Re: My latest reviews and ramblings pt II

SHANNON BRIGGS (sbriggs@enterprise.powerup.com.au)
Fri, 30 Jun 1995 12:57:03 +1000


> well, that's kind of personal thing. i do respect hard working labels
> without commercial status. if they're doing well after few years time,
> it's good for them. like new breed (they've been doing cds quite much
> recently) they've started to putting out 12" releases and i hardly
> don't believe that they could sell over 10.000 copies per each release.
> total quantity per each release might be under 5.000 copies. is that
> kind of commercialism ? if they're putting out good vibes and they're
> working hard, they really earn people's respects ! ... and at least
> music itself is the thang we should give our hearts for, no matter
> is it commercialized or not.

perhaps new breed is the exception (I still think it's kinda groovy)..
but when labels such as 'acid jazz records' start sacrificing the quality
of the music over the image of the record label, this is what i would
classify as over commercialisation. just have a listen to some of the
shlock that this label has released lately: Totally wired 12 (hmm..indie
almost.. nah not even good for that), Quiet boys..(yawn..perhaps 'A.J.'
most boring release to date)..
Shannon 'Frenzie' Briggs (Sbriggs@enterprise.powerup.com.au) Spinning Wheel

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From: ssilcoff@ccs.carleton.ca (Sean Silcoff)
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Subject: festival de jazz de cornwall????
To: acid-jazz@UCSD.EDU
Date: Thu, 29 Jun 95 22:59:58 EDT
X-Mailer: ELM [version 2.3 PL11]

I live and work in Cornwall, a fairly ugly, nondescript town of 46,000 an hour
away from each of Montreal and Ottawa, where the nearest culture can be found.
Cornwall is known for two things: It's the smuggling capital of Canada
(much of the contraband liquor and tobacco that comes into the country
from the U.S. finds easy passage through the area) and the smell of a huge
Domtar paper plant upwind.

Note "jazz" is not one of the things it's known for. So the idea of
holding a jazz festival in the city is about as unlikely an idea as
holding a rock show in some field in upstate New York on Max Yasgur's
farm. Of course, anything is possible.

That's why many of us in Cornwall are a little skeptical about the
Festival de Jazz de Cornwall, which is set to go for a week in August,
with acts such as Dave Brubeck, Oliver Jones, Buddy Guy, the Count Basie
band and (if they can book him) Ray Charles set to play.

The festival seems to have come from nowhere. The main organizer is a guy
who was thrown out a second storey window a few weeks back (the very
window where his office for the festival now sits).

So many reasons to be skeptical...who organizes a jazz festival out of the
blue with barely two months to spare? Who holds a jazz festival in
Cornwall, with virtually no proven local interest in jazz (country music,
speedway races and perch fishing are de rigeur here)? Who plunks a jazz
festival in the middle of nowhere calendarily (albeit summer), a full
month after the jazz palates of the area have been sated by real, bigtime
festivals in Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa?

Of course, I may be wrong. I hope I'm proven so. One strong indicator is
that the man booking acts is Charlie Biddles, a legend on the Montreal
Jazz scene.

If this thing flies, I'll never slag Cornwall again. It'll be nice to have an
excuse to stay in Cornwall for a weekend, for a change.

Peace,

Brother Sean