He’s a jazzer.
—derogatorily by classical performers too numerous to count
If it’s not on the page, he’s got no idea. He’s got no rhythm.
—derogatorily by jazz musicians too numerous to count
I believe the average YouTube user would wish to respect the rights of all who make music if they fully understood the reality. If they could truly see the destruction this whole system has brought to musicians’ lives, and if they became cognizant of what it’s ultimately sucking out of their own lives, I believe they’d be horrified. They’d not only be concerned about the musicians it’s directly hurting, but they’d also be worried for music, the arts, and culture itself. The worst offense of the data lords is the manufacturing of a new culture to feed their own greed, a culture they systematically trained, an unwitting audience that’s now fully indoctrinated to expect music for ‘free.’
—Maria Schneider, from “What Whore Houses, Meth Labs and YouTube Have in Common” (2016)
Was my summer listening project, with its links to full versions of recorded works posted on various streaming services, destructive to music, the arts, and culture itself? It’s a legitimate question, asked sincerely. Who deserves the blame for opening the Pandora’s Box of technology that allowed music (and other art forms) to be freely shared worldwide amongst anyone with enough access? Maria Schneider is on a mission to bring these issues to our attention and demonstrate how to use these technologies to allow artists to make a living doing something other than performing on stage 365 days a year. All she asks is that you pay for what you consume. If we believe that capitalism reigns supreme, how can we disagree with her?
This entire blog entry could be spent focusing on the issues of art, commerce, and society that Schneider explores with her latest work for jazz orchestra, Data Lords. I have my opinions about the piece and the subject in general, but they are still in flux. I have been on both sides of the debate, experienced the beauty in technological wonder, suffered through the chaos of the natural world, and both made and lost money on the internet. Schneider’s views are more black and white. The exquisite craft of Data Lords is unassailable. That doesn’t mean that I enjoyed it. It angered me. I had a visceral reaction to it. However, as with the riots that infamously occurred at the premiere of Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring, I know that such a response was what Schneider was likely going for and is a signature of lasting art well made - and that is all I’m going to say about it. I encourage everyone to pay the price, get a ticket for the show, and decide for yourself.
I am also going to forego discussing the work(s) with Dawn Upshaw that I did enjoy a great deal and instead direct you toward an album that won two Grammys in 2014, Winter Morning Walks. If Data Lords elicited a fit of anger, both works on this album moved me to tears of joy. I’m not sure one could ask for anything more.
A brief end-of-the-year postscript/update
As of the winter solstice, this recording has indeed proven to be one of my favorites of the year.