, Duke Ellington is at or near the top of anyone's list. Maybe it's just that it doesn't have a lot of mass appeal anymore (though I would wager that at least familiar big band classics like "In the Mood" or "Stompin' at the Savoy" could get people moving as they watched the fireworks). Maybe people don't think it's patriotic enough (though that doesn't stop them from playing other non-patriotic songs). Maybe the pops orchestras that play these big shows just don't like jazz.**
We'll never know. So in the meantime, Happy Birthday, America! May you always produce better music than Mother Russia!
* "It's a Wonderful World" doesn't count, even if you play a recording of Louis Armstrong singing it. That's a pop song, not a jazz song. There's nothing jazz about it except Satchmo's voice.
** But please. You're telling me they enjoy playing the annual "1812 Overture," each time with more ear-splitting percussion?
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