2. misc-audio
  3. 169601-165740

Is improvisational jazz to impressionism art as smooth jazz is to realism art?

So, I’ll acknowledge up front, I’m an engineer. Civilian and Warfighter lives can be in the balance depending on whether our company products perform as required or not. As a result, I try very hard to drive the entropic world we live in towards black and white as much as possible. I need to put order to chaos. When i look at art, impressionistic art requires a lot of mental work to make sense of. I just don't see it or get it, appreciate it or like it. I also find, as hard as i may try to enjoy improvisational jazz, that i don't get it, appreciate it, or like it. Instead, I love Realism art and instrumental smooth jazz!!
Reading from Audiogon forum pages for a couple of years now, i feel like i should feel inferior because 1. I don’t appreciate the free flow of expression that is improvisational jazz and 2. I love that there is a tune and thread in smooth jazz. I love the guitar artistry of Chuck Loeb, Chris Standring, and Acoustic Alchemy; the trumpet expressions of Rick Braun, Cindy Bradley, and Chris Botti; and the bass works of Brian Bromberg. 
I’m curious if there are many others out there that equate order (or lack there-of) in their music tastes to that of their taste in the visual arts?
Also, are there many other music lovers who would rather enjoy a good smooth jazz listening session than improvisational jazz?  If so, who do you listen to?
128x128estreams
middlemass
903 posts
 
    "We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." William Casey, CIA Director 1981-1987"

"We are there."

Yup.


nonoise's avatar
nonoise
10,615 posts
 
As a professional musician, these posts make me want to kill myself.
Best response by a country mile.

If the OP had left out his first three sentences, this could have been a discussion on what styles of jazz one likes and the occasional references to art.

Those first three sentences show more than a passing affinity to an authoritarian mindset as it meets a few criteria to be one. Normally, one would reference civilian and military needs and not "warfighter" as it’s not a recognized occupation but a romanticized notion one would take to embellish. That, or one is conflating soldiers with mercenaries, blurring obvious distinctions.

I would never begin a thread with such loaded implications, but then, that’s me. I only bring this up due to the silly comments on some forms of art being equated with politics that some posters like to vilify.

All the best,
Nonoise


stuartk
2,432 posts
 
@facten:

We seem to not be communicating very well-- I apologize for whatever responsibility I bear for this.

As it happens, I'm very familiar with John McLaughlin-- I've been listening to him since 1972. 

However, I have never heard anything by him that resembles Smooth Jazz in any way or anything midway between Smooth Jazz and Fusion. 

In fact, I was hoping you would provide the titles of some of his records that would provide examples of such playing. I hope I have made things clearer!  
stuartk
2,432 posts
 
@middlemass:

"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." William Casey, CIA Director 1981-1987"

"We are there."

Yup.


Well, half the population believes in facts while the other half believes in "alternative facts". And each side will claim those on the other side are the ones who believe what's false. 
yuviarora's avatar
yuviarora
537 posts
 
"We’ll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." William Casey, CIA Director 1981-1987"

"We are there."

Yup

Well, half the population believes in facts while the other half believes in "alternative facts". And each side will claim those on the other side are the ones who believe what’s false.

@stuartk what if both are completely wrong? ....Both sides blame each other, divided, manipulated, led around by the nose, scared, confused, demoralized. Unaware of the forces that guide them, shaping their thinking, all the while curating their world view.

To people complaining about the politicization of art and music, both have been used to disseminate propaganda since the start of Human Civilization.
Not all trash is Art, and Not all Noise is Music.
Beauty is not in the eye of the beholder, it is universal and intrinsic. Beauty has standards, by definition.
More to discover