Re: Subject: [Harp-L] Genre hopPing ??

["Ben FELTEN [ML]" <lists@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

EGS1217@xxxxxxx a écrit :
> Did you mean Genre hopping or hoping in your subject line?
>   
Oooh, that's a low blow...

;-)
>  
> As to missing Ben's point? Not at all. Most of us are intelligent  enough 
> to have understood. However, he used the wrong musician to make said  point.
>  
> I believe you expanded on his post to make it about 'any' musician  
> 'automatically' being great in other genres. Ben didn't quite make that  
> point...the 'automatically' language was yours alone. Benoit singled out Robert,  to 
> which several of us responded.
>  
> The original poster - Jim Alciere, merely asked that Robert now play music  
> from the Neville Bros. and others. Many of us love RB's CD's which display  
> his abilities in other styles, so I gather Jim's suggestion was based on  
> the fact he already knew of Robert's proven abilities to play in other 
> genres,  not mere guesswork.
>   
Look, if I'd wanted to pile on Robert, I would have. This is not about 
Robert, I'm just using him as an illustration of my point, and he 
himself seems to agree with me...

I further clarified this in my follow-up email. So if indeed you do get 
my point you're trying hard to twist it into something it's not.

> For my part I agreed that there are most definitely 'some' musicians who  
> certainly should not attempt other genres since they do not translate 
> well...but  what right does anyone (harmonica player or not) have to decide for  or 
> disparage any musician who feels pushed to expand his/her horizons into  
> different genres?  
>  
> Yes, we've all heard lame attempts by people in over their heads musically  
> either rhythmically or with no sense of the style they're  attempting. 
> Their results are usually met with silence from fans,  translating into no sales 
> of a CD....which clues them in quite quickly to the  directions in which 
> they should not go. 
>  
> But where is it written that a musician 'must' stay within  certain 
> confines? That's rather an absurd conceit...especially when so many have  proven 
> otherwise and broken down those boundaries successfully. 
>  
> In the harmonica world Brendan Power comes to mind...playing Trad Irish,  
> Riverdance, gorgeous ballads, Pop, different styles of Jazz  (other genres  
> I've probably missed) and now even the most astonishing modern 'rock' along  
> with LDMiller's harmonica beat-boxing. I don't think there's anything 
> Brendan  couldn't achieve if he'd a mind to.
>   
And that's where we'll have to agree to disagree.

Brendan is a good case in point. He's a musician I admire immensely, 
he's a stunning harmonica player and I think I can call him a friend 
(although we haven't met in way to long and that's something I'll have 
to remedy) but not everything he plays in all of those genres is 
convincing to my ears. His trad/gypsy jazz CD, for example, doesn't seem 
to me to play on his fortes and I wouldn't call it a resounding success. 
I also heard Brendan state several times in public that he didn't 
consider himself an outstanding improviser which - assuming that hasn't 
changed since then - tells me there are genres where he's not going to 
excel.

The way I approach music is somewhat hard to explain, but there are a 
couple of principles that tend to be verified throughout:

- just because it's a professionally recorded CD doesn't mean it's good
- just because it has a good harp player in it doesn't mean it's good

Apparently, our appreciation of music differs. And you know what? That's 
absolutely fine.

Am I too critical? Maybe, but that's not something I can help.

And again, I'm not pigeonholing anyone here. I think Robert is spot on 
when he says that most musicians don't have time to seriously pursue 
multiple genres, and while some do with success, most approach the 
non-core genres as dilettantes. It's interesting that Bill linked to a 
Chick Corea video because he would be (to me) a credible exception. 
Another credible exception is Wilco guitarist Nels Cline who is just as 
comfortable in radical avant-garde jazz as he is playing rock with a 
twist. But these guys are few and far between, and it's not just a 
matter of releasing a CD of pop covers...

Might be fun, might be pleasant, but it's rarely great music.
>  
> And just to be clear: use of the word dilettante when it comes to  someone 
> like Robert ...or Toots for that matter, is not now and would  never be 
> 'apt'

And that's when I realise this whole discussion and my response was 
pointless. I thought we were talking about music, not about artists 
you're a fan of. If you refuse any criticism of your idols, we can't 
really be having this conversation, I'm afraid...

Benoit