Travels - Downbeat

ChordsDiscordsStrictlyCommercial?As a DownBeat subscriber,my excitement over seeingFrank Zappa’s name on thecover of the May 2013 issuewas severely tempered bythe article itself. JournalistGeoffrey Himes’ article “ASerious Man” focused considerableattention on Zappa’swhining widow and hertiresome complaints abouthow everyone is ripping offher late husband’s legacy.Frankly speaking, the onlyfolks making a fortune offZappa’s good name are thelitigious Gail and her bloatedtrust-fund offspring.Not only does Gail Zappawant a substantial piece ofevery Zappa-related dime,she now apparently wants todictate how his compositionsare played: note for note, asthey were originally written. Andthat’s the way her devoted sonDweezil performs them, albeitslowed down a bit so the younglad is able to play them proficiently.But the capper has to bethe dutiful Dweezil having theaudacity to justify his mama’sdecree by equating Zappato Beethoven. I mean, I loveFrank’s music, but Beethoven …really? Shame, shame, shame.Gordon WebbSanta Clara, Calif.Frank Zappadownbeat archivesPolitical Jazz Weasels?I’m writing to comment on Mark Barosko’sChords & Discords letter in the May issue(“Harpooning Harper”), and its accompanyingEditor’s Note. Barosko has a point, sodon’t brush him off. I agree with him thatthe Ben Harper/Charlie Musselwhite article(“Dancing Around the Bones,” March) hadno place in the pages of DownBeat. Thatarticle would have been a better fit in anewspaper’s Sunday supplement. Barosko'sassertion was basically “DownBeat is ajazz magazine, and let’s keep it that way.”But then Barosko (who is a jazzer butno politician) mentioned a few jazzers,which gave the managing editor (who isa politician but no jazzer) a way to weaselout by citing DownBeat’s coverage ofsome of those jazz musicians. There havebeen some articles recently (such as thoseon Bobby Hutcherson and Charles Lloyd)that continue the DownBeat standard.Keith Cockettkeith@tunnelend.comEditor’s Note: Our staff worked hardto ensure that the articles on—andphotographs of—Bobby Hutcherson(“California Dreaming,” April) andCharles Lloyd (“Tender Warrior,”May) were of superior quality. Wedid the same thing for the coverstory on Ben Harper and blues iconCharlie Musselwhite. We’re notpoliticians. We’re jazzers who arefollowing the DownBeat motto tocover “Jazz, Blues & Beyond.”Next Generation ThrivesOne of the big reasons I dig DownBeat so much is youremphasis on the kids coming up, like those I saw at theNext Generation Jazz Festival, presented by the MontereyJazz Festival (MJF) in the first week of April. Three of theexcellent jazz educators at the fest were Doug Tidaback,Thara Memory and Keith Johnson. These cats are thegods of why jazz is still very, very much alive and welltoday. What joy these three—and all the other greats inthe education systems—have given us over the years!And, again, thank you to DownBeat for your incrediblecoverage of their scene. I’ll see y’all in September at MJFto re-up my subscription to the hippest magazine going.Robert A. Howehowesthis1@yahoo.comEditor’s Note: The DownBeat 36th AnnualStudent Music Awards (page 97) are one of thekey ways that we work to support young musiciansand the educators who guide them.Corrections• In the May issue, a photo illustrating a Caughtreview of the Portland Jazz Festival did not correctlyidentify multi-instrumentalist George Colligan.• In the April issue, the review of the selftitledalbum by Pretty Monsters misspelledthe name Owen Stewart-Robertson.• In the January issue, a Caught review of theStockholm Jazz Festival misspelled the nameJon Fält. Also, the review implied that MariusNeset is Swedish, but he was born in Norway.DownBeat regrets the errors.Have a chord or discord? Email us at editor@downbeat.comor find us on Facebook & Twitter10 DOWNBEAT JUNE 2013