"Jazz music is the most direct form of self-expression. No single art form can lay claim on this quality. A poet is hardly able to put into words what is spontanously experienced in jazz. It is an exact model of the universe and is separated from any form of thought. That's why it so often sounds so rotten." Van de voorflap van het boek European Jazz Guitar van Wim Overgaauw, er is geen bron vermelding dus de uitspraak is vermoedelijk van hem zelf. Ingezonden door Gab Landman.

"The best reaction I ever got ? It might not sound like the best, but the first time I went to Europe with Herbie (Mann), a guy in Berlin rushed down the aisle during my solo and started pounding on the stage, screaming 'THIS IS NOT JAZZ! THIS IS NOT JAZZ! THIS IS NOT JAZZ!' At least I reached him..." Sonny Sharrock, on the best reaction he ever got to a performance. From Francis Davis' "Bebop and Nothingness".

"In jazz as in classical music, there are two types of virtuosity: the utilitarian and the utopian. The utilitarian - that of an Oscar Peterson or a Freddie Hubbard - leaves you feeling that you've just heard a musician unsurpassed at what he does. The utopian - that of Gilespie, Parker, Armstrong, Cecil Taylor, Sonny Rollins, and Art Tatum - momentarily persuades you that human knowledge has evolved to such an extent that nothing is impossible." Francis Davis, Jazz Writer.

"...it was obvious even from the start that many jazz writers either do not know their subject, only care aboutone style (while still feeling free to write about areas that they despise), seem to put themselves on an equal level (or even higher) than the creators, or are more concerned with musicians' personalities (and judge them accordingly) than trying to understand their music." Scott Yanow, Jazz Writer.

"There's suddenly a lot of pressure to do music from 'in the tradition'. But the truest homage to Charlie Parker, for example, isn't to play his tunes or play just like him, but to...play something new that wouldn't be possible without Charlie Parker's example. The most vital contribution you can make to furthering the jazz tradition is to create your own music, create a new music." Anthony Davis.

"I have to admit that more and more lately, the whole idea of jazz as an idiom is one that I've completely rejected. I just don't see it as an idiomatic thing any more...To me, if jazz is anything, it's a process, and maybe a verb, but it's not a thing. It's a form that demands that you bring to it things that are valuable to you, that are personal to you. That, for me, is a pretty serious distinction that doesn't have anything to do with blues, or swing, or any of these other things that tend to be listed as essentials in order for music to be jazz with a capital J." Pat Metheny.

"There's always this confusion between sociology and music. When you try to teach students, you can't teach them sociology. You have to teach them something about music. I can't stand in front of a class and say, "Well, man, I want you to go home and stand on a corner with a chicken wing, and then come back and put some barbecue sauce on it, and come back next week, and then you will be able to play some Blues." You have to come with something specific, which is not necessarily technical." Wynton Marsalis.

"Everybody's bitching these days about how the new students and young players all sound the same. What else can be expected of a jazz education system that is becoming increasingly codified and standardized? This tendency to over-organize jazz pedagogy has not been in the best interests of those who would develop their own voice. Used to be, back when there was less music theory available, the players developed more varied playing styles because of the lack of information, through the painful process of trial and error. When you have a large classroom of students being told you play this scale over that chord, they're all going to play that chord that way. An effective teacher should know how to get out of the way of a student's development." Hal Galper.

"The new generation of American musicians is killingjazz.....The richness in the music is fast disappearing. I question the ambition of the younger jazzmen; their level of musicianship is far lower than what was common when I was breaking in.....Of course, I'd rather say nice things about today's jazz and jazzmen, but, frankly, I don't think the compliments are deserved. The youngsters are looking for gimmicks, the easy roads, when there are none!" Drummer Kenny Clarke, in an interview december 1963.

"Music is your own experience, your thoughts, your wisdom. If you don't live it, it won't come out of your horn. They teach you there's a boundary line to music. But, man, there's no boundary line to art." Charlie Parker.

"The trouble with most musicians today is that they are copycats. Of course you have to start out playing like someone else. You have a model, or a teacher, and you learn all that he can show you. But then you start playing for yourself. Show them that you're an individual. And I can count those who are doing that today on the fingers of one hand." Lester Young.

