Peter: you're quite right that "mainstream" has had a special sense in the
jazz world, though I'm unclear as to whether this precedes its use as a
term in poetry, or indeed has any relation. I hope people will bear with
me as I quote from the start of chapter 3 of David Rosenthal's excellent
book _Hard Bop_:
In the 1950s, the critic Stanley Dance coined the term "Mainstream" for
jazz of the Depression years (approximately 1930-1940). In Dance's words:
"Primarily, it is a reference term for a vast body of jazz that was at one
time in some danger of losing its identity. Practically, it is applied to
the jazz idiom which developed between the heyday of King Oliver and Jelly
Roll Morton on the one hand and that of Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie
on the other.
"The tag originated during the recent period when jazz seemed to be
entirely divided between Traditional (alias Dixieland, alias New Orleans,
alias Two-Beat) and modern (alias Bop, alias Cool, alias Progressive).
Among those this division left out in the cold were musicians like Duke
Ellington, Earl Hines, Count Basie, Coleman Hawkins and Buck Clayton.
Since all good jazz, of whatever kind and era, theoretically swings,
'Swing' was hardly an adequate label for them. Hence 'Mainstream' for jazz
of a 'central' kind, a music not inhibited by any particular instrumental
combination, but emphasizing the twin virtues of communicable emotional
expression and swing."
---
My own further comments: (1) the boundaries of jazz "mainstream" have since
slightly enlarged, to include canonical bebop (Parker, Gillespie, Woods,
even Monk--but not Tristano, Konitz, George Russell, Elmo Hope, Herbie
Nichols, etc.) and the more palatable aspects of Coltrane; (2) meanwhile
the stress has changed to mostly small-group music--my local music store
even puts "Big Band" in a different section from "Jazz", though Basie &
Ellington are still in the latter section. You'll note that even in
Dance's listing the mainstream includes figures like Hines & Hawkins
associated with small-group virtuosity, rather than leading a big band.
(Recommended further reading on this is the remarkable book _The Birth of
Bebop_ by Scott DeVeaux.); (3) Dance, if you're curious, was English.
So what were we talking about--poetry? -- Hm. Anyway, I also wanted to say
that I'll be taking a break from the list for a while as I'll be in Halifax
on a visit. People who wish to contact me between the 14th and 25th should
write me at <[log in to unmask]>. Will be wheeling the infant
around the harbour for much of the duration.
all best
N
Nate & Jane Dorward
[log in to unmask]
109 Hounslow Ave., Willowdale, ON, M2N 2B1, Canada
ph: (416) 221 6865
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