10 out of 10 Jazz Piano Students at Banff Don't Recognize This Guy

Ethan Iverson at Do The Math points out in a recent (and lengthy, natch) post that in a class he taught at the Banff arts center, all 10 pianists in the class didn't recognize a recording of "Carolina Shout" by James P. Johnson. Here's part of what he says about this:

"When teaching at Banff this past summer, 10 out 10 jazz young pianists were working on their post-Brad Mehldau/post-Keith Jarrett conception. That’s cool - I am full-on post-Jarrett myself, and in fact I’m influenced by Brad too - but the same 10 pianists then didn’t recognize James P. Johnson’s “Carolina Shout” when I played it for them in a master class."

"It’s really no big deal if any given young jazz pianist isn’t interested in James P. Johnson. One’s muses needn’t include early jazz if one wants to make good improvised music. But 10 out 10 pianists not recognizing “Carolina Shout” really bothered me."

It sure bothers me. If these students at Banff can play convincingly in a contemporary style (enough at least to gain admission to Banff) and know nothing of arguably one of the most famous recordings of this early jazz piano giant, there is something seriously wrong with the jazz education system these students come from and a disturbing sign that jazz is becoming increasingly watered down. I hope this bothers in particular the admissions people at Banff who should be looking for a little more depth in who they admit and who will reap the musical and financial benefits of saying they went to Banff and studied with so-and-so etc.

I disagree with Iverson on one point though; maybe his phrase "improvised music" is key but I do think that a pianist needs to be aware of James P. and the other early pianists to be a good jazz improviser. Understanding the history of this music (or anything, really) is vitally important to being able to express oneself in a larger, deeper context. If jazz history is discarded in favor of teaching the latest lick, rather than seeing them both as pieces of the same whole, the art form begins to wither.

Sheet Music Available

I've placed some sheet music of my compositions online:
http://www.genedandrea.com/music.htm
Look for the section marked "Sheet Music". They are all in PDF format and I'll periodically (hopefully) post new tunes there. They are all licensed under a Creative Commons license which specifies what uses are permitted, namely non-commercial uses like playing at jam sessions and in schools. If someone wants to use the tunes in a commercial way, like a recording, they need to contact me first and get my OK. Creative Commons is a way of enhancing a copyright to make it more flexible and internet-friendly while retaining the legal rights granted under existing copyright law.