"Contrary to several conflicting stories, I got the name "Count" right in Kansas City in 1936 while at the Reno Club. I was known as Bill Basie at that time. One night, while we were broadcasting, the announcer called me to the microphone for those usual few words of introduction. He commented that Bill Basie was a rather ordinary name, and further that there were a couple of well-known bandleaders named Earl Hines and Duke Ellington. Then he said, `Bill, I think I'll call you Count Basie from now on. Is that all right with you?' I thought he was kidding, shrugged my shoulders and replied, `OK.' " Count Basie.

"As a player, to me, he was the most significant giant of all. He played beautifully, intellectually, low-down, dirty, funky old blues. I remember going down South with him one time, and the first day, the black promoter came over, "Now looka here, Charlie Parker, we don't want no bebop down here." Bird looked at the crowd, the dancing people, all blacks. In those days you could play -- you played two gigs. You played one night for blacks, and the whites sat upstairs, and the next time for whites, and the blacks sat upstairs. And Bird said, `Don't worry about a thing, we're going to play rice-and-beans music,' and he went into (imitates horn) blues, and he broke the crowd up." Red Rodney.

"There are no bad notes, only poor choices." Bron onbekend, ingezonden door Frans van Beek.

Fats Waller on the question what swing is: "If you got to ask you'll never know" Ingezonden door Gab Landman.

Getallen speelden zeker een belangrijke rol in de muziek van de 17e en 18e eeuw. In veel muziekboeken uit die tijd wordt verwezen naar een tekst uit het apocriefe bijbelboek De wijsheden van Salomo: "Alles hebt gij naar maat, getal en gewicht geordend". Een componist zou zijn muziek moeten baseren op een van tevoren aan de hand van getallen bepaald patroon, precies zoals God het heelal had 'geconstrueerd'. En de vaak geciteerde Duitse filosoof Leibnitz beschreef muziek als "verborgen sommen van een geest die zich er niet van bewust is dat hij aan het rekenen is". Voor componisten speelden ook meer praktische overwegingen een rol. Zo diende een cantate in de winter korter te zijn dan in de zomer, om de kerkgangers niet te lang bloot te stellen aan de kou in de kerk. NRC van 24-02-2000, ingezonden door Ewian Vos.

Uit het stukje "How many of you are there in the quartet ?" van Paul Desmond: "Never a group to accept defeat gracelessly, we play a sort of muzak for a suitable period and split." Ingezonden door Peter de Haan.

Kort maar krachtig: "Jazz is not dead.....it just smells funny" van Frank Zappa. Ingezonden door Ron Bakker.

