"Elijah Wald isn't insulting anyone - his title draws an ironic parallel between the influence that Whiteman and The Beatles had--some of you are just looking for things to get upset about--"

Perhaps i should add my own disclaimer - that I haven't read the comments of Elijah Wolds and am therefore not really in a position to criticize him.

As for getting upset, no that is not the case.

My comment still stands that any suggestion that African Americans stumbled upon jazz in ignorance of the chord theories that underpin it would be insulting to them as it would be to deny them the credit they deserve for consciously developing this theory in their own unique way.

Any idea that Black people have a primitive affinity with these musical styles and that white people only understand them in an academic way would also be insulting to musicians of both racial groups as it would perpetuate unfounded stereotypes of Black and white musicians.

People like John Coltrane and thelonious monk had a deep academic knowledge and understanding of the principles of music and an original way of manipulating this knowledge that only musicians so informed could devise.

They may not have been part of academic institution but their ideas and discoveries are taught in academic institutions and most musicians would find them hard to understand.

Likewise, Someone like chet baker who learned by listening intently to the music of his heroes was as 'natural' a jazz musician as any who came before or after him black or white. He was renouned for having extremely sensitive ears and an extremely quick creative mind so that complex changes did not leave him stranded, but instead he could improvise beautiful over just about anything.

Any suggestion about how one set of humans are 'just different' to another set of humans is unfounded and is indeed insulting to both groups.

The idea of 'natural' uneducated blacks and educated but soulless whites is a projection onto Jazz by those with their own agenda and in all probability who can't play it, as anyone who does play jazz knows how hard it is and respects anyone elses ability to play it too.


On the subject of my theory,

I don't have any one specific theory.

The question of the origins of Jazz being based in the crossover of musical forms on slave plantations is seperate from the view concerning Jazz emerging all over, the latter of which I was told by a friend and mentor - an authority on Jazz in his 80's who has played with just about every Jazz great from Louis down to the current day.