[JPL] Jae Sinnett's Jazz Savvy - Is it REALLY NECESSARY for posts like Mi...

[DPolletta at aol.com]

In a message dated 7/9/2008 11:38:14 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time,  
eric-jackson at comcast.net writes:

thought  Michelle's email was disgraceful. I was stunned almost to the 
point of  being speechless. But I do have a question based on something 
she said.  She talked about being white and being ridiculed for 
supporting jazz. As  Jae mentioned, some of us have had different 
experiences than others. I've  never been a white jazz fan!

Someone please tell me how real this is.  Are white people really mocked 
for being jazz fans and supporters and who  mocks them? Other white 
folks? Black folks? Both? What is the nature of  the mocking?

I am asking this as a serious  question>
 
Eric,
 
I've never had any white people mock me for being a jazz fan, but I've  taken 
heat over the years from them about "never playing or not playing enough  
white artists."  Most of that came in my early days. The host I replaced  tended 
to lean heavily on Frishberg, Torme, Rob McConnell, Joe Pass, whereas I  
tended toward more Dexter, Lester, David Murray and Miles.   As the  years have 
past, and quite frankly, many of those listeners have passed as well,  it doesn't 
seem to be as much of an issue.
 
 
 
The only mocking or disparaging comments from black folks (and it  hasn't 
been many) are those who have adopted a propriety ownership of the music,  as 
solely a creation of blacks.  I've been told, since I didn't grow up  black that 
I couldn't possibly understand the "suffering" that it  takes as a black 
performer to really create the art, therefore I don't have any  real business 
commenting on jazz or claiming to understand the music.   Oddly enough nine out of 
ten times those comments have come from black people  who have come from more 
advantaged economic and educational circumstances than  I.  
 
 
Dan Polletta
WCPN-FM



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