Jazz Needs Love Too

Once again, I want to give a shout-out to the local musicians who are working here in Santa Barbara every day. There is jazz here, even if the wealthier members of the community don’t support it. (If you do, I encourage you to take Joe’s suggestion and lobby for greater community visibility, and hear-ability, for jazz). [“The No-Jazz Blues,”9/30/09] Part of the problem is agreeing on what we define as jazz: Horace Tapscott (who I think was a fine jazz musician) might not satisfy the mostly over-60 crowd that attended the Dave Brubeck show (also jazz)-though I was pleasantly reminded at that show at how “out” Mr. Brubeck’s music always was. His hit “Take Five,” cowritten with saxophonist Paul Desmond, which closed the concert, featured a pretty adventurous solo by Brubeck’s current altoist.

If you liked this music, please support the local efforts made by young and old musicians alike. Just this past week, there was a great master class featuring the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra’s Victor Goines with UCSB jazz combo players, who renewed my faith in the future and current state of jazz. There are good players in our midst. Please support them, Santa Barbara! – Rob Wallace