HOW JAZZ WORKSList of Characters:Piano:Pianists are intellectuals and know-it-alls. They studied theory, harmony and composition in college. Most are riddled with self-doubt. They are usually bald. They should have big hands, but often don't. They were social rejects as adolescents. They go home after the gig and play with toy soldiers. Pianists have a special love-hate relationship with singers. If you talk to the piano player during a break, he will condescend.Bass:Bassists are not terribly smart. The best bassists come to terms with their limitations by playing simple lines and rarely soloing. During the better musical moments, a bassist will pull his strings hard and grunt like an animal. Bass players are built big, with paws for hands, and they are always bent over awkwardly. If you talk to the bassist during a break, you will not be able to tell whether or not he's listening.Drums:Drummers are radical. Specific personalities vary, but are always extreme. A drummer might be the funniest person in the world, or the most psychotic, or the smelliest. Drummers are uneasy because of the many jokes about them, most of which stem from the fact that they aren't really musicians. Pianists are particularly successful at making drummers feel bad. Most drummers are highly excitable; when excited, they play louder. If you decide to talk to the drummer during a break, always be careful not to sneak up on him.Saxophone:Saxophonists think they are the most important players on stage. Consequently, they are temperamental and territorial. They know all the Coltrane and Bird licks but have their own sound, a mixture of Coltrane and Bird. They take exceptionally long solos, which reach a peak half way through and then just don't stop. They practice quietly but audibly while other people are trying to play. They are obsessed. Saxophonists sleep with their instruments, forget to shower, and are mangy. If you talk to a saxophonist during a break, you will hear a lot of excuses about his reeds.Trumpet:Trumpet players are image-conscious and walk with a swagger. They are often former college linebackers. Trumpet players are very attractive to women, despite the strange indentation on their lips. Many of them sing; misguided critics then compare them to either Louis Armstrong or Chet Baker depending whether they're black or white. Arrive at the session early, and you may get to witness the special trumpet game. The rules are: play as loud and as high as possible. The winner is the one who plays loudest and highest. If you talk to a trumpet player during a break, he might confess that his favorite player is Maynard Ferguson, the merciless God of loud-high trumpeting.Guitar:Jazz guitarists are never very happy. Deep inside they want to be rock stars, but they're old and overweight. In protest, they wear their hair long, prowl for groupies, drink a lot, and play too loud. Guitarists hate piano players because they can hit ten notes at once, but guitarists make up for it by playing as fast as they can. The more a guitarist drinks, the higher he turns his amp. Then the drummer starts to play harder, and the trumpeter dips into his loud/high arsenal. Suddenly, the saxophonist's universe crumbles, because he is no longer the most important player on stage. He packs up his horn, nicks his best reed in haste, and storms out of the room. The pianist struggles to suppress a laugh. If you talk to a guitarist during the break he'll ask intimate questions about your 14-year-old sister.Vocals:Vocalists are whimsical creations of the all-powerful jazz gods. They are placed in sessions to test musicians' capacity for suffering. They are not of the jazz world, but enter it surreptitiously. Example: A young woman is playing minor roles in college musical theater. One day, a misguided campusnewspaper critic describes her singing as "...jazzy." Voila! A star isborn! Quickly she learns "My Funny Valentine," "Summertime," and "Route66." Her training complete, she embarks on a campaign of musical terrorism. Musicians flee from the bandstand as she approaches. Those who must remain feel the full fury of the jazz universe. The vocalist will try to seduce you _ and the rest of the audience _ by making eye contact, acknowledging your presence, even talking to you between tunes. DO NOT FALL INTO THIS TRAP! Look away, make your distaste obvious. Otherwise the musicians will avoid you during their breaks. Incidentally, if you talk to a vocalist during a break, she will introduce you to her "manager."Trombone:The trombone is known for its pleading, voice-like quality. "Listen," it seems to say in the male tenor range, "Why won't anybody hire me for a gig?" Trombonists like to play fast, because their notes become indistinguishable and thus immune to criticism. Most trombonists played trumpet in their early years, then decided they didn't want to walk around with a strange indentation on their lips. Now they hate trumpet players, who somehow get all the women despite this disfigurement. Trombonists are usually tall and lean, with forlorn faces. They don't eat much. They have to be very friendly, because nobody really needs a trombonist. Talk to a trombonist during a break and he'll ask you for a gig, try to sell you insurance, or offer to mow your lawn.Picking the TuneEvery time a tune ends, someone has to pick a new one. That's a fundamental concept that, unfortunately, runs at odds with jazz group processes. Tune selection makes a huge difference to the musicians. They love to show off on tunes that feel comfortable, and they tremble at the threat of the unknown. But to pick a tune is to invite close scrutiny: "So this is how you sound at your best. Hmm..." It's a complex issue with unpredictable outcomes. Sometimes no one wants to pick a tune, and sometimes everyone wants to pick a tune. The resulting disagreements lead to faction-building and _ under extreme conditions _ even impromptu elections. The politics of tune selection makes for some of the session's best entertainment.Example 1: No one wants to pick a tune. (previous tune ends) (silence) trumpet player: "What the f#@*? Is someone gonna pick a tune?" (silence) trumpet player: "This s%!* is lame. I'm outta here." (Storms out of room, forgetting to pay tab) rest of band (in unison): "Yes!!!" (Band takes extended break, puts drinks on trumpet player's tab) Example 2: Everyone wants to pick a tune, resulting in impromptu election and eventual tune selection. (previous tune ends) (pianist and guitarist simultaneously): "Beautiful Love!"/"Donna Lee!" guitarist to pianist: "You just want to play your fat, stupid ten-note chords!" pianist to guitarist: "You just want to play a lot of notes really fast! saxophonist: "'Giant Steps'." (a treacherous Coltrane tune practiced obsessively by saxophonists.) guitarist and pianist (together): "Go ahead, asshole." trumpet player: "This shit is lame. 'Night in Tunisia'." (a Dizzy Gillespie tune offering bounteous opportunities for loud, high playing.) saxophonist: "Sorry, forgot my earplugs, Maynard." (long, awkward silence) pianist, guitarist, saxophonist, trumpet player all turn to drummer: "Your turn, Skinhead." (drummer pauses to think of hardest possible tune; a time-tested drummer ploy to punish real musicians who play actual notes.) drummer: "Stablemates." trumpet player: F#@* this! I'm outta here." (Storms out of room, bartender chases after him.) trombonist: "Did someone forget to turn off the CD player?" by Bill Anschell (Copyright 2001, Bill Anschell). Ingezonden door Tony de Meijer.