[Harp-L] Tradition vs Innovation

[Robert Bonfiglio <bon@xxxxxxxxxx>]

The term "Blues Nazi", bad choice of words, brings up a trend in many  
forms of music that can be disturbing - the fight between tradition  
and innovation.

In Jazz, many feel that Winton is trying to take an improvisational  
form of music and make it classical by putting down all influences  
past Bebop.

I have heard the same complaint from Bluegrass players who go to  
festivals where only the "pure" traditional forms are acceptable.

In Classical music we had the "original instrument" movement take an  
improvisational form of classical music and turn it into only a "pure"  
form.(People who think that classical music is not improvisational  
must remember that Mozart would improvise his own cadenzas on the spot  
and Bach's music was full of room to improvise.)  This had the effect  
of taking the fun out of a lot of orchestral music because only  
"original instrument" groups played Baroque music and only Pops  
orchestras played the "Sabre Dance" thus leaving the major orchestras  
playing only Mahler and Brahms, i.e., being serious 24/7.

The weird thing to me is that the old blues guys like Little Walter  
would play "How Much Is That Doggy in the Window" if they thought it  
would sell records and often did play such tunes.  But this is NEVER  
talked about just as conductors of major orchestras NEVER mention that  
Mozart wrote and played some "pop" stuff that the audience sang along  
with because the audience knew the tunes.

Some kind of compromise seems to be the best for moving art ahead.

Harmonically yours,

Robert Bonfiglio
http://www.robertbonfiglio.com