JAZZCHORD ARTICLES

Between 1993 and 2002, 53 editions of the bi-monthly magazine JazzChord were published as part of the National Jazz Co-ordination Program. This folder includes a selection of articles from those editions. Articles published in JazzChord appear on this site also in the JOHN CLARE, JAZZ CO-ORDINATION, BOOK REVIEWS, CONTRIBUTIONS and OBITUARIES folders. Readers can click on the INDEX button for a list of articles in this folder.

A DEFENCE OF THE AVANT-GARDE

by Gail Brennan [aka John Clare]

JazzChord, Jul/Aug, 1994

I would like to take up my dialogue with Bruce Johnson, if I may. First, I must say I agree with Bruce absolutely that established or traditional jazz forms should not be ignored in arts funding. As I have already made clear in JazzChord, I believe that it should be a matter of the highest priority to record the Port Jackson Jazz Band and the Yarra Yarra Jazz Band. If I won the lottery I would subsidise these projects myself. These are simply the first projects that come to mind. Nevertheless, I must take issue with Bruce's attitude to the 'avant-garde', and music assumed to be on the 'cutting edge'…

A RESPONSE TO GAIL BRENNAN

by Bruce Johnson

JazzChord, Sep/Oct, 1994

Thanks to Gail Brennan for putting pen to paper (JazzChord, 20, Jul/Aug, 1994). It prompts me to reflect more carefully about what I think and how much more clearly I might have expressed it. Fundamental to the position I am taking is this: jazz is one of the significant sources of musical enrichment for a great many people in Australia. This enrichment is trivialised by sections of the arts bureaucracy. Look at Leo Schofield's explanation of the negligible jazz content of the Melbourne Festival as an example (JazzChord, 20, p 2). This trivialisation is achieved by the construction of various cultural categories. This demeans a great many people, and I would like to question the power base from which such devaluation is conducted...

A RESPONSE TO BRUCE JOHNSON

by Gail Brennan [aka John Clare]

JazzChord, Summer 1994/95

A new picture emerges. Hitherto, Bruce had shown us only one piece in a campaign he has mounted in various high culture pamphlets. Eric Myers may recall that when he heard Bernie McGann for the first time at the Seymour Centre, he said: “I’d heard he was avant-garde, but he’s actually very melodic.” That Bernie was avant-garde and difficult was a widespread assumption and a frequent put-down. I have heard venue owners say they would not book the musicians I mentioned because they were “too avant-garde”. A prominent rock critic expressed disbelief when I said Ornette Coleman was very rhythmic and melodic. “But isn’t he avant-garde?” A musician I greatly admire was surprised I liked his record. He thought I was “into the avant-garde”…